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''Romance'' is the eighth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...
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 ...
. It was released by
WEA Latina Warner Music Latina (formerly WEA Latina) is a record label part of Warner Music Group that focuses on Latin music. The record label was established in 1987. List of artists currently on Warner Music Latina Alaya*Alex Ubago * Andres Calamaro * Bo ...
on 19 November 1991. Although the production was originally intended as another collaboration with Juan Carlos Calderón, that plan was scrapped when Calderón was unable to compose songs for the album. Facing a new-material deadline in his recording contract, at his manager's suggestion Miguel chose
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 ...
music for his next project. Mexican singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero was hired by WEA Latina to co-produce the album with Miguel. Recording began in August 1991 at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, California, with Bebu Silvetti the
arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...
. On the album Miguel covers twelve boleros, originally recorded from 1944 to 1986. The first two singles, " Inolvidable" and "No Sé Tú", reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States and spent six months atop the Mexican charts. "Mucho Corazón" and "Cómo" were in the top five of the Hot Latin Songs chart, and "Usted" and "La Barca" received airplay throughout Latin America. Miguel promoted the record with a tour of the United States and Latin America. The album was generally well received by music critics, who praised Miguel's singing and the record's production. The singer received several accolades, including a
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 pres ...
nomination for
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 ...
. ''Romance'' sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming Luis Miguel's all-time bestselling record. In the United States, it spent 32 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Latin Pop Albums chart, and was the first Spanish-language album by a non-
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
Latin artist to be certified
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
(RIAA); it was also certified gold in Brazil and Taiwan, firsts for a Spanish-speaking artist. ''Romance'' is the bestselling record in Argentina by a non-native artist. The album was noted by critics as reviving interest in bolero music. Its success encouraged Miguel to release three more bolero records: ''
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 o ...
'' (1994), '' Romances'' (1997) and '' Mis Romances'' (2001).


Background and recording

Since Miguel signed with WEA Latina in 1986, his albums ''
Soy Como Quiero Ser ''Soy Como Quiero Ser'' is the fifth studio album recorded by Mexican singer Luis Miguel and his first album to be released by WEA Latina on July 15, 1987 (see 1987 in music). The album was subtitled ''"Luis Miguel '87: Soy Como Quiero Ser"''. ...
'' (1987), '' Busca una Mujer'' (1988), and '' 20 Años'' (1990) have sold over three million copies cumulatively in Mexico. His early recordings consisted of
soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...
and pop ballad tunes, which led to Miguel becoming a teen idol. On 14 January 1991, WEA Latina announced a new album with longtime producer and composer Juan Carlos Calderón, who produced the three previous records by Miguel. Wanting to replicate the success of ''20 Años'', Calderón would compose pop songs and ballads and find tracks for Miguel to cover in Spanish. Production was scheduled to begin in April, with Italian- and English-language studio albums to follow. The record label was unconvinced by Calderón's pre-selected songs; he had to write more compositions, and production halted indefinitely. Ultimately, he was unable to compose songs for the album. Miguel had a contractual deadline with his label to record new material, and considered recording
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 ...
s (slow
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 "endowed with romantic lyrics") after meeting Mexican singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero during a televised interview. The singer had performed boleros (including compositions recorded by Manzanero) during his 1991 tour. At the suggestion of manager Hugo López, and realizing that he could appeal to an older audience, Miguel chose boleros for his next album and WEA Latina hired Manzanero to take over its production. Manzanero was enthusiastic, hoping that Miguel's popularity would introduce the genre to young listeners. On 25 October 1991, the album's title was announced as a homage to boleros; it was Miguel's first as a producer. Recording began on 24 August 1991, at
Ocean Way Recording Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates re ...
in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
, California. Miguel and Manzanero produced the album, with Bebu Silvetti arranging the strings with additional contributions from 32 violinists under the direction of American conductor Ezra Kliger. On ''Romance'' Miguel covers twelve boleros (with each track being described as love numbers), which were selected by Manzanero from five hundred songs including his "Te Extraño" and "No Sé Tú". Seven of the twelve tracks were recorded by 13 September when production was suspended the following day when Miguel was hospitalized with
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...
. The album's planned late-October release was postponed until 19 November and recording resumed two weeks after Miguel was hospitalized.


