''Juanes: MTV Unplugged'' is the third
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
of
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n singer
Juanes
file:Juanes ZMF 2015 jm49108.jpg, Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany
file:Juanes ZMF 2015 jm49211.jpg, Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (born 9 August 19 ...
. It was recorded before a live audience at the New World Symphony Center in
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...
, on February 1, 2012, and was released by
Universal Music Latino
Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a division of Universal Music Group, is a record company specialized in producing and distributing Latin music in Mexico, the United States, and Puerto Rico. UMLE includes famous Latin music labels such as Uni ...
on May 29, 2012.
Juanes
file:Juanes ZMF 2015 jm49108.jpg, Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany
file:Juanes ZMF 2015 jm49211.jpg, Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (born 9 August 19 ...
— ''Tr3s Presents Juanes MTV Unplugged'' (CD liner notes).Universal Music Latino
Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a division of Universal Music Group, is a record company specialized in producing and distributing Latin music in Mexico, the United States, and Puerto Rico. UMLE includes famous Latin music labels such as Uni ...
. 2012. The album includes featured performances by the Spanish composer
Joaquín Sabina
Joaquín Ramón Martínez Sabina (born 12 February 1949) is a Spanish musician, singer, composer, and poet. His songs usually treat about love, heartbreaks and society with a large usage of literary figures similarly to the baroque-literature st ...
and the Brazilian singer
Paula Fernandes
Paula Fernandes de Souza (; born August 28, 1984, in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter and arranger. In 2011 she was one of the most searched people on Google Brazil. She won a Latin Grammy Awards for her album ''Ama ...
. The album features rearranged takes on Juanes' hit songs like "
Me Enamora
"Me Enamora" (English: ''It Makes Me Fall in Love'') is a song written and performed by Colombian singer and Songwriter, Juanes. The song is the first radio single of his fourth solo studio album '' La Vida... Es Un Ratico'' (2007) and it receive ...
", "
La Camisa Negra
"La Camisa Negra" ("The Black Shirt") is a Spanish rock song written by Juanes, inspired by Colombian singer-songwriter Octavio Mesa and recorded by Juanes for his third studio album ''Mi Sangre''. In Latin America, the track was released in 2005 ...
" and "
A Dios le Pido
"A Dios le Pido" (''I beg to God'') is the lead single from the Spanish studio album ''Un Día Normal'' by the Latin music singer and songwriter Juanes, released in 2002 in Spain and Latin America. In 2006, the song was re-released in some countr ...
". The first single of the live album was released on March 5, 2012, called
La Señal, which became a hit in Latin America.
The second single was "Me Enamora", with new instrumental arrangements, and was released two days after of the album's release. The album featured three new songs, one of which was a collaboration with Joaquín Sabina. The album debuted at number one on the
Billboard Top Latin Albums
Top Latin Albums is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine and is labeled as the most important music chart for Spanish language, full-length albums in the American music market. Like all ''Billboard'' album charts, the chart is based ...
Chart and won the 2012 Latin Grammy for Album of the Year. This was the third time he won Album of the Year at the Latin Grammys.
Background
Following the release of his previous album, ''
P.A.R.C.E.
''P.A.R.C.E.'' is the fifth studio album by Colombian recording artist Juanes. It was released on December 7, 2010, through Universal Music Latino. '' (2010), Juanes embarked on a
tour
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...
to promote the album. However, the tour was canceled in the United States in May 2011 following the separation with his former manager Fernán Martínez, who labeled his last album a commercial failure, and the desire to spend time with his family. Martínez also affirmed that Juanes was experiencing depression and personal problems and would retire for a few years which Juanes's wife denied. In December 2011, Juanes announced that he would record a live album as part of the ''
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
'' series. He stated the months he spent with his family was "a time of importance to strengthen my inner reflection and to come back with the desire and love I've always had to music."
Development
''Juanes MTV Unplugged'' was recorded was on 1 February 2012 at the
New World Center
The New World Center is a concert hall in the South Beach section of Miami Beach, Florida, designed by Frank Gehry. It is the home of the New World Symphony, with a capacity of 756 seats. It opened in January 2011.
Located one block north of ...
in Miami, Florida. Juanes worked as producer with Dominican musician
Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born June 7, 1957) is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. He has sold 30 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Throughout his career, he has wo ...
with the discussion of collaborating on an album together began several months. Previously, the two performed on the duet song "
La Calle" on Juan Luis Guerra's studio album ''
A Son de Guerra
''A Son de Guerra'' (English: to the beat of war) is the 11th studio album recorded by Dominican Republic, Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra, It was released by Capitol Latin on June 8, 2010 (see 2010 in music). The album contains 11 ...
'' (2010).
Later, in December 2011, the Colombian singer announced that he would record a new edition of
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
that would be produced by
Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born June 7, 1957) is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. He has sold 30 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Throughout his career, he has wo ...
and released in February 2012. On February 1, 2012, Juanes recorded at New World Symphony Center,
Miami, FL
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...
