"Amor" ( en, "Love") is a song written and performed by Mexican singer

Cristian Castro Christian Sáinz Valdés Castro (born 8 December 1974), known professionally as Cristian Castro or Cristian, is a Mexican pop singer. He is the son of actors Veronica Castro and Manuel "El Loco" Valdés, and nephew of actors Ramón Valdés ...

and produced by Daniel Freiberg. It was released as the lead single for Castro's fourth studio album ''

El Deseo de Oír Tu Voz ''El Deseo de Oír Tu Voz'' (English: ''The Wish of Hear Your Voice'') is the fourth studio album recorded by Mexican singer-songwriter Cristian Castro. It was released by Fonovisa Records on 23 January 1996 (see 1996 in music This is a ...

'' in 1995 by Melody Records. It is an acoustic

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

song in which the singer asks love to give him a chance. In the United States, it reached the summit of the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs and spent 11 weeks at this position. In 1996, it ended as the second-best performing Latin song of the year in the country. "Amor" also reached number one on the

Latin Pop Songs Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established ...

compiled by the same publication. A music video for "Amor" was filmed in Rome, Italy and directed by Castro, featuring the artist performing various stunts in the city.

Background and music video

Following the release of his third studio album '' El Camino del Alma'' (1994), Cristian Castro took a hiatus from the music scene to study

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. By the end of 1995, Castro mentioned that he was finalizing material for his next studio album which he recorded in New York City. On 19 January 1996, he announced the name of his next album, ''

'', which would be released in the same month. "Amor" was made available as the album's lead single in November 1995. An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was filmed in Rome, Italy and directed by Castro. It features Castro wearing a

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and a long overcoat while performing various stunts such as riding a bicycle and a

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...

aerobics Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-vascular fitness). It ...

, and singing a

one-man band A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform. The simplest type of "one-man ban ...

Music and lyrics

"Amor" was written and composed by Castro and produced by Daniel Freiberg. Regarding the inspiration for the song, Castro explained in a 2011 interview with ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'': "I wrote 'Amor' in New York when I was living there. I was feeling anxiety about love, something I’d been feeling for a long time. There was a certain amount of frustration, and desire to explore romantic themes. It was 1995. New York seemed like the best place to examine those feelings". He also elaborated that the lyrics in "Amor" are not about a woman, but "about asking love to give me a chance". Musically, the track is described by John Lannert of ''Billboard'' as "smooth

acoustic rock Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the adven ...

", while the ''

Democrat and Chronicle The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving the greater Rochester, New York, area. At 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's production fa ...

'' editor Manuel Rivera-Ortiz noted it features a "progressive

pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and ...

sound with a hint of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

rhythm".

Reception

In the United States, "Amor" debuted at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs chart on the week of 20 January 1996. It topped the chart two weeks later, replacing " Si Tú Te Vas" by

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

, and spent 11 consecutive weeks at this position until it was succeeded by Iglesias's song "

Experiencia Religiosa "Experiencia Religiosa" (English: ''Religious Experience'') is the second single released by Spanish singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias from his eponymous debut studio album '' Enrique Iglesias'' (1995), It was released by Fonovisa on 11 Decemb ...

. The track held the longest-running number-one song on the chart since ''Billboard'' began incorporating

Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Broadcast Data Systems (also known as BDS or Luminate BDS), is a service that tracks radio, television and internet airplay of songs. The service, which is a unit of MRC Data, is a contributing factor to North American charts published by co-owned ...

in 1994 until the record was broken a year later by "

Enamorado Por Primera Vez "Enamorado Por Primera Vez" (English: "In Love For the First Time") is a song by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias from his second studio album, '' Vivir'' (1997). The song was written by Iglesias and produced by Rafael Pérez-Botija. It was relea ...

" by Iglesias. "Amor" ended 1996 as the second-best performing Latin song of the year in the country behind "Un Millón de Rosas" by

La Mafia La Mafia is a five-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas, and has charted a course as a Tejano music, Latin music band. History La Mafia was founded in 1980 in Houston, TX. ...

. The track also topped the

chart in the United States. In 2014, it was named the "Best Latin Love Song of All Time" by Judy Cantor-Navas of ''Billboard'' magazine.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

References

{{authority control 1995 singles 1995 songs Cristian Castro songs Spanish-language songs Fonovisa Records singles Pop rock songs