"La Reina" () is a song recorded by American singer

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

for her ninth studio and second Spanish-language album, '' Aguilera'' (2022). It was written by Aguilera, Luigi and Santiago Castillo, Servando Primera and Yasmil Marrufo, and it's production was handled by the latter, alongside

Rafa Arcaute Rafael Arcaute, known as Rafa Arcaute, is an Argentine songwriter, record producer and recording engineer. He has worked with several Latin American artists including Luis Alberto Spinetta, Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas, Calle 13, Aterciope ...

Federico Vindver Federico Vindver (born 18 August 1982) is an Argentine record producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer based in Los Angeles, California. Vindver has worked with several artists including, Kanye West, Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Ed ...

, Afo Verde as co-producer, and

Jean Rodríguez Jean Carlos Rodríguez López-Cepero (born December 10, 1980), also known as Jean, is a Puerto Rican singer, the younger brother of Luis Fonsi. Rodríguez has released a handful of solo albums and mixtapes, hitting number one on ''Billboard'' L ...

as a vocal producer. "La Reina" was conceived in 2017, when Aguilera invited Primera to work with her on the album. The song was then recorded in 2021 and serves as the closing track on the album's first of three parts, ''

La Fuerza ''La Fuerza'' () is the debut solo and Spanish-language extended play (EP) by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released through Sony Music Latin on January 21, 2022 as the first part of her ninth studio and second Spanish-language alb ...

'' (), which was released as a separate

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP). Musically, "La Reina" is a

ranchera Ranchera () or canción ranchera is a genre of traditional music of Mexico. It dates to before the years of the Mexican Revolution. Rancheras today are played in virtually all regional Mexican music styles. Drawing on rural traditional folk music ...

song, a genre that originates from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It was inspired by

Vicente Fernández Vicente Fernández Gómez (17 February 1940 – 12 December 2021) was a Mexican singer, songwriter, actor, and film producer. Nicknamed "Chente" (short for Vicente), "El Charro de Huentitán" (The Charro from Huentitán), "El Ídolo de México ...

's 1973 rendition of

José Alfredo Jiménez José Alfredo Jiménez Sandoval (; 19 January 1926 – 23 November 1973) was a Mexican singer-songwriter of rancheras, whose songs are considered the basis of modern Mexican music. Biography Jiménez was born in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, M ...

's " El Rey" () (1971), serving as a "respectful response". The song is in theme with the rest of ''La Fuerza'', which focuses on

female empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

, telling a man that he can be the king, but he will be nothing without his queen. The song received critical acclaim and was labelled as a standout track on the record. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' and ''

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

'' named it one of the best Latin songs of the year. A

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 "La Reina" was released on May 6, 2022, though it has not been confirmed as a single.

Background and composition

In 2017, at Aguilera's request, A&R of

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

Katie Welle invited composer and singer Servando Primera of

Servando & Florentino Servando & Florentino is a Venezuela music duo consisting of brothers Servando Primera (born 27 August 1980) and Florentino Primera (born 31 August 1981). They are the son of Venezuelan musician and activist Alí Primera, who died in 1985. They ...

to help Aguilera with writing in Spanish. Primera wrote the song with Aguilera. "La Reina" was recorded along with the rest of the album at Art House studios in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in early 2021. The song was released on January 21, 2021 as the final track on the first EP from ''Aguilera'', ''

''. "La Reina" is a

, written in the key of

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

at 174

beats-per-minute In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

. Lyrically, the song takes an empowering approach to a

breakup song A breakup song is a song describing the breakup of an intimate relationship, with associated emotions of sadness, frustration, anger, and sometimes of acceptance or relief. As one source states (discussing the upbeat breakup song " Better Things ...

, where the protagonist swears to never let a man break her heart again, with Aguilera singing, "And I cried, and I cried, and I cried the day you left. And I swore, and I swore, and I swore that no man would ever make me sad again,". Serving as a "respectful response" to

's rendition of El Rey (1973), Aguilera's response emphasizes "how a king wouldn’t be a king without his queen".

Critical reception

"La Reina" received widespread acclaim from critics. In the official write-up for the

Grammy Awards 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 ...

website, Bianca Gracie called it "impassioned". In a review of ''La Fuerza'' for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', Lucas Villa named "La Reina" the best song on the EP. He added that the song had "raw emotion that underscores ranchera" while praising Aguilera stating that "her vocal prowess is extraordinary in any language". ''NEIU Independent'''s Enrique Cerros called it the standout track on ''La Fuerza'', applauding Aguilera's "powerhouse vocals" and emotion displayed on the song. He went on to compliment Aguilera's versatility, saying that she "can sing any type of music if she chooses to do so. Pip Ellwood-Hughes of ''Entertainment Focus'' called it one of the strongest moments on the record and "a showcase for what she can do when she exercises more vocal control and less inclination to scream". ''

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 ...

'' placed "La Reina" at the number one spot on their ranking of ''La Fuerza'', complimenting the ability of Aguilera's "powerful gifted vocals to deliver a heartfelt ranchera that perfectly transmits the popular phrase 'What's a king without his queen?' and calling it the album's anthem. Moises Mendez II from ''

'' considered it as one of the best Latin songs of 2022, praising Aguilera for her "gorgeous, bombastic vocals". ''

'' shared the same sentiment and placed "La Reina" at number four on its list of 2022's best Latin songs. The magazine added: "In an empowering performance, Aguilera asserted her queenly authority while showing there’s no language barrier when it comes to her unparalleled vocal prowess".

Commercial performance

"La Reina" debuted and peaked at number nine on the ''

Latin Digital Song Sales The ''Billboard'' Latin Digital Songs, or Latin Digital Song Sales, is a record chart that ranks the best-selling Spanish-language digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard''. It wa ...

chart, becoming Aguilera's seventh top 10 hit on the chart.

Music video

Despite not being confirmed as a single, a music video for "La Reina" was released on May 6, 2022. The music video was directed by Nuno Gomes and was filmed at the historic Glenn Curtiss Mansion in

Miami Springs Miami Springs is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estate ...

in March 2022. The video features Aguilera wearing a red dress and singing the song on the Glenn Curtiss Mansion's courtyard, which is decorated with

papel picado Papel picado ("perforated paper," "pecked paper") is a traditional Mexican decorative craft made by cutting elaborate designs into sheets of tissue paper. Papel picado is considered a Mexican folk art. The designs are commonly cut from as many ...

. Aguilera is surrounded by the song's songwriters and producers, who are playing various instruments and singing the background vocals.

Live performances

Aguilera performed "La Reina" for the first time at the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards on September 29, 2022.

Charts

References

{{Christina Aguilera songs 2022 songs 2020s ballads Christina Aguilera songs Sony Music Latin singles Songs written by Christina Aguilera Spanish-language songs