, accompanied with 16 musicians, including guitarists, pianists and trumpeters, as well as a choir of 32 people to perform the previously released song "Odio por Amor". On the show, the singer performed 14 songs, three of which were new exclusively for the MTV Unplugged; "Todo En Mi Vida Eres Tú", "La Señal" and "Azul Sabina", the last with the participation of the Spanish musician
Joaquin Sabina. The Brazilian singer
Paula Fernandes
Paula Fernandes de Souza (; born August 28, 1984, in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter and arranger. In 2011 she was one of the most searched people on Google Brazil. She won a Latin Grammy Awards for her album ''Ama ...
also accompanied him on the song "Hoy Me Voy", which was a bilingual version in both Portuguese and Spanish. MTV Unplugged was directed by Ivan Dudynsky.
Critical reception
Many music critics wrote about the live album. David Jeffries of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
praised the work the people sing all the songs all the time. Jeffries said "Tr3s presents Juanes: MTV Unplugged" is an uplifting celebration of the work of a Colombian artist, who also offers a rare combination, spectacular and organic.".
Larry Rohter of
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
wrote that for the Hispanic market, this is a true meeting of titans, and a generational thing with mass appeal: "Juan Luis Guerra knows how to get people dancing with beautiful melodies but also writes complex lyrics. Juanes is the same proposition a generation later, more from a rock world, but with deep lyrics and great craftsmanship. And then Sabina is a generation ahead of Juan Luis, a bohemian artist who has been challenging the status quo since the ’70s."
Carlos Quintana of
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
said that there is much to talk about the album, but nevertheless, the most important about this work is the fact where his career is divided in two parts. In fact, "Juanes MTV Unplugged" show us a solid work under a musical path that this famous Latin pop star wants to continue. Being released the second month of the year, Quintana considered it as the best Latin album of the 2012.
In the review highlighted two tracks, the first, "Azul Sabina". he said that this song open an exploration field and reflect the wish of Juanes for explore other rhythms, "If this kind of stuff is what Juanes is planning to produce in the future, I am definitely looking forward to the next album." The second "La Señal" he said that is the song with the most meaning of the album. This song show signallws that he needed for go ahead. Due to this, this single showed the feeling and soul that he put into his music, something that characterizes.
Mauro Ferreira of Notas Musicais, criticized the new songs calling the praised the featurings of
Paula Fernandes
Paula Fernandes de Souza (; born August 28, 1984, in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter and arranger. In 2011 she was one of the most searched people on Google Brazil. She won a Latin Grammy Awards for her album ''Ama ...
and
Joaquin Sabina and the presence of the singer on stage. To finish the professional review, saying: Closure impressive for this MTV Unplugged giving (any) time to Juanes to revitalize his work.
Chart performance
The album and was certified gold in the U.S., Mexico, Spain and Venezuela and 12 times platinum in Colombia, where Juanes was recognized with the media during a press conference held in the capital of that country. "Juanes MTV Unplugged" will turn into the hard to reach in less time sales record this also becomes the best-selling music DVD in history in Colombia.
"Juanes MTV Unplugged" peaked at #1 of the
Billboard Latin Albums Chart and #1 on the
Billboard Latin Pop Albums. The album also debuted on the
''Billboard'' 200 at #52.
Promotion
A few days after the confirmation of his then-upcoming appearance on MTV Unplugged, the TV channel released a contest for US residents called "MTV Demo: Concurso Unplug con Juanes" (English: Unplug contest with Juanes). The contest challenging the contestants to record a video of themselves singing a Juanes song and the winner had a possibility to attend the concert with the singer.
Singles
*"
La Señal" was released as the first official single and had its premiere on radio and digital download on March 5, 2012. The single topped the most of Latin countries like Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and also topped US Latin Song Charts.
[
*"]Me Enamora
"Me Enamora" (English: ''It Makes Me Fall in Love'') is a song written and performed by Colombian singer and Songwriter, Juanes. The song is the first radio single of his fourth solo studio album '' La Vida... Es Un Ratico'' (2007) and it receive ...
", was re-released on May 14, 2012, to digital as the second single. This new version with new instrumental arrangements.
Awards
Grammy Awards
At the 2013 Grammy Awards
The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. E ...
, the album won at the Best Latin Pop Album
The Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the Latin pop genre. Honors in ...
category.
Latin Grammy Awards
At the 13th Annual Latin Grammy Awards
The 13th Annual Latin Grammy Awards was held on Thursday, November 15, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the fifth time the awards was held at this venue and in Las Vegas. It also marks the last year in the Latin ...
in 2012, the album received two awards:
* Album of the Year
* Best Long Form Music Video
Lo Nuestro Awards
* Lo Nuestro Award for Rock/Alternative Album of the Year (nominee).
Track listing
This track listing adapted from the liner notes and the deluxe edition is the same track list but on video version.
Charts
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mtv Unplugged
2012 live albums
Juanes live albums
Mtv Unplugged (Juanes album)
Latin Grammy Award winners for Album of the Year
Spanish-language live albums
Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album
Latin Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video