"Hasta Que Te ConocÃ" ("Until I Met You") is a song by Mexican singer-songwriter
Juan Gabriel. It was released in 1986 as the third single from his studio album ''
Pensamientos''. Written and produced by Gabriel, the song's lyrics focus on a protagonist learning the meaning of suffering after meeting a lover who mistreats him. It peaked at number two on the
''Billboard'' Hot Latin Song chart. A live version of the song was included on his album ''En el Palacio de Bellas Artes'' (1990) which peaked at number ten on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
The song has been recorded by several artists including Roberto del Castillo,
Ana Gabriel,
Marc Anthony
Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...
,
Raúl di Blasio, and
Maná. Anthony covered the song on his debut studio album ''
Otra Nota'' (1993) after hearing it on the radio during a taxi ride. di Blasio's version features Gabriel performing the vocals on the song. Maná's recording peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs and earned a nomination for
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
at the
2012 Latin Grammy Awards. Gabriel received an
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, broadc ...
(ASCAP) Latin award in 1994 and in 2013 for Anthony's and Maná's covers of the song.
Background
"Hasta Que Te ConocÃ" is a song written, produced, and performed by Mexican singer-songwriter
Juan Gabriel as the final track on Juan Gabriel's studio album ''
Pensamientos'' (1986). It was released as the second single from the album by
RCA Latin. The song is in the key of
D minor
D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major.
The D natural minor scale is:
Changes needed ...
. In the lyrics, the protagonist has not known the feeling of suffering until he meets a lover who mistreats him. The song has been featured in some of Gabriel's compilation albums including ''14 Exitos Originales: Para Ti'' (1988), ''
La Historia del Divo'' (2006), and ''Lo Esencial de Juan Gabriel'' (2008). A live version of the song was included on the live album ''En el Palacio de Bellas Artes'' (1990) as a
potpourri which features the
National Symphony Orchestra. He also performed the song live during the
10th Latin Grammy Awards ceremony where he received the
Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year award. In 2015, Gabriel recorded the song as a duet featuring Mexican singer Joy Huerta (of
Jesse & Joy) for his album ''
Los Dúo''.
Reception
Jason Birchmeier of
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 Mus ...
called the song a "classic" on the review of ''La Historia del Divo''. On the week of December 26, 1986, "Hasta Que Te ConocÃ" debuted at number thirty-nine on the
''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs chart. The song climbed to the top ten on the week of March 21, 1987 and peaked at number two six weeks later with the number one position being held off by
Braulio's song "
En Bancarrota". "Hasta Que Te ConocÃ" ended 1987 as the fourth best-performing Latin single of the year in the United States.
The live version of the song peaked at number ten on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time charts
Marc Anthony version
In 1993, American recording artist
Marc Anthony
Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...
covered "Hasta Que Te ConocÃ" on his debut studio album ''
Otra Nota''.
According to Anthony, he originally had no desire to record in Spanish and turned down an offer by
RMM manager
Ralph Mercado to record an album in salsa. During a taxi ride, Anthony heard Gabriel's "Hasta Que Te ConocÃ" on the radio and was compelled to perform the song in salsa. But in a version of this story that appeared in a 2016 article in ''Billboard'', Anthony explains that Little Louis Vega's sister first played the song for him.
This led to an agreement between Mercado and Anthony to record an album in salsa with a cover of "Hasta Que Te ConocÃ" included. After recording this cover, Anthony said, "I never recorded freestyle again."
A curtailed version of the song appears on Anthony's compilation album ''
Desde un Principio: From the Beginning'' (1999) while the full version appears on his 2003 compilation album ''Éxitos Eternos''.
Anthony performed a live version of the song at the 1994
Lo Nuestro Awards
The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ours") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music (genre), Latin music, presented by TelevisaUnivision, and is carried by its Univision network in ...
. The song has been included in his tour setlist including his Nada Personal Tour and the
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony en Concierto tour.
Reception
On the review of the album, Evan Gutierrez of Allmusic cited Anthony's cover as one of the tracks that "showcased well" with his "edgy improvisation and wide vocal range".
Anthony's cover received a nomination for
Tropical Song of the Year at the
1994 Lo Nuestro Awards,
but lost to "El Baile del Perrito" by
Wilfrido Vargas y su Orquesta.
At 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, broadc ...
