"Día de Enero" (English: "Day in January") is a song by the Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira taken from her sixth studio albumFijación Oral Vol. 1. It was released as the third single from the album through Epic Records on 19 January 2006. Written and produced by Shakira, it is a love song about how the protagonist met her lover for the first time on a day in January.
The song was praised by music critics, who commended the song for its clever lyrics and sweetness, comparing her work to those of Alanis Morissette and Natalia Lafourcade. It became a success in Argentina, while also being a radio hit in the United States' Latin Pop Airplay chart, becoming her 20th top-ten hit. The music video for the song was directed by Shakira's longtime collaborator, Jaume de Laiguana, and it was shot in California, United States, portraiting a day in her life.
Background and composition
After extensive touring to promote the album Laundry Service (2001), the singer took a long hiatus. During this time, she began writing her next project and quickly amassed 60 songs, split between English and Spanish. Out of those songs, 20 tracks were chosen and divided by language to create two separate albums: the Spanish one (Fijación Oral, Vol. 1) and the English one (Oral Fixation, Vol. 2).[1]
The Spanish album was considered a quintessential Latin pop album, adhering to the genre's conventions with a mix of melodramatic ballads and upbeat dance tracks.[2] Shakira wrote all of the tracks on the album, sometimes in collaboration with either Luis Fernando Ochoa or Lester Mendez.[2] After releasing the second part of the album, "Dia de Enero" was selected to be the third single from Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 on 19 January 2006.[3]
Written and composed by Shakira herself, "Día de Enero" is a love song that tells about how she met her former boyfriend, Antonio de la Rúa on a day in January. It was written between 2002-2004.[3] In addition to being a confession of her feelings for him, the song also describes some moments they experienced during their relationship, with Shakira singing "Te conocí un día de enero, con la luna en mi nariz. Y como vi que eras sincero, en tus ojos me perdí" (English: "I met you one day in January, with the moon on my nose. And seeing that you were sincere, I got lost in your eyes").[3] Its lyrics also make reference to two famous comics characters "Mutt and Jeff" known in Spanish as "Eneas and Benitín."[3]
Reception
Critical
While praising the album as a whole, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic praised them for combining "commercial savvy and smart writing".[2] For Matt Cibula from PopMatters, the song is a "lovely sly tune that only grab[s] you the third or fourth time through the record," while mentioning the Mexican singer Natalia Lafourcade as an inspiration,[4] while IGN's Spence D. noted an "impressive Alanis Morrissette impersonation."[5]The Houston Chronicle author called it "glittering and a "cute diversion".[6] Hugo Fernández of La Higuera named it one of her sweetest songs."[7] For Mariana Enriquez from La Nación claimed that the song "reaches a very high level: it’s a short love song with an effective and sweet melody," although she criticized the song's muse, Antonio de la Rúa.[8] Raquel Piñeiro of Vanity Fair España ranked it as her 14th best Spanish single, writing:
"Día de Enero is unlike any other Shakira song. It barely includes the signature vocal flourishes of her style and doesn’t showcase vocal acrobatics. Instead, it’s a simple and optimistic composition that, like the memory of past loves, fills us with nostalgia and sweetness."[9]
Commercial
"Dia de Enero" debuted on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart dated February 18, 2006 at number 32.[10] It peaked at number 29 on the chart dated March 18, 2006. Similarly, the song peaked on the same chart edition on the Latin Pop Airplay, peaking higher at number 7, becoming Shakira's twentieth top-ten hit.[11] It went higher in Argentina, where it peaked at number-one for two weeks on the Top 40 Argentina chart. It eventually ended up becoming the sixth most successful single of that year in the country.[12]
Music video
The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Shakira's longtime collaborator, Jaume de Laiguana. It was shot at a beach in California, in an attempt to reflect part of the singer's daily life. The video premiered worldwide on 27 February 2006.[13] It shows Shakira walking along a beach at sunset and playing with pigeons. She also draws a heart in the sand with the letters "S y A" symbolising her love for her then-fiancée, Antonio de la Rúa.[9] The video was included on Oral Fixation Volumes 1 & 2 bonus DVD,[14] and the Spanish edition of Oral Fixation Tour.
Charts
Weekly chart performance for "Las de la Intuición"
