Selena (album)

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Selena
Studio album by
Selena
ReleasedOctober 17, 1989
Recorded1988–89
Genre
Length28:59
Language
EMI Latin
ProducerA.B. Quintanilla III
Selena chronology
Dulce Amor
(1988) 		Selena
(1989) 		16 Super Exitos Originales
(1990)
Selena studio album chronology
Dulce Amor
(1988) 		Selena
(1989) 		Ven Conmigo
(1990)
Singles from Selena
  1. "Contigo Quiero Estar"
    Released: February 1989[1]
  2. "Mentiras"
    Released: 1989
  3. "Sukiyaki"
    Released: 1990

Selena is the self-titled debut

crossover request for the singer. The project was denied by the heads of EMI Records' pop division, believing the singer should first strengthen her fanbase. Selena's brother and principal record producer and songwriter, A.B. Quintanilla III fought to remain the singer's producer. The band introduced Pete Astudillo and Joe Ojeda, who contributed to the album's experimental
production and songwriting. Aside from A.B., Selena worked with two Mexican songwriters, Alejandro Montealegre and Reinaldo Ornelas.

Because Selena was the singer's first work on a major label, the album was expected to draw and lure large audiences to Selena. The goal of the album was to be introductory into the international

Female Vocalist of the Year and Female Entertainer of the Year at the 1990 Tejano Music Awards. Songs from the album, "Contigo Quiero Estar" was nominated for Song of the Year
, while "Amame, Quiereme" was nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year.

Selena increased the singer's popularity, she became a sex icon after the album's release. Critics called the recording a moderate success that eventually "opened the doors" for the group. Beginning with Selena, the singer and her band began experimenting with various genres that led to the introduction of cumbia music. The genre was heavily used in subsequent releases, which became her trademark. The album spawned three singles, "Contigo Quiero Estar", "Mentiras", and a Spanish-language version of a Japanese song called "Sukiyaki".

Background and production

After starting

Mexican-American woman could have "crossover potential" after Charles Koppelman denied the project.[5] The company believed Selena had potential in Mexico and South American markets when they signed the singer in 1989.[11]

Initially, EMI Latin wanted a

music production.[13]

Recording and composition

"Sukiyaki" (1989)
"Sukiyaki" was a 1960s Japanese pop song translated into Spanish from an English-language version written by Janice Marie Johnson.[13]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Selena was recorded in its entirety, with the exception of "

cumbia music, a genre the band used heavily in subsequent releases.[13] "Besitos" became a platform for the group in producing more cumbia-flavored tracks in Selena's second studio release, Ven Conmigo (1990).[13]

Abraham suggested the idea of writing "Sukiyaki"—a 1960s Japanese song by Kyu Sakamoto—into a Spanish-language song.[13] He expressed his interest after an English-language version by A Taste of Honey was released.[13] Abraham worked with Astudillo to write the recording. The lyrics used were a Spanish version of an English version of the song by Janice Marie Johnson.[13] Vela confirmed that he was supposed to help with the writing process of "Sukiyaki" but did not contribute.[13] Vela expressed how Astudillo's songwriting skills and Spanish were more advanced and overall preferred Astudillo in writing "Sukiyaki".[13] Joe Nick Patoski wrote in Texas Monthly that "Sukiyaki" is a "sentimental" track.[18]

Astudillo was due to record

Madonna.[17] Vela was chosen to record the accordion on "Mentiras", though he expressed how his instrument was not up to par and had faulty sounds that sounded "un-accordion".[13] The group decided to hire professional studio accordions after Vela's "cringy" sounding instrument was brought to the band's attention.[13] A.B. desperately needed more materials to record for Selena, Vela wrote some parts for a song called "Tengo Ganas de Llorar". In retrospect, Vela said how his part was not satisfactory even though A.B. liked it, for which Vela said he was "just being polite, so he let it pass because we needed another song".[13] Though A.B. remained the singer's principle record producer and songwriter, he did not compose "Sukiyaki" (Abraham/Astudillo), "Contigo Quiero Estar" (Alejandro Montealegre), and "No Te Vayas" (Reinaldo Ornelas).[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[19]

Selena was initially scheduled for a summer 1989 release,

Ramon Hernandez about Selena's nose "looking too flat."[15]

Because the album was released on a major record label, Selena expected presentation to a larger, global audience.

