"El Último Adiós" () is a song recorded by Mexican singer
Paulina Rubio
Paulina Susana Rubio Dosamantes (; born 17 June 1971) is a Mexican singer, songwriter and television personality. Referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Golden Girl", she first achieved recognition as a member of the successf ...
for her fifth studio album ''
Paulina
Paulina or Paullina (, ) is a common female given name Latin. Paulina was a name shared by the mother, sister, and niece of the Roman Emperor, Roman emperor Hadrian.
Paulina Major, mother of Hadrian
(Domitia) Paulina (or Paullina) Major (''Ma ...
'' (2000). It was released as the second single from the album on July 17, 2000 by
Universal 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 ...
. Rubio co-wrote and co-produced the track with
Estéfano
Fabio Alonso Salgado, better known as Estéfano (born 19 August 1966 in Manizales, Colombia) is a Colombian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. Along with Donato Poveda formed the duo Donato y Estefano, releasing three studio albums t ...
, and was originally conceived it as 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 the vast majority of regional Mexican music styles. Drawing on rural traditional fo ...
-
hip-hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
-styled song. Lyrically, its a break-up mood.
The song received positive reviews from music critics, who cited the song as one of the album's standouts and praised Rubio's vocals. In his album review from Amazon, Joey Guerra said "
El Último Adiós' isthe album's shining moment." Digital media ''
About en Español'' included it in the list of the best "heartbreak songs".
It attained commercial success, reaching the top of the record charts in Mexico, as well as the top five in several Latin America regions.
An English version of the song was released on Paulina's sixth studio album ''
Border Girl'' in 2002.
Composition
Paulina Rubio co-wrote and co-produced "El Último Adiós" with
Estéfano
Fabio Alonso Salgado, better known as Estéfano (born 19 August 1966 in Manizales, Colombia) is a Colombian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. Along with Donato Poveda formed the duo Donato y Estefano, releasing three studio albums t ...
, who is credited as an only songwriter. Chris Rodriguez produced the song. It is a
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Pop music, a musical genre
Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop! (British group), a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Album ...
with Mexican
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 the vast majority of regional Mexican music styles. Drawing on rural traditional fo ...
and
hip-hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
style song. Then Universal Music Mexico president, Marco Bissi, described it as "a fusion that breaks the rules of the game."
Music video
Like many of Paulina's music videos, the music video for "El Último Adiós" was met with heavy criticism from the Latino community and Latin American critics (specifically in Mexico). The controversial video contained racy love scenes, as well as men and women appearing barely clothed. MTV Latin-America only aired the video after 9 pm due to its sexual content.
An uncensored version of the video was also released. It contains some slight differences compared to the original version of the video, the major difference being that Rubio appears completely topless in parts of the video, and the racy love scenes are shown for a bit longer and are more explicit. In the video appears the Mariachi Gallos de México.
''
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 advertis ...
'' staff wrote in a retrospective review that "even in heartbreak, Paulina looks fabulous in tiny shorts and halter-tops."
Impact
Since its release, "El Último Adiós" has been covered on numerous occasions. In 2001,
regional Mexican
Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...
singer
Jenni Rivera
Dolores Janney "Jenni" Rivera (July 2, 1969 – December 9, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, and producer known for her work within the regional Mexican music genre, specifically in the styles of Banda (music), ...
recorded a
banda
Banda may refer to:
People
* Banda (surname)
* Banda Prakash (born 1954), Indian politician
* Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao (1907–1968), Indian actor
* Banda Karthika Reddy (born 1977), Indian politician
*Banda Singh Bahadur (1670–1716), Sikh ...
-style version of the song for their album ''
Déjate Amar''. Mexican singer and actress
Eiza González
Eiza González Reyna (born 30 January 1990) is a Mexican actress and singer. She gained popularity for starring in the Argentine Nickelodeon teen sitcom '' Sueña conmigo'' (2010–2011). As a singer, she released the albums '' Contracorriente' ...
took Rubio's ranchera-pop musical style as "reference" in her single "Invisible". She also said that she would "reference" the video of her in her own music video, but it never came out.
Track listing and formats
*Mexican CD Single"
# "El Último Adiós" – 4:45
*Spanish CD Single"
# "El Último Adiós" (Radio Edit) – 3:58
*Argentine CD Single"
# "El Último Adiós" – 4:45
# "El Último Adiós" (
enhanced video) – 4:52
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ultimo Adios
2001 singles
Paulina Rubio songs
Songs in Spanish
Songs written by Estéfano
Pop ballads
Universal Music Latino singles
Songs written by Paulina Rubio
1999 songs
Song recordings produced by Estéfano