Luis Miguel promoted the album with tours in the United States and Latin America from August to December 1994. Four singles were released: "El Día Que Me Quieras", "La Media Vuelta", "Todo y Nada", and "Delirio". The former two reached the top of the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States.
Segundo Romance received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its production, Luis Miguel's vocals and the choice of songs. It won several awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance. By 1995, Segundo Romance had sold over 4.5 million copies and achieved multi-platinum status in many Latin American countries and Spain, and was certified platinum in the United States. Like its predecessor, the album helped continue renewing mainstream interest in bolero music.
Background and recording
In 1991, Luis Miguel released his eighth studio album, Romance, a collection of classic boleros (slow ballads "endowed with romantic lyrics").[2] The album was successful in Latin America and sold more than six million copies worldwide.[3][4] It revived interest in the bolero genre and was the first record by a Spanish-speaking artist to be certified gold in Brazil, Taiwan and the United States.[5] Despite its success, Luis Miguel did not immediately release another album of boleros as the follow-up album. Instead, he recorded Aries (1993), an album comprising original pop ballads and dance songs with R&B influences.[6] Four months after the release of Aries, he confirmed that he would begin recording another collection of classic boleros in March 1994, with the working title Romance II.[7][8]
Mexican singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero (pictured) assisted production of Segundo Romance, as he had done with Romance. The album features covers of three Manzanero compositions: "Somo Novios", "Cómo Yo Te Amé", and "Yo Sé Que Volverás".
Segundo Romance was recorded at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, chosen for its state-of-the-art recording facilities.[9] Its title was announced in June 1994.[10] Luis Miguel co-produced the album with Armando Manzanero[11] (who produced Romance), Juan Carlos Calderón (who produced Luis Miguel's albums prior to Romance)[12] and Kiko Cibrian (who co-produced Aries).[13][14] Manzanero helped with arrangements and song selection, Calderón was involved with the string section and Cibrian with music direction.[15]
The song "Lo Mejor de Mí", composed by Rudy Pérez, was considered for inclusion on the album, but Luis Miguel decided against recording it as he felt the song would work better as a ballad for his next album, rather than as a bolero.[16]
A 22-second sample from Luis Miguel's cover of "El Día Que Me Quieras", a tango originally recorded by Carlos Gardel. The track's opening, which features a "romantic accordion", sets the "tone for the rest of the set", according to AllMusic critic Jose F. Promis.[1]
"El Día Que Me Quieras" was released as the album's lead single on 5 August 1994.[20] It reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States for the week of 17 September 1994, and remained there for five weeks.[21][22] Its music video was directed by Kiko Guerrero and filmed at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City with Luis Miguel and a 36-piece orchestra.[13][23] "La Media Vuelta", the second single, was released in November 1994 and reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart for the week of 26 November,[21][24] topping the chart for three weeks.[25] Its music video, directed by Pedro Torres and filmed in black-and-white, features Luis Miguel reminiscing at a bar about a woman who deceived him.[26][27] The third single, "Todo y Nada",[28] reached number three on the Hot Latin Songs and number one on the Billboard Latin Pop Airplay charts.[21][29] "Todo y Nada" was featured as the main theme for the Mexican telenovelaImperio de cristal (1994).[30] "Delirio", the fourth single, peaked at number 16 on the Hot Latin Songs chart; its music video was filmed in Brazil.[21][28]
To promote the album, Luis Miguel began his Segundo Romance Tour in August 1994 with 16 shows at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, which drew a total audience of more than 155,000.[31] Luis Miguel performed throughout Mexico, the United States, Peru and Argentina until 31 December 1994, when the tour concluded in Acapulco.[32] The first part of Luis Miguel's set list featured pop songs and contemporary ballads; during the second half he sang boleros from Segundo Romance and ranchera songs, before closing with "Será Que No Me Amas", the Spanish version of the Jackson 5's "Blame It on the Boogie".[33]
In October 1995, Warner Music released the El Conciertolive album and video, a compilation of Luis Miguel's performances at the National Auditorium in Mexico City and his concert at the José Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires.[34] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic praised its production and Luis Miguel's performance.[35]
AllMusic critic Jose F. Promis gave Segundo Romance four-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it "a first-rate collection of timeless Latin American standards" and praised Luis Miguel's vocals and the production.[1] According to Promis, the album "further established Luis Miguel as a first-rate balladeer,[1] and enhanced his immense international popularity, not only with the youth market, but with an older, more sophisticated market as well."[1] Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times gave the album three stars out of four, saying that it contained "updated, well-produced versions of classic romantic bolero and tango songs".[36] In Americas magazine, Mark Holston described Segundo Romance as a "superb encore", citing "El Día Que Me Quieras" and "Historia de un Amor" as "memorable songs".[2] Though Billboard reviewer Paul Verna wrote that it offered "few surprises," he praised Luis Miguel's "scrumptious, sophisti-pop take of 'Nosotros' and 'Delirio'."[37] Mario Tarradell of the Miami Herald was less pleased with the album, writing that it "pales in comparison to the original".[17] Tarradell criticized Luis Miguel's vocals being "on autopilot" compared to his "rich, sophisticated hues" on Romance and called the singer's production a "bad idea".[17]