Singles and promotion

"Inolvidable" was released as ''Romance''s lead single in November 1991. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States the week of 25 January 1992, topping the chart for five weeks. Its second single, "No Sé Tú", was released in February 1992 and reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart the week of 18 April, topping the chart for seven weeks. 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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...
for "No Sé Tú" was directed by Pedro Torres and filmed in Miami, it features Miguel and an orchestra performing in front of a building. The video premiered on 16 February on the Mexican variety show '' Siempre en Domingo''. "Inolvidable" and "No Sé Tú" ended 1992 as the third- and second- best-performing Latin songs of the year, respectively, in the United States. In Mexico, the songs topped the charts for a total of six months. The album's third single, "Contigo en la Distancia", was released in Mexico in July 1992; its music video was also directed by Torres and filmed in Miami. "Mucho Corazón" peaked at number three on the Hot Latin Songs chart, with "Cómo" peaking at number four. "Usted" and "La Barca" received airplay throughout Latin America. To promote the record, Miguel began his Romance Tour on 26 June 1992 at a sold out 10,000-seat National Auditorium in Mexico City. After performing throughout Latin America and the United States, he concluded the tour in Chile in December. In addition to touring, Miguel performed at the Seville Expo '92 in Spain. His set list consisted primarily of songs from his earlier career and boleros from ''Romance''. In October 1992 WEA Latina released '' América & En Vivo'', a live EP featuring a new track ("America, America") and tour recordings of "Contigo en la Distancia", "No Sé Tú" and "Inolvidable".
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
gave the EP three stars out of five.


Critical reception

AllMusic editor Janet Rosen gave ''Romance'' three stars out of five, saying that it "features the usual smooth, well-crafted pop ear candy from Luis Miguel, earnestly sung over strings and polite Latin rhythms". However, she noted that the songs in the album booklet and the lack of liner notes made it difficult for listeners to know what "to make of this presentation". Rosen concluded, "It doesn't matter—the title of the release says it all." Achy Obejas of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' gave the record four stars out of four, praising Miguel's refusal "to get campy, which gives the effort far more integrity than might have been imagined" and calling his take on boleros "vibrant and real." Mark Holston reviewed the album positively in the magazine ''Américas'', praising Miguel's vocals, the choice of songs and Silvetti's arrangements: "''Romance'' is a reminder of the enduring quality of timeless music". ''
Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding B ...
'' critic John Lannert called ''Romance'' a "superb collection of updated classics" and complimented the artist for staying "fairly close to the string-laden original versions". At the 1992 ''Billboard'' Music Awards Miguel was the Top Pop Latin Artist and the Top Hot Latin Tracks Artist, and ''Romance'' was the Top Pop Latin Album. In Chile, ''Romance'' won the Laurel de Oro Award for best album of the year. The singer was the Best Artist From a Non-English-Speaking Country at the Korean International Music Awards. At the 1993 Grammy Awards, ''Romance'' was nominated for
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 ...
, which was awarded to
Jon Secada Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American singer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. His music f ...
for his album ''
Otro Día Más Sin Verte ''Otro Día Más Sin Verte'' ( en, Another Day Without Seeing You), also called ''Sentir'' ( en, Feel) in Spain, is the Spanish-language debut album by Cuban singer Jon Secada. It was released on October 6, 1992 by EMI Latin to coincide with ...
''. That year ''Romance'' was also nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the Lo Nuestro Awards, again losing to Secada for his self-titled album. At the 1993 annual Premios ''Eres'', Miguel won three awards: Best Album, Best Male Singer and Best Show (for his tour). The record was the Best International Album and Miguel won the Best International Artist of the Year at the 1993 Ronda de Venezuela awards.


Commercial performance

''Romance'' was released internationally on 19 November 1991, and sold over 400,000 copies in its first 10 days. In Mexico it was certified octuple
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...
by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON) for shipping two million copies. In the United States, ''Romance'' debuted at number ten on the ''Billboard'' Latin Pop Albums chart for the week of 14 December 1991, and reached number one four weeks later. The record topped the chart for 32 consecutive weeks when it was displaced by Jon Secada's eponymous album on the week of 22 August 1992, ending 1992 and 1993 as the bestselling Latin pop album of the year in the country. It was the first record by a Spanish-speaking artist to be certified gold in Brazil and Taiwan, and the first gold certification by a non-crossover Latin artist in the United States (later certified platinum in the U.S. by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
for shipments of one million copies). In South America, ''Romance'' was certified platinum in Colombia and Venezuela, gold in Paraguay and triple platinum in Peru. In Argentina was the best selling album of 1992 with 411,502 copies sold, and eventually was certified 16× platinum for sales of over one million copies, the bestselling record by a non-Argentine artist. It received a diamond award from the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers (CAPIF), and was certified diamond in Chile and double platinum in Spain. ''Romance'' had sold over eight million copies worldwide and is Miguel's bestselling record.


