Ojos Así

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"Ojos Así"
¿Dónde Están los Ladrones?
ReleasedOctober 1999 (1999-10)
StudioCrescent Moon Studios, Miami, Florida
GenreDance-pop[1] • Worldbeat • Arabic music
Length3:57
LabelSony Discos
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Shakira
Producer(s)
  • Shakira
  • Pablo Flores
  • Javier Garza
Shakira singles chronology
"No Creo"
(1999) 		"Ojos Así"
(1999) 		"Moscas en la Casa"
(1999)
Music video
"Ojos Así" on
YouTube

"Ojos Así" is a song by Colombian singer

Arabic pop, the lyrics tell of the singer traveling the world but not having seen eyes like her lover's. It was released as the album's fifth single in October 1999 by Sony Discos. It was written by Shakira, composed and produced by her, Pablo Flores, and Javier Garza. The song was later adapted into English by Gloria Estefan as "Eyes Like Yours" and included on her first English studio album Laundry Service
(2001).

Music critics praised "Ojos Así" as one of the album's best tracks. "Eyes Like Yours", however, was met with a less favorable reception, with reviewers commenting that it paled compared to the original. At the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards in 2000, "Ojos Así" won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and received a Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Latin Award in 2002.

An accompanying music video that depicts Shakira performing the song in front of a crowd and belly dancing was nominated in the category of Latin Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 2000. The song was included in the set list for the Tour Anfibio (2000), Tour of the Mongoose (2002–03), and The Sun Comes Out World Tour (2010–11). Shakira also performed an acoustic version of the song for her first live album, MTV Unplugged (2000). It ranked on several charts in Europe and was a top-ten hit on the Billboard Latin Pop Airplay chart in the United States.

Background and composition

"Ojos Así"
A sample of "Ojos Así", which incorporates a "Lambadalike middle eastern rhythm".[2]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

After rising to prominence with the success of her major-label debut album Pies Descalzos (1995), Shakira was introduced to Emilio Estefan, then the most important producer in the Hispanic market, by her promoter and longtime friend, Jairo Martínez. Estefan was renowned for launching the careers of several Hispanic singers, including Thalía and his wife Gloria Estefan.[3] He decided to work with Shakira as he identified her potential to break into the US Latin market, though one of Shakira's concerns about working with him was creative control over her music. Before signing their contract, the roles and duties were finalized: Estefan would be her manager and executive producer, but she would be in charge of all material and arrangements and have final approval over her records. She later stated about Estefan, "He had a great respect for me as an artist and trusted me totally on this project."[3] They started working on Estefan's Crescent Moon Studios in Miami, Florida.[4][3] She insisted on perfection, working on the material to the point of exhaustion. "I made two or three demos of each song. I became a human being so demanding of myself that until the song made my hair stand on end, I wouldn't stop".[3]

Equipment for the recording of her subsequent album

Arabic pop,[8] the song characterizes Shakira as a globetrotter jaded by life's experiences whose soul is revitalized by the amorous gaze of her crush.[9] The singer bemoans that, despite having traversed the distance from Beirut to Bahrain, she has yet to encounter "eyes like yours".[2] The track is sung mostly in Spanish, a few verses in Arabic, and has a backing chorus performing in the latter language.[3][10]

The success of Dónde Están los Ladrones? prompted Gloria Estefan, to persuade Shakira to record the album in English and attempt to

cross over into the mainstream pop industry.[11] However, she was initially hesitant to record songs in English as it was not her first language, so Estefan offered to translate "Ojos Así" into English in order to show her that "it could translate well".[11] Shakira then began translating the song herself and showed it to Gloria Estefan, and would say, "Quite honestly, I can't do this better!"[11] As Shakira wanted to have full control over her recordings, she decided to learn English better to enable her to write her own songs.[12] She was supposed to return to the studio to record an English-language version of the album in January 1999.[13] It did not come to fruition, and a new album titled Laundry Service was released instead as her first crossover album.[12] Despite the cancellation of the project, the English-language version of "Ojos Así" still appeared on Laundry Service as "Eyes Like Yours".[14]

Promotion

"Ojos Así" was released to radio stations worldwide by

belly dancing and performing in front of a crowd.[20] At the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards in 2000, it was nominated in the category of Latin Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video,[21] which went to "No Me Dejes de Querer" by Gloria Estefan.[22] The video won the International Viewer's Choice Award (North) at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, and was also nominated for the same award in the South category, losing to "La Vida" by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs.[23][24]

Live performances

"Ojos Así" was included on the

live album, MTV Unplugged (2000).[30] She also performed "Ojos Así" at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards.[31] During a specific rendition of "Ojos Asi" in San Diego in 2003, Shakira commenced her concert with this song, eliciting exultation from the audience as she belly-danced in sync with the tune.[32] She sang it during the Rock in Rio festivals in Portugal in 2006 and Spain in 2007.[33][34] It was also performed at the 2010 Glastonbury Festival and the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020.[35][36]

