Suavemente

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the album. For the title song, see Suavemente (Elvis Crespo song). For other uses, see Suavemente (disambiguation).

Suavemente
Bayamón)
GenreMerengue
Length41:38
LanguageSpanish
LabelSony Discos
Producer
  • Elvis Crespo
  • Luis A. Cruz
  • Roberto Cora
  • Papo Ríos
Elvis Crespo chronology
Suavemente
(1998) 		Píntame
(1999)
Singles from Suavemente
  1. "Suavemente"
    Released: April 4, 1998
  2. "Tu Sonrisa"
    Released: July 1998
  3. "Luna Llena"
    Released: November 1998
  4. "Nuestra Canción"
    Released: 1999
20 Anniversary Cover
Suavemente: 20 Anniversary re-edition cover

Suavemente (English: Smoothly) is the debut studio album by American

Latin music market. He collaborated with several songwriters and record producers to create an overall tropical music
-flavored recording.

With romantic

Top Latin Albums chart. Suavemente peaked at number 106 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Two of its singles, "Suavemente" and "Tu Sonrisa", topped the U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart; Crespo was recognized as becoming the first artist to have placed two merengue singles at number one. Suavemente was Crespo's commercial breakthrough, introducing him to the popular music market with the Spanglish
remix of its title track.

The album received several accolades, including Billboard Latin Music Awards for Album of the Year and New Artist Album of the Year and a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Tropical Performance. It won five Lo Nuestro Awards, including Tropical Album of the Year. The recording has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. Its title song remains a staple at Latin music nightclubs and festivals, while Suavemente has been ranked among the most essential Latin albums of the past 50 years by Billboard magazine.

Background

In 1993, brothers Héctor and Oscar Serrano formed Grupo Manía in Puerto Rico.[1] They enlisted Alfred Cotto, Reynaldo Santiago, and Elvis Crespo to tour and record two-step merengue music, popularizing the genre to a younger audience.[1] In 1996, Crespo left Grupo Manía and signed with Sony Music Latin (the company which signed his former band), beginning his solo career.[2][3] He said in a May 1999 Billboard interview that leaving the band was "a very hard decision", since they worked well together.[4] Crespo originally intended for "Suavemente" and "Tu Sonrisa", the singles which brought him international recognition, to be recorded with Grupo Manía.[4]

Release and promotion

The album was released in the United States on April 14, 1998.

Nielsen SoundScan.[11] Worldwide, it had sold more than 4 million of copies.[12][13]

Crespo performed at the 23rd New York Salsa Festival at

Frankie Negron, Tito Nieves, and Michael Stuart.[18] To promote Suavemente Crespo toured Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru in the first quarter of the year,[7] and he performed at Billboard's 10th annual Latin Music conference on April 20, 1999.[19]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]

In Billboard, Latin music contributor John Lannert called the album a "merengue-bomba disc"

Batanga magazine, Suavemente is "intoxicating, feverish, pure sabroso merengue. Sizzle in the summer streets to the fast-paced beats, ear busting horns and percussive stamina";[25] Latina magazine noted the album's "feverish beat".[26] Spanish-language magazine Vistazo called Crespo the new sensation of merengue music,[27] and his album a favorite of listeners who enjoy pachanga.[27]

Sony Music International Latin America president Frank Welzer called Crespo a "genius" who wrote "catchy fan-pleasing" songs.[7]
Terry Jenkins of AllMusic praised the album's "seductive Latin ballads" and found the focal mode of the recording to be sentimental, strong, lively, and swinging.[20] Business Wire noted its popularity in the American and Latino markets.[28] The Los Angeles Times called Suavemente and Crespo's repertoire "energy-packed".[29] Billboard's Lannert wrote that other Latin acts tried to emulate Crespo's style.[30]

Chart history

Suavemente debuted at number six on the U.S. Billboard

Memorial Day weekend), Suavemente moved up to number six.[35] For the week ending June 13, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 chart at number 170 and peaked at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart.[36] The next week it dropped to number three and 197 on the Top Latin Albums and Billboard 200 charts, respectively.[37] Suavemente sold 6,000 copies for the week ending June 13, rising to number two on the Top Latin Albums chart behind Ricky Martin's Vuelve.[38] The album dropped to third the following week.[39] Suavemente sold 6,000 copies the next week, rising to number two behind Vuelve.[40] After five weeks behind Vuelve, Suavemente passed it on the Top Latin Albums chart when its sales increased 16 percent to 8,600 copies.[41] For the week of August 8, 1998, it fell back to number two behind Vuelve.[14] After three weeks of declining sales, Suavemente was number three when it sold 5,000 copies as "Tu Sonrisa" (its second single) topped the Hot Latin Songs chart.[42] It ended 1998 as the year's eighth-bestselling Latin album.[43] Suavemente spent 98 consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the Top Latin Albums chart, the second-longest run in history.[44]

