Романтика: Луис Мигельдің 1991 жылғы альбомы

the 1997 album

Romance is the eighth studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. It was released by WEA Latina 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 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. 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 nomination for Best Latin Pop Album. Romance sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming Luis Miguel's all time bestselling record. In the United States, it spent 16 weeks at number one on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart, and was the first Spanish language album by a non crossover Latin artist to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (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 (1994), Romances (1997) and Mis Romances (2001).

Since Miguel signed with WEA Latina in 1986, his albums 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 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 boleros (slow ballads "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. Miguel chose boleros for his next album and WEA Latina hired Manzanero to take over its production. 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 in Hollywood, California. 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. The album's planned late October release was postponed until 19 November and recording resumed two weeks after Miguel was hospitalized.

"Inolvidable" was released as Romances 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 video premiered on 16 February on the Mexican variety show Siempre en Domingo. 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 gave the EP three stars out of five.

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." 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 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". Gloria Calzada of El Informador described the album as "a beauty with twelve songs", stating, "the songs I liked the most were the ones that the masterful Armando Manzanero made". 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, which was awarded to Jon Secada for his album Otro Día Más Sin Verte. 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.

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 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 16 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. (later certified platinum in the U. S. by the RIAA for shipments of one million copies). In South America, Romance was certified platinum in Colombia and Venezuela, It received a diamond award from the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers (CAPIF),

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, Mary Talbot compared renewed interest in boleros to the revival of big band and swing music in the Anglo American market, previously dominated by rock music (which had seized bolero's popularity during the 1960s). Elena Kellner of the Los Angeles Times 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." 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". 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". 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. 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 and three 45 rpm singles: "Inolvidable", "No Sé Tú" and "Contigo en la Distancia".