"Quién" (English: "Who") is a

latin pop Latin pop () is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. It originates with List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking ...

song by Guatemalan recording artist

Ricardo Arjona Edgar Ricardo Arjona Morales (born 19 January 1964), known as Ricardo Arjona (), is a Guatemalan singer and songwriter. He is one of the most successful and best-selling Latin American artists of all time, with more than 20 million records sold ...

, released on 19 June 2007 as the lead single from his

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

, '' Quién Dijo Ayer'' (2007). The song's lyrics were written by Arjona, and its music was composed by Puerto Rican singer-songwriter

Tommy Torres Tomás Torres Carrasquillo (; born November 25, 1971), known professionally as Tommy Torres (), is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and record producer.(4 April 2008)Latin songwriter/producer releases solo disc, ''Reuters'' Named "#1 Hot Lat ...

, who also worked with Arjona on his tenth studio album, ''

Adentro ''Adentro'' () is the tenth studio album by Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona, released on December 6, 2005, by Sony Music Entertainment. Recorded in the United States and Mexico, the album was produced by Arjona himself, as well as Dan ...

'' (2005). Performed with additional background vocals by Torres, "Quien" was produced by Arjona with longtime collaborators Dan Warner and Lee Levin under their stage name Los Gringos, and was recorded between several studios in Miami and Mexico City. Described by Arjona as "the world out of the window and the prison built by ourselves", "Quién" became a moderate commercial success, reaching number 21 on the US ''

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 ...

Top Latin Songs The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, ...

chart, and number four at the

Latin Pop Songs The '' Billboard'' Latin pop charts began in 1985 when an album chart were introduced as Latin Pop Albums in the June 29 issue of the magazine. In October 1994, ''Billboard'' then established Latin Pop Airplay, which initially rank the most-played ...

chart. Its accompanying music video, directed by Simon Brand, was filmed in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, and features Arjona singing while walking around the city's nighttime lights. A "jewel of elegance", according to Mexican website

Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scient ...

, the music video has received 1.3 million views on YouTube.

Background

In a press conference held in November 2007, Arjona stated, in relation to ''Quién Dijo Ayer'' themes, that "yesterday is the cumulus of this that put us here, which raised us and made us what we are, for good or bad."Cruz Bárcenas, Arturo (22 November 2007)
"''Quién dijo ayer'', un disco difícil sobre el pasado"
La Jornada ( Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico). Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. Retrieved on 12 May 2012. He also said that the album was more than a compilation, and that "it's an album with all the features of the typical greatest hits disc." After spending the majority of his career signed to

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

, and later,

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

, Arjona signed a long-term recording deal with

Warner Music Latina Warner Music Latina Inc. (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 * Andrés Ca ...

in September 2008.Cobo, Leila (22 September 2008)
"Ricardo Arjona Signs With Warner Music Latina"
''Billboard''. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved on 23 March 2012. This departure made ''Quien Dijo Ayer'' the last album the artist directly released on his former label.

Composition

"Quién" is a Latin pop song with a duration of four minutes and sixteen seconds. The song's lyrics were written by Ricardo Arjona and the music was composed by

, who also worked with Arjona on his tenth studio album, ''

''. The song was Music producer by Lee Levin, Dan Warner and Torres with additional help from Arjona. Warner also played the electric and acoustic guitars and the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

; Levin handled the

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

and percussion instruments, and Matt Rollings played the piano. "Quién" is performed by Arjona with additional background vocals from Tommy Torres. The song was recorded between five studios in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

: The Tiki Room, Picks & Hammers, Jet Wash Studio, The Hit Factory Criteria and Hit Masters; and in Jocoteco Studios in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. "Quién" was mixed in Barking Doctor Studios in New York City by Mick Guzauski, and mastered by Vlado Meller at the

Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhat ...

on that city. Arjona commented that "'Quién' is the world out of the window and the prison built by ourselves. It's the freedom to choose the path or to prefer loneliness as an argument of nostalgia. 'Quién' is a story with the hurry of the desperate, is the flashback of those who end up loving alone.""Arjona lanza canción con más poesía romántica"
El Mercurio Online. Retrieved on 2 May 2012.

Promotion

Music video

The music video for "Quién" was filmed in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. It was directed by Simon Brand, who also directed the music video for Arjona's past single "Mojado", from his album ''

''."Escucha el nuevo tema de Ricardo Arjona: "Quién""
People en Español. Retrieved on 2 May 2012. In the video, Arjona is seen walking the streets of the city, as well as imagery of the city's buildings and lights alone, while singing the lyrics of the song. Mexican website Terra categorized the video as a "jewel of elegance and simplicity of the Guatemalan singer in all its creative glory." As of 9 December 2012, the video has reached 1.3 million views on YouTube.

Trackslisting

*Digital download #"Quien" – 4:16

Charts

Weekly charts

Yearly charts

Personnel

Taken from the album booklet. *

– lead vocals *

– background vocals, chord arrangement, recording engineer *Dan Warner – chord arrangement, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, recording engineer *Lee Levin – chord arrangement, drum, percussion, recording engineer *Matt Rollings – piano *Bob St. John – recording engineer *Carlos Alvarez – recording engineer *Chris Zalles – recording engineer *Isaías G. Asbun – recording engineer *Vlado Meller – mastering engineer *Tom Bender – mixing assistant *Mick Guzauski – mixing engineer

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quien 2007 songs Ricardo Arjona songs Songs written by Ricardo Arjona Songs written by Tommy Torres Sony BMG Norte singles Songs in Spanish