The album remained atop the U.S. Tropical Albums chart for seven consecutive weeks after its release.[22] It began sliding down the chart, but remained near the top. Suavemente returned to the top of the Tropical Albums chart after twelve weeks behind the Dance with Me soundtrack.[45] The following week it sold 4,000 copies, remaining at number one.[8] In the album's fourth consecutive week atop the chart, it sold 6,500 copies.[46] During its fifth straight week atop the Tropical Albums chart, it sold 6,000 copies, down 16 percent.[47] Suavemente ended 1998 as the fourth-bestselling tropical-music album.[43] In its ninth consecutive week atop the Tropical Albums chart the album sold 7,000 copies, down 17 percent from the previous week.[48] The following week, its tenth consecutive at number one, it sold 7,500 copies (up seven percent).[49] For the week ending February 6, 1999, although sales of Suavemente dipped 13 percent to 6,500 copies the album remained atop the chart.[18] On the February 27, 1999, chart, album sales increased by 67 percent.[50] The following week sales decreased 30 percent to 7,000 copies, but Suavemente remained atop the Tropical Albums chart for its fourteenth straight week.[51]

The album debuted at number 43 on the U.S. Billboard

Heatseekers Albums chart for the week ending May 2, 1998;[31] the following week, it rose to number 39.[32] For the week ending May 16, the album jumped to number 13;[6] the following week, it rose to number nine.[33] In subsequent weeks, the album continued to rise up the chart; for the week ending June 13, it was number five.[36]

Singles

After "Suavemente" debuted at number 15 on the U.S. Billboard

Hot 100 chart,[9] peaking at number 84.[56]

The album's second single, "Tu Sonrisa", was distributed to U.S. radio stations in the second week of July 1998. It debuted at number 21 on the U.S. Hot Latin Tracks chart, as "Suavemente" remained in the top five.[22] The song peaked at number one on the Tropical Songs chart, Crespo's second number one.[14] "Tu Sonrisa" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart in its sixth week, the singer's second number one on that chart.[42] It displaced "Te Quiero Tanto Tanto" by Mexican Latin pop group Onda Vaselina, and Crespo became the first merengue artist with two number-one Hot Latin Tracks singles.[42] After a week at number one, "Tu Sonrisa" was displaced by Gloria Estefan's "Oye!".[57] A week later it again topped the chart for one week before being displaced by "Perdido Sin Ti", Martin's fourth single from Vuelve.[58] After the success of "Suavemente"'s bilingual version, Sony Music distributed a club mix of "Tu Sonrisa" to radio stations in February 1999.[7] Billboard Latin music contributor Leila Cobo called the song "catchy"[59] and (with "Suavemente") "irresistible".[54] "Tu Sonrisa" is the fifteenth-most-successful Sony Discos single on the Hot Latin Tracks chart since the chart was established in 1999.[60]

"Luna Llena", Suavemente's third single, debuted and peaked at number 29 on the Hot Latin Tracks chart for the week ending December 12, 1998.[46] It dropped off the chart after a week[47] before charting on Hot Latin Tracks and Tropical Songs at 33 and 13, respectively, for the week ending January 16, 1999.[61] The song peaked at 26 and 11 on the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts, respectively.[56] The fourth and final single from the album, "Nuestra Cancion", was less successful; it peaked at number 17 on the Tropical Songs chart in 1999.[56]

Impact

Suavemente is considered to have revolutionized

percussion that evokes an endless state of euphoria, according to Santiago.[68]

At the

2010.[69] He won New Artist Album of the Year and Latin Dance Maxi-Single of the Year.[17] Crespo was the Latin 50 Artist of the Year at the 2000 Billboard Latin Music Awards (the top-selling Latin artist from January 1999 to January 2000).[21] He was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Performance in 1999,[61] losing to Marc Anthony's Contra la Corriente.[70] At the 11th Premio Lo Nuestros, Crespo received six nominations and won five awards: Tropical Album of the Year, Tropical Song of the Year, Tropical Male Artist of the Year, Tropical-Salsa Duo or Group of the Year (shared with Milly Quezada), and Tropical New Artist of the Year.[71][72]