Influence and legacy

''Romance'' was credited by music critics to have renewed mainstream interest in bolero music. According to ''Chicago Tribune'' editor Monica Eng, "Just as Harry Connick, Jr. re-popularized the sounds of Sinatra and Tony Bennett, Mexican platinum-selling heartthrob Luis Miguel brought back an appreciation for the music of Mexico's boleristas." In ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', Mary Talbot compared renewed interest in boleros to the revival of
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...
and
swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...
in the Anglo-American market, previously dominated by
rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...
(which had seized bolero's popularity during the 1960s). Elena Kellner of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' noted the album's "introducing old favorites to younger audiences" while Achy Obejas of the ''Chicago Tribune'' documented Miguel's popularity with older listeners. In ''Latin Beat Magazine'', Franz Reynold wrote that before Miguel, boleros were considered by young people the "music of the ancients, something to be feared, since it seemed to signal the advent of senility". Mark Holston wrote in ''Américas'' magazine that the record's "irresistible combination of classic songs, string-laden arrangements, and subtle contemporary influences proved to be the perfect formula to reawaken the bolero's slumbering passions once again." In his book, ''The Latin Beat: The Rhythms And Roots Of Latin Music From Bossa Nova To Salsa And Beyond'', Ed Morales wrote that Miguel's collaboration with Manzanero "brought light to an overlooked master of olero and "was a significant update of the genre". ''Romance'' enhanced Silvetti's reputation as an arranger and producer; according to Leila Cobo of ''Billboard'', the album "categorically redefined the interpretations of traditional boleros" and "sparked a torrent of work for Silvetti, including records with Vic Damone and Engelbert Humperdinck". His arrangements became known as the "Silvetti Sound", which Cobo described as "anchored in sweeping melodies, lush string arrangements, acoustic instrumentation, and above all, unabashed
romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
". ''Romance''s success encouraged
Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
, José Luis Rodríguez and
Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...
to record modern versions of traditional boleros. According to Miguel's former manager Mauricio Abaroa, although boleros were still recorded by traditional musicians at the time, "what made Luis Miguel so successful was that it was a young man singing them and that he sang them like modern ballads". During the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs Chart's 25th anniversary in 2011, Miguel was number one on the Hot Latin Songs Top Artists chart. Manzanero reflected on their partnership, saying that he "put in the mouths of his generation all of the great romantic songs that had a 30-year history". In 2015, ''Billboard'' listed ''Romance'' as one of the Essential Latin Albums of Past 50 Years, an editor writes: "What’s become so formulaic in Latin music these days – the tribute album by a contemporary artist honoring a genius of another era – started with ''Romance''". The album's success encouraged Miguel to record three more ''Romance'' records. Its follow-up, ''
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 o ...
'', was released in 1994; Manzanero, Calderón and Kiko Cibrian co-produced with Miguel, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance. In 1997 '' Romances'' was released, with Miguel and Manzanero co-producing Silvetti's arrangements; it sold over 4.5 million copies, winning another Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance. A year later WEA Latina released '' Todos Los Romances'', a three-disc compilation of the romance-themed records. The fourth record in the series, '' Mis Romances'' (produced by Miguel), was released in 2001. Although the singer had planned a ten-album series, ''Mis Romances'' was critically and commercially unsuccessful. The following year saw the release of '' Mis Boleros Favoritos'', with 13 previously-recorded tracks from the ''Romance'' series and a new version of "Hasta Que Vuelvas". According to AllMusic editor Iván Adaime, the record's purpose was to "close this era" of the ''Romance'' series. In 2012, Warner Music Latina reissued a commemorative ''Romance: 20th Anniversary'' set with a CD, the original
LP record The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of   rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; an ...
and three 45 rpm singles: "Inolvidable", "No Sé Tú" and "Contigo en la Distancia".


Track listing


Personnel

The following credits are from AllMusic and from the ''Romance'' liner notes:


Performance credits


Technical credits


Charts


Weekly charts


All-time charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


See also

*
1991 in Latin music This is a list of notable events in Latin music (music from Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking areas from Latin America, Europe, and the United States) that took place in 1991. Events *February 20 – The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards are held at th ...
*
List of best-selling albums in Argentina This is a list of the best-selling albums in Argentina based on CAPIF certification. Albums are listed in order of certification (highest to lowest), and order of release date (earliest to most recent). This list contains any type of album, inclu ...
*
List of best-selling albums in Brazil The following is an independently list of best-selling albums in Brazil. This list can contain any types of album, including studio albums, extended plays, greatest hits, compilations, various artists, soundtracks and remixes. The list is divi ...
* List of best-selling albums in Chile * List of diamond-certified albums in Argentina * List of best-selling albums in Mexico * List of best-selling Latin albums * List of number-one Billboard Latin Pop Albums from the 1990s


References

{{Authority control 1991 albums Covers albums Luis Miguel albums Albums arranged by Bebu Silvetti Albums produced by Luis Miguel Spanish-language albums Warner Music Latina albums