Reception

AllMusic reviewer Alex Henderson compared Shakira to Alanis Morissette and stated, "it would be hard to imagine her coming up with something as poetic as the Middle Eastern fantasy that Shakira vividly describes on her Arabic-influenced mega-hit 'Ojos Así'".[37] John Lannert of Billboard called "Ojos Así" the album's "most satisfying track".[38] The Hispanic magazine editor Mark Holston felt that the song "evokes the singer's Middle Eastern roots on a performance that effectively blends World Beat rhythms with Shakira's earthy vocals".[39] Writing for The Modesto Bee, Steve Morse elucidated how Shakira, through her song "Ojos Asi", did not forsake her Middle Eastern heritage, as evidenced by the presence of distinct Arab musical elements in the piece.[32] The Los Angeles Times reviewer Ernesto Lechner called it "superb".[40]

Critics were less favorable towards the English version. While calling the translation an "admirable" attempt, the Democrat and Chronicle writer Ramiro Burr commented that it "doesn't have the fire and snap of the original".[41] In a scathing review of the album, Arturo Garcia from The Wichita Eagle criticized it as "nothing less than a perversion of the original".[42] Writing for the Knight Ridder, Elio Leturia felt that while the track is "[v]ibrant and highly romantic, it loses its richness of its Spanish counterpart".[43] The Sacramento Bee reviewers Chris Macias and Bruce Dancis described the song as a "clunky trip to the nightclubs of Kashmir".[44]

At the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards in 2000, "Ojos Así" won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.[22] It won an award at the 2002 BMI Latin Awards.[45] In 2022, it was listed as one of the 200 greatest dance songs of all time by Rolling Stone.[46]

Commercially, "Ojos Así" ranked in several European charts including Belgium (in both Flanders and Wallonia),[47][48] France,[49] the Netherlands,[50][51] and Switzerland.[52] In the United States, the track peaked at number 22 and 9 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts.[53][54]

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Dónde Están los Ladrones?.[7]

Track listings

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Ojos Así"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[61] Gold 30,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[62] 2× Platinum 120,000‡
United States (RIAA)[63] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Adaptations

The song was adapted in Greek by Natasa Theodoridou with the title "Καταζητείται" (Wanted) in her 2001 album Υπ' ευθύνη μου (I'm in charge).[64]

References

  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (6 February 2023). "The Number Ones: Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" (Feat. Wyclef Jean)". Stereogum. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b Roche, Michael (1 January 1999). "Shakira: Donde Estan los Ladrones?". Orlando Sentinel. p. X4. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0743216234
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  4. ^ "Driven: Shakira". VH1. Archived from the original on 15 January 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Shakira contraataca". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 25 September 1998. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  6. ^ Henderson, Alex. "Dónde Están los Ladrones? – Shakira". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  7. ^ a b Dónde Están los Ladrones? (CD liner notes). Shakira. Columbia. 1998. EPC 485719 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Patton, Alli (December 2022). "10 Essential Shakira Songs from "Beautiful Liar" to "Hips Don't Lie"". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  9. ProQuest 268818966. Archived
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  11. ^ a b c Romero, Angie (29 September 2011). "Gloria Estefan Week: Will There Ever Be Another Shakira? Gloria Thinks So!". Latina. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  12. ^ a b Heuy, Steve. "Shakira – Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  13. ISSN 0006-2510
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  14. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived
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  35. ^ Swinton, Elizabeth (2 February 2020). "Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show Setlist: Every Song Jennifer Lopez, Shakira Performed". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
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  39. ProQuest 236991385. Archived
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  41. ^ Burr, Ramiro (17 November 2001). "Pop Artist Shakira Leaps Over Language Barrier". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 1C. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via ProQuest.
  42. Wichita Eagle. p. 3E. Archived
    from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ^ Leturia, Elio (11 January 2002). "Leight Has What it Takes to 'Conquer' Fans". Lincoln Journal Star. p. 18. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ^ Macias, Chris; Dancis, Bruce (25 November 2001). "From Latin Angst to S. African Soul". The Sacramento Bee. p. 8. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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  46. ^ Jon, Dolan (22 July 2022). "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  47. ^ a b "Shakira – Ojos asi" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  48. ^ a b "Shakira – Ojos asi" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
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    Les classement single
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  52. ^ a b "Shakira – Ojos asi". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  53. ^ a b "Shakira Chart History (Hot Latin Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
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  55. ^ Ojos Así (Media notes). Shakira. United States: Columbia. 1999. PMD 54099.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  56. ^ "Britney Spears se coloca entre las más escuchadas". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 17 October 1999. p. 88. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
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    on 14 May 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
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  61. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Shakira – Ojos Así" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  62. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 23 February 2022. Type Shakira in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Ojos Así in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  63. ^ "American single certifications – Shakira – Ojos Así". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  64. ^ Πετρωτού, Ελευθερία (21 November 2022). "Τριάντα ελληνικά τραγούδια που είναι διασκευές ξένων - Οι εκπλήξεις της λίστας (vids)". mynews.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 22 December 2023.
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