20th anniversary

On April 11, 2019, the album was re-released to celebrate its 20th anniversary.[73] Nine of its tracks were redone into a salsa or mambo version. The song "Abracadabra" was added.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Suavemente"Elvis Crespo04:28
2."Nuestra Canción"Homero d'Rodriguez03:30
3."Luna Llena"Raldy Vázquez04:26
4."Me Arrepiento"Luis A. Cruz03:47
5."Princesita"Juan L. Guzman04:49
6."Tu Sonrisa"Crespo04:34
7."Yo Me Moriré"Juan Perez03:33
8."Llorando"Crespo03:57
9."Por Qué?"Vázquez04:25
10."Te Vas"Vázquez04:19
20th Anniversary
No.TitleLength
11."Abracadabra"04:25
  • Alternate version of Track #1-9 were made for this edition.
  • The song "Te Vas" was the only song from the original edition not included nor remade. It was replaced by the song Abracadabra released in 2019. It was the only merengue in this edition as the other 9 songs were remade for another genre.

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.[20]

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[76] 2× Platinum 181,000[77]
Central America (CFC)[7] Platinum  
Mexico (AMPROFON)[78] Platinum+Gold 350,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[79] Gold 150,000[80]
United States (RIAA)[81] Platinum 879,000[11]
Uruguay (CUD)[82] 2× Platinum 12,000^
Summaries
Europe — 500,000[10]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Morales 2003, p. 250.
  2. ^ a b Morales 2003, p. 249.
  3. ^ Lannert, John (July 25, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 30. p. 57. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Ross, Karl (August 18, 2001). "Merengue Crew Stays On Winning Streak". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 33. p. 32. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  5. Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Lannert, John (May 16, 1998). "Elvis Crespo Has His Own Shakin' Goin' On". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 20. p. 45. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ross, Karl (February 20, 1999). "The Smooth Solo Success of Elvis Crespo". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 8. p. 38. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Lannert, John (November 28, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 48. p. 38. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  9. ^ a b Lannert, John (January 9, 1999). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 1. p. 32. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Watrous, Peter (May 24, 1999). "For Latin Music, New Worlds To Conquer; English-Speaking Fans Discover a Spanish Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Estevez, Marjua (October 17, 2017). "The Top 25 Biggest Selling Latin Albums of the Last 25 Years: Selena, Shakira & More". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  12. ^ Túa, Lynet Santiago. "Elvis Crespo celebra 20 años de su éxito "Suavemente"". Metro (in Spanish). Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  13. ^ LIVE, L. A. "Grammy Award Winning Merengue Fusion Star Elvis Crespo's L.A. Performance with his Orchestra at The Conga Room Thursday May 19, 2011 | L.A. LIVE". www.lalive.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c "Hot Latin Songs > August 8, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 32. August 8, 1998. p. 45. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  15. ^ Lannert, John (September 26, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 39. p. 49. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  16. ^ Lannert, John (October 24, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 43. p. 54. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h Lannert, John (April 24, 1999). "10th Annual Latin Music Conference". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 17. pp. 47, 67, 79. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Lannert, John (February 6, 1999). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 5. p. 43. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  19. ^ Lannert, John (November 14, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 46. p. 42. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  20. ^
    Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  21. ^ a b c Lannert, John (April 29, 2000). "And the Award Goes to". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 18. p. 62. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  22. ^ a b c d Lannert, John (July 25, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 30. p. 58.
  23. ^ Phelps 2008, p. 228.
  24. ^ Shaw & Dennison 2005, p. 29.
  25. Batanga
    (7–10): 27. 2004.
  26. ^ "Idaho: Shaping Up Moms As Role Models". Latina. 11: 476. November 2006.
  27. ^ a b "Unknown Title". Vistazo. January 1999. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  28. ^ "Elvis Crespo Earns Grammy Nomination for Latin Smash "Suavemente"". Business Wire. 1999. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  29. ^ "Latin Grammy Award Winner, Elvis Crespo, Brings Merengue to Musical Line-Up of La 2da Edicion Premios Fox Sports". Los Angeles Times. November 29, 2004. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  30. ^ Lannert, John (April 22, 2000). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 17. p. 50. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  31. ^ a b "Heateekers Albums > May 2, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 18. May 2, 1998. pp. 20, 47, 48. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  32. ^ a b "Top Latin Albums > May 9, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 19. May 9, 1998. pp. 29, 53, 54. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  33. ^ a b c "Top Latin Albums > May 23, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 21. May 23, 1998. p. 58. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  34. ^ Lannert, John (May 30, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 22. p. 65. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  35. ^ Lannert, John (June 6, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 23. p. 60. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  36. ^ a b "Heatseekers Albums > June 13, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 24. June 13, 1998. p. 21. