Segundo Romance | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 30 August 1994 | |||
Recorded | 1994 | |||
Studio | Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | Bolero | |||
Length | 38:57 | |||
Language | Spanish | |||
Label | WEA Latina | |||
Producer | ||||
Luis Miguel chronology | ||||
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Singles from Segundo Romance | ||||
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Segundo Romance (English: Second Romance) [1] is the tenth studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel, released on 30 August 1994 through WEA Latina. Like Luis Miguel's 1991 album Romance , Segundo Romance comprises cover versions of boleros (Latin ballads) written between 1934 and 1993. It was produced by Luis Miguel with Juan Carlos Calderón, Kiko Cibrian and Armando Manzanero and recorded in early 1994 at the Record Plant in Los Angeles.
Luis Miguel promoted the album with tours in the United States and Latin America from August to December 1994. Four singles were released: "El Día Que Me Quieras", "La Media Vuelta", "Todo y Nada", and "Delirio". The former two reached the top of the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States.
Segundo Romance received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its production, Luis Miguel's vocals and the choice of songs. It won several awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance. By 1995, Segundo Romance had sold over 4.5 million copies and achieved multi-platinum status in many Latin American countries and Spain, and was certified platinum in the United States. Like its predecessor, the album helped continue renewing mainstream interest in bolero music.
In 1991, Luis Miguel released his eighth studio album, Romance , a collection of classic boleros (slow ballads "endowed with romantic lyrics"). [2] The album was successful in Latin America and sold more than six million copies worldwide. [3] [4] It revived interest in the bolero genre and was the first record by a Spanish-speaking artist to be certified gold in Brazil, Taiwan and the United States. [5] Despite its success, Luis Miguel did not immediately release another album of boleros as the follow-up album. Instead, he recorded Aries (1993), an album comprising original pop ballads and dance songs with R&B influences. [6] Four months after the release of Aries, he confirmed that he would begin recording another collection of classic boleros in March 1994, with the working title Romance II. [7] [8]
Segundo Romance was recorded at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, chosen for its state-of-the-art recording facilities. [9] Its title was announced in June 1994. [10] Luis Miguel co-produced the album with Armando Manzanero [11] (who produced Romance), Juan Carlos Calderón (who produced Luis Miguel's albums prior to Romance) [12] and Kiko Cibrian (who co-produced Aries). [13] [14] Manzanero helped with arrangements and song selection, Calderón was involved with the string section and Cibrian with music direction. [15]
The song "Lo Mejor de Mí", composed by Rudy Pérez, was considered for inclusion on the album, but Luis Miguel decided against recording it as he felt the song would work better as a ballad for his next album, rather than as a bolero. [16]
Segundo Romance comprises 11 cover versions of classic boleros, the oldest dating to 1934. [14] The arrangements consist of strings, saxophone solos, and a piano. [17] Other styles include covers of Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera's tango "El Día Que Me Quieras", which uses a bandoneon (an accordion from Argentina), and the ranchera-bolero "La Media Vuelta" by José Alfredo Jiménez, which features horns, strings, and Spanish guitars. [18] [19] The album features covers of three songs composed by Manzanero: "Somos Novios", "Cómo Yo Te Amé", and "Yo Sé Que Volverás". [15]
"El Día Que Me Quieras" was released as the album's lead single on 5 August 1994. [20] It reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States for the week of 17 September 1994, and remained there for five weeks. [21] [22] Its music video was directed by Kiko Guerrero and filmed at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City with Luis Miguel and a 36-piece orchestra. [13] [23] "La Media Vuelta", the second single, was released in November 1994 and reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart for the week of 26 November, [21] [24] topping the chart for three weeks. [25] Its music video, directed by Pedro Torres and filmed in black-and-white, features Luis Miguel reminiscing at a bar about a woman who deceived him. [26] [27] The third single, "Todo y Nada", [28] reached number three on the Hot Latin Songs and number one on the Billboard Latin Pop Airplay charts. [21] [29] "Todo y Nada" was featured as the main theme for the Mexican telenovela Imperio de cristal (1994). [30] "Delirio", the fourth single, peaked at number 16 on the Hot Latin Songs chart; its music video was filmed in Brazil. [21] [28]