music chart.[21] It promptly slipped off the charts the following week but returned to number 15 after the holiday season.[22] Selena rose to number 12 for the week ending January 27, 1990.[23] The album peaked at number seven in its seventh week on March 24, 1990.[24] It was Selena's highest peaking album, until Ven Conmigo surpassed it a year later.[11] During the twenty-year celebration of Selena-released music, Selena was repackaged and re-made available for physical and digital purchase on September 22, 2002.[25] This limited-edition version included Selena's top 20 single "La Bamba" from (1987), as well as spoken liner notes with commentary and recollections of each track provided by the singer's family, friends, and band.[25]

The album performed better than other recordings from other contemporary female Tejano singers.[26] Selena became the "dominant female vocalist in a predominately-male industry."[11] The album's tour sent Selena to Arizona, New Mexico, Indiana, Illinois, Washington state, and Florida, areas where she had not been in prior demand.[17] Selena was responsible "for bringing a certain charm, innovative spirit, and new perspective [to Tejano music]."[11] Other critics attested that it was a "door-opener" for the group in the Tejano market.[27] This was echoed by Billboard magazine, who believed Selena's recordings were not successful until she signed with EMI Latin and released Selena in 1989.[28] Author Lee Stacy wrote that Selena "achieved reasonable success."[29]

Selena's popularity increased following the album's success and her provocative image made her a musical sex icon.

Female Vocalist of the Year and Female Entertainer of the Year.[32] A.B. was nominated for Songwriter of the Year.[33] Songs from the album, "Contigo Quiero Estar" were nominated for Song of the Year,[33] and "Amame, Quiereme" was nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year.[34]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tú Eres"
3:04
2."Sukiyaki"
3:12
3."Contigo Quiero Estar"Alejandro Montealegre3:13
4."Besitos"Quintanilla III3:00
5."Amame, Quiéreme"Quintanilla III3:42
6."Tengo Ganas De Llorar"
3:32
7."My Love"Selena3:16
8."Quiero Ser"
  • Quintanilla III
  • Astudillo
2:34
9."Mentiras"
  • Quintanilla III
  • Astudillo
2:54
10."No Te Vayas"Reinaldo Ornelas2:23
2002 re-release bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."La Bamba" (Anthology remix; originally from And the Winner Is..., 1987)Traditional3:54
12."Spoken Liner Notes: Intro" 2:53
13."Spoken Liner Notes: Sukiyaki" 1:27
14."Spoken Liner Notes: Contigo Quiero Estar" 0:35
15."Spoken Liner Notes: Besitos" 1:22
16."Spoken Liner Notes: Amame, Quiereme" 2:05
17."Spoken Liner Notes: Tengo Ganas De Llorar" 0:25
18."Spoken Liner Notes: My Love" 0:41
19."Spoken Liner Notes: Mentiras" 0:36
20."Spoken Liner Notes: No Te Vayas" 0:27
21."Spoken Liner Notes: Outro" 0:22

Personnel

Credits are taken from the album's liner notes.[13]

2012 re-issue
  • Jorge A. Pino L. – executive producer
  • Guillhermo J. Page – producer
  • Suzette Quintanilla – liner notes producer
  • Lisette Lorenzo –
    art direction
  • Brian "Red" Moore – liner notes recorder

Charts

Weekly charts

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Anon. & 1989 (a), p. 13.
  2. ^ Verhovek 1995.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rivas 2014.
  4. ^ Burr 1995.
  5. ^ a b c d e Anon. 2008.
  6. ^ Mitchell 1995.
  7. ^ Gersham 1997.
  8. ^ Clark 2005.
  9. ^ Lopetegui 1995.
  10. ^ Minnick 2010.
  11. ^ a b c d Joseph 2018, p. 328.
  12. ^ a b c Ramirez 2015.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Quintanilla 1989.
  14. ^ a b c d Caicedo 1989, p. 138.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Patoski 1996, p. 82.
  16. ^ Peña 2002, p. 204.
  17. ^ a b c d e Patoski 1996, p. 81.
  18. ^ Patoski 2010.
  19. ^ Erlewine & n.d. (a).
  20. ^ Patoski 1996, pp. 81–82.
  21. ^ a b Anon. 1989, p. 23.
  22. ^ Anon. & 1990 (a).
  23. ^ Anon. & 1990 (b).
  24. ^ a b Anon. & 1990 (c).
  25. ^ a b Erlewine & n.d. (b).
  26. ^ Peña 2002, p. 205.
  27. ^ Maldonado 1989, p. 37.
  28. ^ Lannert 1997.
  29. ^ Stacy 2002, p. 746.
  30. ^ Peña 2002, p. 206.
  31. ^ Anon. 2002.
  32. ^ Anon. n.d.
  33. ^ a b Flores 1990, p. 16.
  34. ^ Pérez 2012.
  35. ^ Anon. & 1990 (d), p. YE-50.

