"Heaven's What I Feel" is a 1998 song by Cuban American singer and songwriter

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

, released as the lead single from her eighth studio album, ''

gloria! ''Gloria!'' is the eighth studio album released by Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan, released on June 2, 1998, by Epic Records. Background ''Gloria!'' is a dance and house album which was a departure from Estefan's previous wo ...

'' on May 5, 1998 by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. The song was written by

Kike Santander Flavio Enrique "Kike" Santander Lora is a Colombian Americans, Colombian-American composer, record producer, arranger and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the principal Latino composers of the day, having worked with artists such as ...

originally for

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

. It was produced by

Emilio Estefan, Jr. Emilio Estefan Gómez (born March 4, 1953) is a Cuban-born American musician and producer. Estefan has won 19 Grammy Awards. He first came to prominence as a member of the Miami Sound Machine. He is the husband of singer Gloria Estefan, father ...

and Santander. The song is an up-tempo

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

song. The single was a hit in Europe, the US, Australia and Japan. In Spain, it peaked at number-one. It also reached the Top 5 in Hungary and Top 20 in Scotland and the UK. In the US, the song reached number 27 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and number 7 on the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart. Estefan performed "Heaven's What I Feel" at many TV-concerts and shows, like the 1998 '' VH1 Divas Live'',

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

and the 1998

World Music Awards The World Music Awards is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo. Awards are presented to the world's ...

. The song was nominated for the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Dance Recording The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...

but lost to

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's smash hit "

Ray of Light ''Ray of Light'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released in early 1998 by Maverick Records. A stylistic and aesthetical departure from her previous work, ''Ray of Light'' is an electronica and techno-pop reco ...

". The music video for the song, directed by

Bille Woodruff Bille Woodruff is a director of film, television and music videos, noted for directing many videos for a number of R&B and hip-hop artists since the mid-1990s. These artists include Joe (singer), Joe, for whom Woodruff has directed 9 music video ...

, received an

ALMA Award The American Latino Media Arts Award or ALMA Award, formerly known as Latin Oscars Award, is an award highlighting the best Hispanic and Latino Americans, American Latino contributions to music, television, and film. The awards promote fair and ...

for "Best Outstanding Video".

Song history

The song was written by Colombian-American composer

. It was first recorded by Canadian singer

, but she did not feel it was right for her fifth English album ''

Let's Talk About Love ''Let's Talk About Love'' is the fifth English-language and fifteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 14 November 1997, by Columbia and Epic Records. The follow-up to the commercially successful '' Falling into You'' ...

'' (1997), so the song was given to Estefan. Santander co-produced it with Estefan's husband,

It was recorded in three languages:

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and French and was made available on May 5, 1998 by

. The Spanish version titled "Corazón Prohibido" ("Forbidden Heart") was released as a single in Spain, where it topped the charts. The French version titled "Amour Infini" ("Endless Love") was only available on the Canadian and the French album releases, and on the European Limited Edition 2-Disc release of the ''

'' album. On June 3, 2022, Estefan released the "Heaven's What I Feel" EP and its Spanish version "Corazón Prohibido" EP to all digital and streaming outlets. The single received massive promotion. Estefan first performed the song at the 1998 '' VH1 Divas Live''; she also performed at

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...

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 ...

. Then she sang it again at the 1998

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

where she was the hostess of the event. It was performed on many television programs around the world, such as the British

music chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...

television program

. The B-side of the single is the "Gloria Hitmix", a

megamix A megamix is a remix containing multiple songs in rapid succession. It often features various artists. There may be only one verse or even just a brief chorus of each song used, sometimes in addition to samples of the same or other songs. It is ...

which includes the songs: "

I'm Not Giving You Up "I'm Not Giving You Up" is a 1996 song by Cuban American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan, released as the third single from her seventh studio album, ''Destiny'' (1996). It was popular more by its single remix by Tony Moran, which later was ...

", " Reach", "

You'll Be Mine (Party Time) "You'll Be Mine (Party Time)" is a 1996 song by Cuban American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan. It was released as the follow-up to " Reach", as the second single from her seventh studio album, ''Destiny'' (1996). The song is a dance track ...

", "

Mi Tierra ''Mi Tierra'' (''My Homeland'') is the third studio album by Cuban-American recording artist Gloria Estefan, released on June 22, 1993, by Epic Records. Produced by husband Emilio Estefan, it is a Spanish-language album and pays homage to her Cuba ...

", "

Live for Loving You "Live for Loving You" is a song by Cuban–American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan. It was released on September 30, 1991 by Epic Records worldwide as the fifth and final single from her second solo album, '' Into the Light'' (1991). The song ...

", "

Tres Deseos "Tres Deseos" (in English: ''Three Wishes'') is a merengue and salsa song by Cuban American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan, released in 1996 as a promotional single from her second Spanish-language album, '' Abriendo Puertas'' (1995). An upb ...

", "

Everlasting Love "Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, originally a 1967 hit for Robert Knight and since remade numerous times, most successfully by Love Affair, as well as Town Criers, Carl Carlton, Sandra Cretu, and Gloria Estef ...

" and "

Turn the Beat Around "Turn the Beat Around" is a disco song written by Gerald Jackson and Peter Jackson, and performed by American actress and singer Vicki Sue Robinson in 1976 (see 1976 in music), originally appearing on her debut album, '' Never Gonna Let You Go' ...

Critical reception

Ben Wener from ''

Beaver County Times ''The Beaver County Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Beaver, Pennsylvania, United States, and serving the north-western Pittsburgh suburbs. The ''Times'' is a direct descendant of many of Beaver County's newspapers, starting with the '' ...

