Miss Little Havana

Last updated
Miss Little Havana
Miss Little Havana.jpg
Studio album by
Gloria Estefan
ReleasedSeptember 27, 2011 (2011-09-27)
Genre
Length55:57
Label Crescent Moon, Verve Forecast
Producer Pharrell Williams, Gloria Estefan, Emilio Estefan
Gloria Estefan chronology
90 Millas
(2007)		Miss Little Havana
(2011)		 The Standards
(2013)
Singles from Miss Little Havana
  1. "Wepa"
    Released: July 24, 2011
  2. "Miss Little Havana"
    Released: September 2011
  3. "Hotel Nacional"
    Released: November 2011 [4]

Miss Little Havana is the twelfth studio album by Cuban-American recording artist Gloria Estefan. The singer's first English-language album since 2003's Unwrapped and her twenty-sixth overall, it was released on September 27, 2011 on Crescent Moon Records, distributed by Verve Forecast and Universal Music Group. [5] [6] The project was largely conceived and produced by urban producer Pharrell Williams, while Estefan's husband Emilio Estefan contributed another four tracks to the album. In the US, the album was released only through Target stores.

Contents

Preceding the album's release, lead single "Wepa" was released for digital download in July 2011, and reached the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

Background

Estefan announced her retirement from music after the release of her studio album 90 Millas in 2007. [3] Three years later American producer and performer Pharrell Williams presented Estefan with two songs, "I Can't Believe" and "Miss Little Havana", which the singer liked, and they began working on them in the recording studio while writing the rest of the songs included on Miss Little Havana. [3] Estefan first became interested in collaborating with Williams after meeting him through their trainer at a Miami gym in early 2010. The pair began sending messages back and forth, while Williams started writing songs he hoped Estefan would want to record. It was not until early 2011, they entered the recording booth to create the basis for Miss Little Havana. The album was recorded in English with some Spanish lyrics. [3] Coincidentally, the album was released on the 25th anniversary of her single "Conga", and with the CD purchase a new version of the track, titled "Conga 25", is available for download. [7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine's review in Allmusic described Pharrell's rhythms as lively but "straightjacketed", and mentioning that the Cuban-like rhythms are too "stiff and mannered, and certainly not like the colorful, endless party its singer and producer intended". [8] Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson commended Pharrell and Estefan for "managing to avoid the many pitfalls left in dance music's wake by the likes of David Guetta, Pitbull, LMFAO, and so on." However, Henderson was ambivalent towards the album's "patina of dress-up dance music", which he distinguished as "dance music worn in the manner of an expertly executed Halloween costume, both uncannily close to the mark at the same time as it's jovially self-lampooning". [2]

Track listing

U.S. & Canadian iTunes Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Miss Little Havana" Pharrell Williams 3:15
2."I Can't Believe"Williams3:42
3."Heat"Williams3:49
4."Wepa" Emilio Estefan, Gloria Estefan, Williams4:01
5."Say Ay"G. Estefan, Williams2:53
6."So Good"E. Estefan, G. Estefan, Williams3:16
7."Right Away"E. Estefan, G. Estefan, Williams4:07
8."Make Me Say Yes"Williams3:56
9."Time Is Ticking"E. Estefan, G. Estefan, Williams3:54
10."Hotel Nacional"E. Estefan, G. Estefan, Motiff3:28
11."Make My Heart Go" (featuring El Cata)Edward "El Cata" Bello, Black Dada, E. Estefan, Motiff3:53
International iTunes Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."On"Black Dada, Danny Ponce, E. Estefan4:26
12."Make My Heart Go" (featuring El Cata)Edward "El Cata" Bello, Black Dada, E. Estefan, Motiff3:53
13."Medicine"E. Estefan, Adrian "Drop" Santalla, Azriel "Phe" Reckley4:04
Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina & Mexico CD Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Wepa" (R3hab Remix featuring Pitbull)E. Estefan, G. Estefan, Williams, Armando C. Perez3:28
15."Let's Get Loud"G. Estefan, Kike Santander 3:43
16."Conga 25" (Bonus Track)Enrique E. Garcia3:58
U.S. Target Exclusive CD Deluxe Edition / Canadian CD Release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Conga 25" (not a CD track, but a downloaded track accessed through a code included on the CD's inlay)Enrique E. Garcia3:58

Charts

Chart (2011)Peak
Position
US Billboard 200 [9] 28
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico) [10] 27
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [11] 93

Release history

RegionDateFormat
United States [12] September 27, 2011Special Edition CD
Worldwide [13] October 3, 2011Digital album
Latin America [13] November 29, 2011CD album
Mexico [13]
Portugal [13]
Spain [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. "Gloria Estefan Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Henderson, Eric (October 14, 2011). "Gloria Estefan: Miss Little Havana". Slant Magazine . Retrieved 2012-03-16.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "'Este álbum ocurrió de chiripa': Gloria Estefan" (in Spanish). Vive.in. November 30, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  4. ↑ "PRO MOTION on Twitter".
  5. ↑ "Gloria & Target Team up for Miss Little Havana". GloriaEstefan.com. September 6, 2011. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Gloria Estefan Partners with Target on New Album, 'Miss Little Havana'" (Press release). Target Corporation. September 6, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Gloria Estefan lanzará nuevo disco 'Little Miss Havana'" (in Spanish). Terra Networks. September 7, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Miss Little Havana - Gloria Estefan - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic".
  9. ↑ "Gloria Estefan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  10. ↑ "Mexicancharts.com – Gloria Estefan – Miss Little Havana". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  11. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Gloria Estefan – Miss Little Havana". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  12. ↑ "Miss Little Havana Target Edition". Target.com. 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Miss Little Havana - WorldWide". GloriaEstefan.com. 2011-10-03. Archived from the original on 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
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