To promote the album, Luis Miguel began his Segundo Romance Tour in August 1994 with 16 shows at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, which drew a total audience of more than 155,000. [31] Luis Miguel performed throughout Mexico, the United States, Peru and Argentina until 31 December 1994, when the tour concluded in Acapulco. [32] The first part of Luis Miguel's set list featured pop songs and contemporary ballads; during the second half he sang boleros from Segundo Romance and ranchera songs, before closing with "Será Que No Me Amas", the Spanish version of the Jackson 5's "Blame It on the Boogie". [33]
In October 1995, Warner Music released the El Concierto live album and video, a compilation of Luis Miguel's performances at the National Auditorium in Mexico City and his concert at the José Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires. [34] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic praised its production and Luis Miguel's performance. [35]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Los Angeles Times | [36] |
AllMusic critic Jose F. Promis gave Segundo Romance four-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it "a first-rate collection of timeless Latin American standards" and praised Luis Miguel's vocals and the production. [1] According to Promis, the album "further established Luis Miguel as a first-rate balladeer, [1] and enhanced his immense international popularity, not only with the youth market, but with an older, more sophisticated market as well." [1] Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times gave the album three stars out of four, saying that it contained "updated, well-produced versions of classic romantic bolero and tango songs". [36] In Americas magazine, Mark Holston described Segundo Romance as a "superb encore", citing "El Día Que Me Quieras" and "Historia de un Amor" as "memorable songs". [2] Though Billboard reviewer Paul Verna wrote that it offered "few surprises," he praised Luis Miguel's "scrumptious, sophisti-pop take of 'Nosotros' and 'Delirio'." [37] Mario Tarradell of the Miami Herald was less pleased with the album, writing that it "pales in comparison to the original". [17] Tarradell criticized Luis Miguel's vocals being "on autopilot" compared to his "rich, sophisticated hues" on Romance and called the singer's production a "bad idea". [17]
In Argentina, Luis Miguel received the Asociación de Cronistas del Espectáculo award for Latin Ballad Album by a Male Solo Artist in 1994. [38] At the 1995 Grammy Awards Segundo Romance won the Best Latin Pop Performance award [39] despite competition from Cristian Castro, Juan Gabriel, La Mafia and Plácido Domingo, the latter who was favored to win by John Lannert of Billboard for his album De Mi Alma Latina . [40] At the seventh Lo Nuestro Awards that year, Luis Miguel won Pop Male Artist of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, and Video of the Year for "La Media Vuelta"; [41] "El Día Que Me Quieras" was nominated for Pop Song of the Year. [42] Segundo Romance won the award for the Pop Album of the Year by a Male Artist at the 1995 Billboard Latin Music Awards, [43] and was named Best Album of the Year by the Association of Latin Entertainment Critics. [44] Luis Miguel was the Best-Selling Latin Artist of the Year at the 1995 World Music Awards. [5]
Segundo Romance was released on 30 August 1994. [1] Within two days, the album sold more than one million copies worldwide. [45] In the United States, it debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200 the week of 10 September 1994, the highest debut on the chart at the time for a Spanish-language album. [46] That week, Segundo Romance also debuted at number seven on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart; [47] it reached number one a week later, replacing Selena's Amor Prohibido . It spent a total of 29 nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart, and was the second-bestselling Latin album of the year behind Mi Tierra by Gloria Estefan. [48] [49] The album topped the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart for 30 weeks, and was the highest-selling Latin pop album of the year in the U.S. [49] [50] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the record has sold 603,000 copies in the US as of October 2017 [update] , making the 21st bestselling Latin album in the country. [51] Segundo Romance was certified platinum for shipping one million copies, [52] making Luis Miguel the first Latin artist to have two certified platinum albums in the U.S. following Romance. [33] [53]
