Composition
The album was noted for its combination of musical styles, including flamenco, electronica, and pop. "Ella" ("She") has been described as a "female power anthem", and has also been interpreted as a protest against gender violence. She told ''El Asombrario & Co.'' that she wrote the song after the death of "a very important person in my life". "Malo" ("Bad") follows a woman who begs her husband to stop abusing her, for the sake of herself and their child; at the end of the song, she leaves him. She wrote the song four years before its release, after seeing many news stories about domestic violence, sometimes as many as three in a single day; although she had never experienced domestic violence herself, she felt empathy for those who did, and so wrote "Malo". In 2005, she told ''Billboard'' that she didn't consider the song to tell a story so much as "a thought". She also commented that when she wrote the song, she didn't consider whether or not the narrator leaves her abuser. Its chorus translates to English as "You're bad, bad, bad".Release
The album was released in Bebe's native Spain in May 2004, in the United States in Fall 2004, and in Latin America in February 2005. In its May 21, 2005, issue, ''Billboard'' reported that the album had sold over 235,000 copies in Spain, as well as 30,000 copies in the United States and 15,000 copies in Latin America. The album received a release in France on May 17, with advance promotions in the form of a series of radio showcase performances. By September 2005, the album had spent over 68 weeks on Spain's album sales chart and sold over 300,000 copies there. "Malo" was released as the album's first single and became Spain's song of the summer in 2004, spending two weeks at number one on the country's radio chart. After the Spanish government introduced legislation to combat domestic violence, the song became an anthem.Accolades
At the ninth annual Music Awards in Spain ( es, Premios de la Música), held on April 21, 2005, Bebe received nine nominations and won four awards. At theTrack listing
Sales and certifications
References
2004 albums Bebe (singer) albums European Border Breakers Award-winning albums {{2000s-pop-album-stub