(ASCAP) Latin Awards of 1994, Juan Gabriel received an award in the Tropical/Salsa Category for "Hasta Que Te ConocÃ". "Hasta Que Te ConocÃ" peaked at number thirteen on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs chart.
Music video
A music video for the song was produced to promote the single which was filmed in New York City. In the video, Anthony and a woman are shown having a happy relationship until she breaks up with him by leaving a note for him leaving Anthony in bitterness. It was included on the video compilation album ''Mejores Videos de India y Marc Anthony'' (1996). The video for Anthony's cove was nominated New Artist Latin Clip of the Year at the 1993 ''Billboard'' Music Video Awards, but ultimately lost to "
Sentir" by
Jon Secada.
Charts
Maná version
In 2012, Mexican rock band
Maná covered the song for their greatest hits album ''
Exiliados en la BahÃa: Lo Mejor de Maná''.
The song was released as a single on June 25, 2012. It is the second time that the band covered a song by Juan Gabriel after "
Se Me Olvidó Otra Vez" in 1999. According to lead vocalist
Fher Olvera, they heard the song while in Venezuela and the band decided to cover the song in ballad with swing music.
Reception
David Jeffires of Allmusic called Mana's cover of the song "an excellent, heartfelt take".
Carlos Quintana of
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
labeled it as "one of the very best songs of this production." At the
13th Latin Grammy Awards, the song received a nomination for
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
which was awarded to
Jesse & Joy for "
¡Corre!". In 2013, it was nominated
Rock/Alternative Song of the Year at the
25th Lo Nuestro Awards, which went to Maná's other song "
El Verdadero Amor Perdona". The success of Maná's cover led to Gabriel receiving an ASCAP Latin award in the pop category.
In the United States, the song reached number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs becoming their ninth number-one song on the chart.
It also peaked at number one on the
''Billboard'' Latin Pop Songs chart.
In Mexico, the peaked at number three on the
Mexican Airplay Chart.
Music video
A music video for Maná's version was released on August 27, 2012. It was directed by Pablo Croce and filmed in the
Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City, Mexico.
In the video, a man recounts his sorrows with depression and alcohol in a bar regretting his love for a woman.
Charts
Other cover versions
In 1987, Dominican musician Roberto del Castillo covered "Hasta Que Te ConocÃ" in
merengue on his album ''Justo a Tiempo''. His version peaked at number eleven on the Hot Latin Songs chart. Mexican singer
Ana Gabriel performed a live cover of the song on her album ''
En Vivo'' (1990). Her version peaked at number twenty-five on the Hot Latin Songs chart. In 1994, Argentine pianist
Raúl di Blasio covered the song on his album ''Piano de America, Vol. 2''. di Blasio's cover was released to radio stations on May 10, 1994. It features Gabriel performing the vocals which was omitted on the Anglo version of the song. di Blasio's version peaked at number thirty-six on the Hot Latin Songs. It has been featured on his compilation albums ''Entre Amigos y Exitos'' (2003) and ''La Historia del Piano de América... Los Éxitos'' (2006) and on Gabriel's album ''
Mis Canciones, Mis Amigos'' (2009).
A music video for the Anglo version was released by BMG and was included on the DVD set for ''La Historia del Piano de América... Los Éxitos'' (2006).
Mexican singer
Pilar Montenegro included a version of the track featuring rapper
Voltio on her album ''South Beach'' in 2005.
In 2009, Mexican recording artist
AnahÃ
Anahà Giovanna Puente Portilla (born 14 May 1983), known Mononymous person, mononymously as AnahÃ, is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actress. In 1986, she started her acting career when she was cast on ''Chiquilladas''. After working on man ...
sampled the record on her song "Hasta Que Me Conociste" ("Until You Met Me") from her album ''
Mi Delirio'', in which the song is written as a "response" to the original composition.
In 1988, Orquesta La Inmensidad covered a salsa version of the song in their album ''El Retrato'' under Fania label.
See also
*
Billboard Top Latin Songs Year-End Chart
*
List of ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay number ones of 2012
*
List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Pop Airplay of 2012
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasta Que Te Conoci
1986 songs
1986 singles
1990 singles
1993 singles
1994 singles
2012 singles
Ana Gabriel songs
Juan Gabriel songs
Marc Anthony songs
Maná songs
Songs written by Juan Gabriel
Song recordings produced by Sergio George
Songs in Spanish
RCA Records singles
RMM Records singles
Warner Music Latina singles