The album was also successful in Spanish-speaking countries. It was certified quintuple platinum in Mexico, triple platinum in Paraguay and Uruguay as well as in Central America; double platinum in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Spain and Venezuela, and platinum in Ecuador. [54] [55] In Brazil, Segundo Romance was certified gold for sales of 100,000 copies. [56] The album reached number one on the Chilean album charts, and was certified diamond for shipping 250,000 copies. [57] [58] In Argentina, it was certified 11× platinum and later received a diamond award for sales of 500,000 copies. [54] [59] By 1995, Segundo Romance had sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. [60]
Like its predecessor, Segundo Romance helped to revive interest in bolero music. Mark Holston wrote that the album "proves again that the bolero is back, its heart beating as strongly as ever, its soul alive with tropical passion, a music for every time and all times". [2] According to Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times, both albums "created a revival for the bolero –the old-fashioned, string-based romantic messages of unrequited love were embraced even by young listeners". [61] Ed Morales wrote in his book The Latin Beat: The Rhythms and Roots of Latin Music from Bossa Nova to Salsa and Beyond: "Beyond merely being a revival, Romance and its 1994 follow-up, Segundo Romance was a significant update of the genre". [62] Chicago Tribune editor Achy Obejas noted that the albums "scored in such unlikely places as Saudi Arabia and Finland". [63] Segundo Romance was followed by two more bolero albums: Romances (1997) and Mis Romances (2001). [64] [65] In 1998, Romance, Segundo Romance, and Romances were compiled on Todos Los Romances , released by WEA Latina. [66]
All tracks produced by Luis Miguel, Manzanero, Calderón, and Cibrian. [14]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Year of composition [14] | Length |
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1. | "El Día Que Me Quieras" | Carlos Gardel | Alfredo Le Pera | 1934 | 3:58 |
2. | "Sin Ti" | Pepe Guízar | Guízar | 1940 | 3:00 |
3. | "Somos Novios" | Armando Manzanero | Manzanero | 1968 | 3:10 |
4. | "La Media Vuelta" | José Alfredo Jiménez | Jiménez | 1963 | 2:42 |
5. | "Solamente una Vez" | Agustín Lara | Lara | 1941 | 2:58 |
6. | "Todo y Nada" | Vicente Garrido | Garrido | 1957 | 3:35 |
7. | "Historia de un Amor" | Carlos E. Almarán | Almarán | 1955 | 3:55 |
8. | "Cómo Yo Te Amé" | Manzanero | Manzanero | 1986 | 3:30 |
9. | "Nosotros" | Pedro Junco | Junco | 1943 | 4:00 |
10. | "Yo Sé Que Volverás" | Luis Pérez Sabido | Manzanero | 1993 | 3:35 |
11. | "Delirio" | César Portillo de la Luz | Portillo de la Luz | 1956 | 4:34 |
The following information is from AllMusic and from the Segundo Romance liner notes. [14] [67]
Weekly charts
All-time charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Argentina (CAPIF) [59] | Diamond | 813,082 [78] |
Bolivia [54] | 2× Platinum | |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [56] | Gold | 100,000* |
Central America (CFC) [54] | 3× Platinum | |
Chile [58] | Diamond | 325,000 [79] |
Colombia [54] | 2× Platinum | 120,000 [80] |
Ecuador [54] | Platinum | |
Mexico (AMPROFON) [54] 1994 Sales | 5× Platinum | 2,000,000 [74] |
Paraguay [54] | 3× Platinum | |
Perú (IFPI Perú) [81] | 2× Platinum | 40,000 [82] |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [55] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [52] | Platinum | 603,000 [51] |
Uruguay (CUD) [54] | 3× Platinum | 18,000^ |
Venezuela [54] | 2× Platinum | 200,000 [83] |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide 1994 Sales | — | 4,500,000 [60] [84] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Mexican recording artist Luis Miguel has released 21 studio albums, 30 compilation albums, three extended plays (EP) two live albums, two soundtrack albums and five box set. Luis Miguel has sold over 60 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. Luis Miguel is also the artist with the second-most number ones on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with nine albums. At the age of 11, he released his debut studio album, Un Sol (1982), which was certified platinum and gold in Mexico. The artist would release four more studio albums under the record label EMI: Directo al Corazón (1982), Decídete (1983), También es Rock (1984), and Palabra de Honor (1984). A Portuguese-language version of Decídete and Palabra de Honor were released in Brazil as Decide Amor and Meu Sonho Perdido, respectively. Luis Miguel made his acting debut in the film as the lead role on Ya nunca más (1984) and recorded its soundtrack. In 1985, he participated in the Sanremo Music Festival 1985 with the song "Noi ragazzi di oggi"; it placed second in the Big Artist category and was later included on the Italian-language edition of Palabra de Honor. In the same year, Luis Miguel recorded the soundtrack for the film Fiebre de amor, which he co-starred with fellow Mexican singer Lucero.
