"Lo Mejor de Mí" ("All My Best") is a song written and produced by

Rudy Pérez Rudy Amado Pérez (born May 14, 1958) is a Cuban-born American musician, songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, sound engineer, musical director and singer, as well as entertainment entrepreneur, and philanthropist. His area of specialty is b ...

and first recorded by Spanish singer Juan Ramon for his second

studio 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 ...

''Por Haberte Amado Tanto'' (1990). In the song, the protagonist tells his lover how he gave his best despite not meeting his lover's expectation. In 1997, Mexican recording artist

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 ...

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

the song for his fifth studio album '' Lo Mejor de Mí'' which Pérez also produced and arranged. Castro's version peaked at number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs and the ''Billboard'' Latin Pop Songs charts in the United States. The song received a ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards and a

Lo Nuestro The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish for "Our Thing") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music, presented by Univision, a Spanish-language television network based in the United States. The awards began in ...

nomination for Pop Song of the Year. Pérez earned the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

award in the Pop/Ballad field.

Background

In 1990, Spanish recording artist Juan Ramon released his second studio album ''Por Haberte Amado Tanto'' which was arranged and produced by Cuban-American musician

for the telenovela Kassandra. Pérez composed three songs for the album including the track "Lo Mejor de Mí". The song speaks of a failed relationship between the protagonist and the lover where the protagonist gave the best they could despite not meeting the lover's expectation. One year later, Argentine musician María Martha Serra Lima covered the song on her studio album of the same name which was also arranged and produced by Pérez. Pérez also proposed the song to be covered by Mexican singer

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...

for his album ''

Segundo Romance ''Segundo Romance'' ( en, italic=yes, Second Romance) is the tenth studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel, released on 30 August 1994 through WEA Latina. Like Miguel's 1991 album ''Romance'', ''Segundo Romance'' comprises cover versions of ...

'' (1994). However Miguel decided against recording it as he felt the song would work better as a ballad rather than as a bolero. In 1997, Mexican recording artist

covered the song for his

Grammy 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 pre ...

-nominated album of the same name with Pérez's involvement with the production and arrangement. It was released as the lead single from the album and the first single under his new record label

BMG U.S. Latin Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC (often referred to as Sony Music Latin) is a record label owned by Sony Music. The label focuses on artists of Latin music. History In 1979, CBS Records (now Columbia Records) ended its partnership with C ...

following his departure from

Fonovisa Records Fonovisa Records is an American Spanish language record label founded in 1984 by Guillermo Santiso as a subsidiary of Televisa. Its former name before being acquired by Televisa in 1984 was Profono Internacional, which was founded in 1978. Fonov ...

a year earlier. The song is performed in the

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

style.

Promotion

Castro performed the song live in Mexico City, Mexico on 28 October 1997 as part of the promotion for the album. In addition, a music video was released 1998 which was directed by Willie Souza and was filmed in a near Cuernavaca. The song was remixed by DJ Sugar Kid which was included in Castro's album ''

Remixes A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

'' (2000). It also has been featured in his compilations album ''Grandes Hits'' (2002) and '' Nunca Voy a Olvidarte...Los Exitos'' (2005).

Reception

"Lo Mejor de Mi" was released as the album's lead single on 25 August 1997. "Lo Mejor de Mí" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs chart at number 24 in the week of 13 September 1997, climbing to the top ten one week later. The song peaked atop the chart in the week of 22 November 1997 succeeding "

Si Tú Supieras "Si Tú Supieras" ( en, "If You Knew") is a song written by Kike Santander and performed by Mexican recording artist Alejandro Fernández. It was co-produced by Santander and Emilio Estefan and was released as the first single from '' Me Estoy En ...

" by

Alejandro Fernández Alejandro Fernández Abarca (; born 24 April 1971) is a Mexican singer. Nicknamed as El Potrillo by the media and his fans, he has sold over 20 million records worldwide, making him one of the most successful Hispanic music artists. He is the ...

and was replaced by "

Y Hubo Alguien "Y Hubo Alguien" (English: "And There Was Someone") is a song by American singer Marc Anthony from his third studio album, '' Contra la Corriente'' (1997). The song was written by Omar Alfanno, with record production being handled by Ángel " ...

" by

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...

a week later. On the ''Billboard'' Latin Pop Songs chart, the song debuted at number ten on the chart. It reached number one on the chart on the week of 4 October 1997 where it spent a total of five nonconsecutive weeks on top. It was second best-performing Latin pop song of 1998 after " Vuelve" by

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

. On the review of the album, an editor for ''

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 ...

'' felt that the song "highlights the much-anticipated label by this Mexican singing star". "Lo Mejor de Mí" was awarded Pop Song of the Year at the 1998 ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards and was nominated at the same category the following year. It was also nominated Pop Song of the Year at the 9th Lo Nuestro Awards but lost to "Si Tú Supieras" by Alejandro Fernández. Pérez earned the

award for Pop/Ballad Song of 1998 for the song and was awarded 1999 in the same category.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mejor de Mi, Lo 1990 songs 1997 singles Cristian Castro songs Spanish-language songs Songs written by Rudy Pérez Song recordings produced by Rudy Pérez Boleros Sony BMG singles