Bibliography

  • "Regional Mexican Albums > December 2, 1989". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 45. Prometheus Global Media. December 2, 1989.
  • "Hispanic Musician Climbing the Charts". The Tyler Courier-Time. April 6, 1989. p. 13.
  • "Regional Mexican Albums > January 13, 1990". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 2. January 13, 1990.
  • "Regional Mexican Albums > January 27, 1990". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 4. January 27, 1990.
  • "Regional Mexican Albums > March 24, 1990". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 12. March 24, 1990.
  • "1990 in Music". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 52. December 22, 1990. p. YE-50.
  • "Selena". Latin Style (45). 2002. The song "My Love," was written by Selena and samples from contemporary pop influences. Other songs like "Sukiyaki" (a cover of Kyu Sakamoto's 1963 hit), "Amame, Quiéreme" (her first duet with Pete Astudillo), and the cumbia "Besitos", played a pivotal role on how Selena mixed rhythm and sound, which became her trademark.
  • Anon. (November 26, 2008). "Selena: Biography".
    A&E
    .
  • Lopetegui, Enrique (April 8, 1995). "A Crossover Dream Halted Prematurely, Tragically Some Ambitious Plans Were Under Way to Bring Selena to Mainstream U.S. Audience". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  • Minnick, Doug (September 24, 2010). "Jose Behar, interview". Taxi A&R. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  • Howe Verhovek, Sam (April 1, 1995). "Grammy Winning Singer Selena Killed in Shooting at Texas Motel". The New York Times. p. 1.
  • Burr, Ramiro (February 12, 1995). "Selena takes 6 honors to dominate Tejano Music Awards". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  • Adolfo, Flores (December 9, 1990). "Tejano Music Celebrates in Awards Show". Del Rio News Herald. Retrieved April 14, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  • "Tejano Music Past Award Winners". Texas Talent Association. Archived from the original on September 30, 2000. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  • Allmusic
    . Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  • Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Selena > List of releases". Allmusic. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  • ISBN 978-1-101-58026-4
    .
  • Ramirez, Rauly (March 31, 2015). "Celebrating Selena on her 20th anniversary". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 8, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  • Rivas, Robert. "Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. Interview". YouTube. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  • Peña, Manuel (2002). Música Tejana. Texas A&M University.
    ISBN 978-0-89096-888-8
    .
  • Lannert, John (5 April 1997). "Notas". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 14. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  • Stacy, Lee (2002). Mexico and the United States. New York: Marshall Cavendish.
    ISBN 0-7614-7402-1
    .
  • Caicedo, Harry (June 4, 1989). "First Album in the Works". The Monitor. Retrieved April 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Morales, Ed (2003). The Latin Beat (1st ed.). Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.
    ISBN 0-306-81018-2
    .
  • Maldonado, Vilma (April 24, 1989). "Selena". The Monitor. Retrieved April 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Mitchell, Rick (May 21, 1995). "Selena". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
  • Gershman, Rick (18 March 1997). "Selena's legacy".
    St. Petersburg Times. Times Publishing Company
    . Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  • Clark, Michael (25 March 2005). "Ten years after her murder, Selena lives on". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  • Quintanilla, Selena (1989). Selena (Media notes).
    EMI Latin
    . 724354099403.
  • Patoski, Joe Nick (2010). Texas Monthly on Texas Women.
    ISBN 978-0-292-77360-8
    .
  • Joseph, Harriet Denise (2018). From Santa Anna to Selena: Notable Mexicanos and Tejanos in Texas History since 1821.
    ISBN 978-1574417234
    .
  • Patoski, Joe Nick (1996). Selena: Como La Flor. Boston: Little Brown and Company.
    ISBN 0-316-69378-2
    .

External links


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