Romance is the eighth studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. It was released by WEA Latina on 19 November 1991. Although the production was originally intended as another collaboration with Juan Carlos Calderón, that plan was scrapped when Calderón was unable to compose songs for the album. Facing a new-material deadline in his recording contract, at his manager's suggestion Miguel chose bolero music for his next project. Mexican singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero was hired by WEA Latina to co-produce the album with Miguel. Recording began in August 1991 at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, California, with Bebu Silvetti the arranger.
"El día que me quieras" is an Argentine tango with music by Carlos Gardel and lyrics by Alfredo Le Pera. It is considered one of the most popular songs of the 20th century and one of the best Latin songs of all time. Originally featured in the 1935 film of the same name, sung by Gardel himself, it became a heavily recorded tango standard, even by artists outside of the realm of tango. It has subsequently been covered by various artists such as Luis Miguel, Julio Iglesias, Michael Bolton Roberto Carlos, Raphael de España and Shlomo Idov who translated the song to Hebrew. The song was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. "El día que me quieras" was honored at the 2014 La Musa Awards as "La Canción de Todos los Tiempos". It was among the tango standards selected by Plácido Domingo for his 1981 album Plácido Domingo Sings Tangos. In addition to Domingo, the song has been covered by operatic tenors including José Carreras, Juan Diego Florez, Christian Ketter, and Alfredo Kraus.
Aries is the ninth studio album by Mexican recording artist Luis Miguel. It was released by WEA Latina on 22 June 1993. After attaining commercial success in 1991 with his previous album, Romance, Luis Miguel decided to return to a style similar to his earlier work, featuring pop ballads and dance numbers with R&B influences. The record was produced by Miguel, who was assisted by Kiko Cibrian, Rudy Pérez, David Foster, and Juan Luis Guerra.
Nada Es Igual is the eleventh studio album by Mexican recording artist Luis Miguel. It was released by WEA Latina on 20 August 1996. The album has a musical style similar to his previous pop album Aries (1993) on which Miguel performs power ballads and R&B tunes. Recording took place at the Record Plant Studios in February 1996, with production handled by Miguel and his longtime associate Kiko Cibrian. Its songwriting was assisted by Cibrian, Rudy Pérez, and Alejandro Lerner. The album was promoted by three singles: "Dame", "Cómo Es Posible Que a Mi Lado", and "Que Tú Te Vas"; the former became the most successful single reaching number two and number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Songs charts, respectively. To further promote the recording, Miguel launched the Tour America 1996 where he performed in several South American countries.
América & en Vivo is a live extended play (EP) by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. It was released on 25 September 1992 by WEA Latina. The EP consists of three live versions of "Inolvidable", No Sé Tú", and "Contigo en la Distancia" from his performance at the National Auditorium in Mexico during his Romance Tour on June 26, 1992, as well as a new track "America, America", originally performed by Nino Bravo. "America, America" was released as a single and peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. The EP was rated three out of five stars by an editor on AllMusic and received a positive review from Mario Taradell of the Miami Herald, who praised his vocals and the production of the EP. América & En Vivo peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and was certified platinum in Argentina by the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers (CAPIF).
El Concierto is the second live album by Mexican recording artist Luis Miguel, released on 17 October 1995 by WEA Latina. It was recorded from his performances at the National Auditorium in Mexico and at the José Amalfitani Stadium in 1994 during his Segundo Romance Tour. The album features live covers of José Alfredo Jiménez's songs, which were previously unreleased. The first two songs were released as singles, the former reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and the latter peaking at number three on the same chart.
Todos Los Romances is a box set compilation album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. Released on 11 August 1998 by WEA Latina, the record features the three previously released Romance-themed albums in which Miguel covered classic boleros in each of them: Romance (1991), Segundo Romance (1994), and Romances (1997). An editor for AllMusic rated the album four of five stars. Commercially, Todos Los Romances peaked at number four in Spain and was certified double Platinum in the country. It also achieved Gold status in Argentina and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard's Top Latin Albums in the United States.
The Romances Tour was a concert tour performed by Luis Miguel during the years 1997 and 1998 to promote his new album Romances. To present this album, two press conferences were held, one at the Rainbow Room in New York City and another at the Casino de Madrid, Spain.
America Tour 1996 was a short concert tour performed by Luis Miguel during the last part of 1996 to promote his album Nada Es Igual... It only lasted for one month and it only took place at some places in South America, like Buenos Aires, Argentina in the River Plate Stadium, Santiago de Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador and Brazil.