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  37. ^ Lannert, John (June 20, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 25. p. 55. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  38. ^ Lannert, John (June 13, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 26. p. 60. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  39. ^ "Top Latin Albums > June 20, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 25. June 20, 1998. p. 55. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  40. ^ Lannert, John (June 27, 1998). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 26. p. 60. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  41. ^ "Hot Latin Songs". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 31. August 1, 1998. p. 57. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  42. ^ a b c d "Hot Latin Songs > August 29, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 35. August 29, 1998. p. 66. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  43. ^ a b c d e f g Lannert, John (December 28, 1998). "The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. p. YE-28. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  44. ^ Mayfield, Geoff (May 31, 2003). "Over the Counter". Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 22. p. 87. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  45. ^ "Top Latin Albums > November 21, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 47. November 21, 1998. p. 50. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  46. ^ a b "Hot Latin Tracks > December 12, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 50. December 12, 1998. p. 42. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  47. ^ a b "Hot Latin Tracks > December 19, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 51. December 19, 1998. p. 36. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  48. ^ "Hot Latin Songs > January 23, 1999". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 3. January 23, 1999. p. 45. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  49. ^ "Hot Latin Songs > January 30, 1999". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 4. January 30, 1999. p. 42. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  50. ^ "Hot Latin Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 9. February 27, 1999. p. 44. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  51. ^ Lannert, John (March 6, 1999). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 10. p. 47. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  52. ^ "Top Latin Albums > April 28, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 17. April 28, 1998. p. 46. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  53. The Huffington Post
    . Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  54. ^ a b Cobo, Leila (October 21, 2000). "Sony Discos' Crespo Unleashes WOW Flash!". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 43. p. 105. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  55. ^ Llewellyn, Howell (February 19, 2000). "Crossing the Pond". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 8. p. 48. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  56. ^ a b c "Suavemente > Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  57. ^ "Hot Latin Tracks > September 5, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 36. September 5, 1998. p. 88. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  58. ^ "Hot Latin Tracks > September 19, 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 38. September 19, 1998. p. 72. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  59. ^ Cobo, Leila (May 18, 2002). "Crespo Turns 'Urbano' For Sony Discos". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 20. p. 55. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  60. ^ a b Mayfield, Geoff (November 20, 1999). "Charting Sony Discos' Success". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 47. p. 74. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  61. ^ a b "Hot Latin Tracks > January 16, 1999". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 2. January 16, 1999. p. 40. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  62. ^ Cobo, Leila (June 2, 2007). "Merengue Melange". Billboard. Vol. 119, no. 22. p. 18. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  63. ^ Sellers 2004, p. 168.
  64. ^ "The 50 Greatest Latin Albums of the Past 50 Years". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  65. ^ Brusca 2011, p. 46.
  66. ^ Pritchard & Russo 2010, p. 48.
  67. ^ Santana 2005, p. 115.
  68. ^ Santiago, Gio (September 27, 2022). "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  69. ^ "2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards" (PDF). Billboardevents.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  70. ^ "Top Grammy nominations". The Register-Guard. Guard Publishing. January 6, 1999. Retrieved April 24, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  71. Univision Communications. Archived from the original
    on June 26, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  72. ^ "¿Quiénes se llevarán esta noche el Premio Lo Nuestro "99?". Panamá América (in Spanish). Grupo Epasa. May 6, 1999. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  73. ^ "Suavemente 20 Anniversary". Amazon.
  74. ^ a b "The Year in Music 1999". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 52. December 25, 1999. pp. 10, 12. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  75. ^ "The Year in Music 2000". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 53. December 30, 2000. p. 32. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  76. Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original
    on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  77. ^ Lannert, John. "Frank Welzer". Billboard. p. 64.
  78. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type Elvis Crespo in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Suavemente in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  79. ISBN 978-84-8048-639-2
    .
  80. ^ "Elvis Crespo: suavemente latino". ABC (in Spanish). p. 127.
  81. ^ "American album certifications – Elvis Crespo – Suavemente". Recording Industry Association of America.
  82. ^ "Premios – 1999" (in Spanish). Cámara Uruguaya del Disco.

Sources

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Suavemente&oldid=1217023895"