'' noted "the lush orchestration" of the song in his review of ''

''.

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

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 ...

'' described it as a "deliciously sweet confection that takes the listener back to the days of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

with its wonderfully vibrant strings and rumbling percussion." He added, "La G is in exceptional voice here, hitting high notes she's never touched before—and doing so with a delightfully romantic flair. The fingerprints of top clubland producer

Tony Moran Anthony "Tony" Moran is a DJ, record producer, remixer, singer and songwriter known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart twice with " Walk Away" featuring Kristine W and "Kee ...

are all over the track, starting with its muscular bassline and unabashedly gleeful keyboards." He also noted that the song has "cute lyrics and instantly sing-along

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

." Another editor, Chuck Taylor deemed it as a "tasty" track. The Daily Vault's Alfredo Narvaez called it a "flamboyant" song, and stated that it is "pretty enough to be liked by teenage girls and danceable enough that older ladies will instantly recognize and like its vibe." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' viewed it as "upbeat with a great hook" and a "winner". He added that "while some of her strongest hits have been

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s, it's wonderful to hear her pick up the pace on this latest endeavor." Joey Guerra from ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'' wrote that it is a "daring, delightful track" that "takes flight on the wings of its rousing chorus and themes of unexpected love." Jeremy Griffin from ''

The Ithacan Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

'' described it as "sensational". A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented that with this track, Estefan "yet again comes up with a near-perfect pop/

crossover hit. The song has the hook to make it a radio favourite, and a couple of snappy remixes should help broaden its appeal." Gerald Martinez from ''

New Sunday Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...

'' wrote that it "grooves to a latin disco beat of the 70s and 80s". Victoria Segal from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' said songs like "Heaven's What I Feel" "speak the international language of tedium". Larry Flick for ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' noted its "twinkly synths, romantic live strings, and vibrant

bass line". "Heaven's What I Feel" was successful in Europe, Japan, and the US. It peaked at number 27 on the ''Billboard''

and number 7 on the

chart. In Europe, the single reached the Top 5 in Hungary, Top 20 in Scotland and the UK, and Top 40 in Belgium and Switzerland.

Music video

The

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 ...

was directed by American film director

. It was filmed in a "space" style and shows Gloria flying in some scenes. The video begins with Gloria standing alone singing in front of a magical green portal. As the chorus begins, she goes through it and ends up flying along a rotating tunnel with flashing lights. As the second verse begins, Gloria ends up in a club, amidst dancing people in several floors. Along the walls are screens with Estefan singing. She also performs choreography with some of the dancers. Towards the end, she is lifted up as she continues to sing. After she sings the last note of the song, everyone in the club claps for her. The video received the

for "Best Outstanding Video". Two similar videos were created, one for the English version and one for the Spanish version.

Usage in media

The song was included in the movie '' Dance with Me'' (starring

Vanessa L. Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

and

Chayanne Elmer Figueroa Arce (born June 28, 1968), better known under the stage name Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, making him one of ...

) soundtrack.

Charts

"Heaven's What I Feel"

"Corazón Prohibido"

Formats and track listings

"Heaven's What I Feel"

"Corazón Prohibido"

Release history

Official versions and remixes

;Original versions # Album Version — (5:05) # Radio Edit #1 — (4:37) # Radio Edit #2 — (4:07) # Ballad Version — (4:28) # Acappella — (4:26) # Spanish Version ("Corazón Prohibido") — (5:05) # Spanish Radio Edit ("Corazón Prohibido") — (4:34) # Spanish Ballad Version ("Corazón Prohibido") — (5:05) # Spanish Acappella ("Corazón Prohibido") — (4:31) # French Version ("Amour Infini") — (5:05) ;"Heaven's What I Feel" remixes #

Pablo Flores Pablo Flores is a Puerto Rican DJ, record producer, remixer and arranger. Remixes for Gloria Estefan * " Abriendo Puertas" * " Bad Boy" * "Bailando!'" (Special edition Megamix) * " Betcha Say That" * "Cherchez La Femme" * "Como Me Duele Perder ...

Remix — (5:03) # Love To Infinity Classic Paradise Mix — (6:10) # Love To Infinity Classic Radio Mix #1 (a.k.a. Classic Radio Long) — (5:05) # Love To Infinity Classic Radio Edit #2 (a.k.a. Classic Radio Short) — (3:32) # Love To Infinity Rhino Mix — (7:11) #

Victor Calderone Victor Calderone (born March 20, 1967 in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, United States) is an American electronic music producer, Disc jockey, DJ and remixer. Biography Raised in the Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, C ...

Mix — (8:32) #

Radio Mix — (4:12) #

Dub — (7:30) #

Soul Solution Soul Solution is a house/ electronic dance music production duo from New York City formed by Bobby Guy and Ernie Lake. Biography As artists they made six appearances on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Five times under the Sou ...

Vox Mix — (10:11) #

Radio Mix — (4:40) #

NRG Dub — (5:12) # Trouser Enthusiasts' Neanderthal Thrust Mix — (10:54) # Prince Quick Mix's Amped Up Pass — (5:40) # Prince Quick Mix's Subaquatic Dub — (6:15) ;"Corazón Prohibido" remixes #

Remix — (4:42) #

Spanish 12" Remix — (7:10)

References

{{authority control 1998 songs 1998 singles Gloria Estefan songs Dance-pop songs Epic Records singles House music songs Music videos directed by Bille Woodruff Number-one singles in Spain Songs written by Kike Santander