The El Concierto Tour was a concert tour performed by Luis Miguel, to further promote the album El Concierto which began on September 15, 1995, at the Circus Maximus Showroom in Las Vegas, Nevada and performed across several cities in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Venezuela. In November 19, Luis Miguel did a special appearance in Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, a television special celebrating Frank Sinatra's 80th birthday, which was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, performing the song "Come Fly with Me".
The Segundo Romance Tour was a concert tour performed by Luis Miguel during the last part of 1994 to promote his last album. He began the tour in Mexico before the official release of Segundo Romance, performing the new songs of the album on the 16 sold-out concerts at the National Auditorium in Mexico City.
"Hasta Que Me Olvides" is a song by Mexican singer Luis Miguel from his ninth studio album, Aries (1993). The song was composed by Dominican Republic singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra with Miguel and Kiko Cibrian handling the production. It was released as the album's second single in August 1993 by WEA Latina. A sentimental ballad, the song narrates the protagonist who insists on loving his partner until he is forgotten.
"Suave" (transl. "Smooth") is a song by Mexican singer Luis Miguel from his ninth studio album, Aries (1993). The song was composed by Kiko Cibrian and Orlando Castro with the former handling its production along with the artist. It is a dance number in which the singer describes a woman who bewitches him and becomes the woman of his dreams. The song received positive reactions from two music critics. It was acknowledged as an award-winning song at the 1995 Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) Latin Awards. Commercially, the song reached number nine on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States. Its music video was directed by Kiko Guerrero and filmed in Acapulco, Mexico, and features Miguel dancing in a beach with several women.
The Aries Tour was launched by Luis Miguel to some United States and Latin American countries to promote his album Aries. It began on 6 May 1993, in Guadalajara and ended on 24 July 1994, in Costa Rica.
The Romance Tour was launched by Luis Miguel to some United States countries, Latin American and Spain to promote his album Romance. During this tour he made the first season of his career in Las Vegas, performing four nights at Circus Maximus Showroom of Caesars Palace. He played a concert in Seville during the Universal Exposition 1992, and in the National Auditorium in Mexico City, where he broke the World Record by selling the 10,000 tickets for his only show in 3 hours. Near the end of the tour, he had to postpone two concerts in Argentina to travel to Spain, due to the death of his father Luisito Rey.
"La Media Vuelta" is a song written and performed by Mexican singer José Alfredo Jiménez released in 1963. One of Jiménez' most famous compositions, the song has become part of the traditional Mexican musical repertoire, and has been recorded by dozens of singers and groups.
"Todo y Nada" is a song written and performed by Mexican singer Vicente Garrido Calderón released in 1957 and originally recorded by Los Tres Ases and Lucho Gatica. It was covered by Mexican singer Luis Miguel on his album Segundo Romance (1994) where it was released as the third single from the album in 1995 and reached number three on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and number one on the Latin Pop Airplay charts, becoming his third number-one song on the latter chart. "Todo y Nada" became Miguel's third consecutive number-one song from Segundo Romance in Mexico; and became a top-five hit in Chile, Panama and Puerto Rico.
"Ayer" (transl. "Yesterday") is a song by Mexican singer Luis Miguel from his ninth studio album, Aries (1993). Miguel and Kiko Cibrian handled the song's production. It was released as the album's lead single on 17 May 1993 by WEA Latina. It is a Spanish-language adaptation of David Foster's instrumental "All That My Heart Can Hold" with lyrics written by Rudy Pérez. A sentimental ballad, the song conveys the singer's pride and pain of his frustrated dreams. Three music videos for the song were filmed at the Longoria Mansion in Mexico City and were nominated for Video of the Year at the Premio Lo Nuestro 1994. The ballad received positive reactions from music critics who favorably compared it to the ballads of his previous studio album, Romance (1991).
Luis Miguel, quién a pesar de las inumerables críticas en seis meses vendió, sólo en México, más de dos millones de copias de su disco de boleros Segundo Romance
Que los boleros están de moda no es ninguna novedad , pero que el Segundo Romance de Luis Miguel haya logrado un disco de platino ( 20,000 copias vendidas ) en el Perú en sólo 10 días , constituye todo un record en plena recesión.