Segundo Romance was released on 30 August 1994.[1] Within two days, the album sold more than one million copies worldwide.[45] In the United States, it debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200 the week of 10 September 1994, the highest debut on the chart at the time for a Spanish-language album.[46] That week, Segundo Romance also debuted at number seven on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart;[47] it reached number one a week later, replacing Selena's Amor Prohibido. It spent a total of 29 nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart, and was the second-bestselling Latin album of the year behind Mi Tierra by Gloria Estefan.[48][49] The album topped the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart for 30 weeks, and was the highest-selling Latin pop album of the year in the U.S.[49][50] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the record has sold 603,000 copies in the US as of October 2017[update], making the 21st bestselling Latin album in the country.[51]Segundo Romance was certified platinum for shipping one million copies,[52] making Luis Miguel the first Latin artist to have two certified platinum albums in the U.S. following Romance.[33][53]
The album was also successful in Spanish-speaking countries. It was certified quintuple platinum in Mexico, triple platinum in Paraguay and Uruguay as well as in Central America; double platinum in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Spain and Venezuela, and platinum in Ecuador.[54][55] In Brazil, Segundo Romance was certified gold for sales of 100,000 copies.[56] The album reached number one on the Chilean album charts, and was certified diamond for shipping 250,000 copies.[57][58] In Argentina, it was certified 11× platinum and later received a diamond award for sales of 500,000 copies.[54][59] By 1995, Segundo Romance had sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide.[60]
Like its predecessor, Segundo Romance helped to revive interest in bolero music. Mark Holston wrote that the album "proves again that the bolero is back, its heart beating as strongly as ever, its soul alive with tropical passion, a music for every time and all times".[2] According to Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times, both albums "created a revival for the bolero – the old-fashioned, string-based romantic messages of unrequited love were embraced even by young listeners".[61] Ed Morales wrote in his book The Latin Beat: The Rhythms and Roots of Latin Music from Bossa Nova to Salsa and Beyond: "Beyond merely being a revival, Romance and its 1994 follow-up, Segundo Romance was a significant update of the genre".[62]Chicago Tribune editor Achy Obejas noted that the albums "scored in such unlikely places as Saudi Arabia and Finland".[63]Segundo Romance was followed by two more bolero albums: Romances (1997) and Mis Romances (2001).[64][65] In 1998, Romance, Segundo Romance, and Romances were compiled on Todos Los Romances, released by WEA Latina.[66]
Track listing
All tracks produced by Luis Miguel, Manzanero, Calderón, and Cibrian.[14]
^"Dimes y Directes". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). Editora de la Laguna. 12 October 1992. p. 51. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014.
^"Luis Miguel 'cumple' 20 otra vez" [Luis Miguel 'turns 20 again]. ¡Hola! (in Spanish). 14 February 2012. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
^"Hot Latin Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 17 September 1994. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
^Guerrero, Kiko (director) (1994). El Día Que Me Quieras (Television). Mexico City, Mexico: Warner Music Mexico. Archived from the original on 3 June 2014.
^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "El Concierto – Overview". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 30 August 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
^
Lannert, John (21 January 1995). "Artists & Music – Latin Notes". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 3. Prometheus Global Media. p. 36. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
^Lannert, John (10 June 1995). "Latin Music Conference". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. p. LM-54. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
^"Premio ACE a "Cronos" de Guillermo del Toro". El Informador (in Spanish). 21 March 1995. p. 39.
^"Enrique En Fuego". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 7. Prometheus Global Media. 15 February 1997. p. 42. ISSN0006-2510. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
^ abcd"The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. Prometheus Global Media. 24 December 1994. p. YE-78. ISSN0006-2510. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
^ abcSalaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos. Año a año. 1959-2002 [Only Hits. Year by year. 1959–2002] (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Iberautor Promociones Culturales. p. 962. ISBN978-84-8048-639-2.
^ ab"Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 07, no. 1. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 7 January 1995. p. 41. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
^"Hits of the World"(PDF). Billboard. Vol. 06, no. 51. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 17 December 1994. p. 37. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
^ abc"The Year in Music"(PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 23 December 1995. pp. YE-64, 66. Archived(PDF) from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
^"The Year in Music"(PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 28 December 1996. pp. YE-63, 66. Archived(PDF) from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
^"The Year in Music"(PDF). Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 52. Prometheus Global Media. 27 December 1997. pp. YE-70. Archived(PDF) from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
^"Unknown". Caretas (in Spanish). No. 1327–1335. 1994. p. 91. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022 – via Google Books. Que los boleros están de moda no es ninguna novedad , pero que el Segundo Romance de Luis Miguel haya logrado un disco de platino ( 20,000 copias vendidas ) en el Perú en sólo 10 días , constituye todo un record en plena recesión.
