Dreaming of You
Encyclopedia
Dreaming of You is the sixth and final studio album
, and second posthumous album, by American Tejano pop
singer Selena
, and was released on July 18, 1995, by EMI Records
and EMI Latin
. Dreaming of You comprises previously unreleased English- and Spanish-language songs, and previously released tracks that were remix
ed with a Caribbean influence from the dance hall and reggae
genres. The first half of the album incorporates slow and mid-tempo R&B
ballads and pop songs, and the remainder incorporates Latin-inflected grooves. The album was re-released on September 24, 2002, as part of the Selena: 20 Years of Music collection, the re-release included one music video and spoken liner notes by her family, friends and her former band, Selena y Los Dinos
.
By 1993, EMI Latin thought Selena should release a crossover album. She had proven her capacity for success; she had won a Grammy Award
, and several other accolades, signed a sponsorship tour with Coca-Cola
, dominated the Latin music charts, and expanded the "Tejano Music Movement" across the United States. EMI Latin thought that she had reached her peak in the Spanish language market and it wanted to launch her into a career as a mainstream American solo pop artist. Selena was partnered with major pop music producers, some of whom were Grammy Award winners. EMI Latin and EMI Records wanted to change Selena's musical styles from Tejano and Latin Pop to Pop and contemporary R&B, and to facilitate her own crossover dream. Recordings had been made and a crossover tour
was being planned. On the morning of March 31, 1995, Selena was murdered by Yolanda Saldivar
, a friend and employee at her Selena Etc.
boutiques.
"Dreaming of You" debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200
chart, and sold more than 331,000 units in its first week. Selena was the first Hispanic singer to have an album, mostly in Spanish, debut at number one. The album made the second-highest chart debut in the world after Michael Jackson
's HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995), and Selena became the second-fastest-selling female artist, after Janet Jackson
's janet.
(1993). The album was among the top ten debuts of all time and among the best-selling albums for a female artist. On its release date the album sold more than 175,000 copies, a record for a female pop singer. Critics gave the album mixed to positive reviews; many said that Dreaming of You was not Selena's peak as an artist. Her previous record, Amor Prohibido
(1994), was considered a more consistent release and a good introduction to her work. Several tracks from the album were released as singles in the United States and other countries.
, which was attended by Jose Behar, the former head of Sony Music Latin
who had recently launched EMI Latin Records
, and the new head of Sony Music Latin. Behar was searching for new Latin acts, and wanted to sign Selena to EMI's Capitol Records
, while Sony Music Latin was offering double Capitol's amount to Selena's father and manager, Abraham Quintanilla Jr
. Behar thought that he had found the next Gloria Estefan
, and told his superior that he had found what he was looking for. Behar's superior replied that Behar was crazy as he had been in South Texas less than a week. Quintanilla Jr. chose EMI Latin's offer because of the potential for a crossover, and he wanted his children to be the first artists to sign with the company.
Before Selena signed her contract with EMI Latin in 1989, her first major contract, Behar and Stephen Finfer
requested Selena for a crossover
album and she recorded "Only Love
", "Is It the Beat?
", and "Where Did the Feeling Go?
" for the heads of EMI Records' pop division. Behar's request for a major crossover album was denied and Selena was told that she needed a bigger fan base to sell a major album. Behar said later that he thought that EMI Records, and people in general, did not believe that a Mexican American woman could be of "crossover potential". By 1993 Selena had won a Grammy Award
for Selena Live!
(1993), won several accolades, signed a sponsorship tour with Coca-Cola
, dominated the Latin music charts, and expanded the "Tejano Music Movement" across the United States. EMI Latin thought that Selena should release a crossover album, and believed she had reached her peak in the Spanish language market and wanted to launch her career as an American solo pop artist. Selena said in interviews that the album would be released during 1994, though following the release of Amor prohibido
in March 1994, she said that the crossover album was still being developed. During a private dinner in a Thai restaurant in 1994, Selena was very upset about the pressure she was under from the press about the album. She said that she had told numerous news crews that the album was about to be released, but she had not recorded one song for the album. Behar thought Selena was joking because of her bubbly personality, and said that Selena was correct. He subsequently told the chairman of EMI Records, Charles Koppelman
, that Selena and her band Los Dinos
would leave EMI and find a record company willing to record an English language album for Selena. Behar had lied to the chairman to force the crossover album to begin. EMI relented and the recording sessions began. Selena was signed to EMI's SBK Records
in November 1993 after less than twenty-four hours in Los Angeles. The news of Selena's new deal was front-page news on Billboard
. Selena said she felt intimidated by the recording deal because the situation was new to her and that only a few people had believed she would achieve success in the pop world.
Selena began recording the first song for the album, "I Could Fall in Love
", in late 1994. Selena was paired with major pop music producers, some of which were Grammy Award winners. Selena's sister Suzette Quintanilla stated that Selena would take a very long time before deciding that a song represented what "Selena was all about"; however, SBK Records controlled the entire project and allowed Selena to choose only one song. This was because, SBK knew what they were doing for a crossover event. Recording sessions for the album took place at several recording studios during 1994 to 1995, including: her father's Q-Productions
studio in Corpus Christi; The Bennett House
in Franklin, Tennessee; Bananaboat Studio in Burbank, California; Oakshire Recorders in Los Angeles; Conway Studios in Hollywood; Clinton Studios in Clinton, New York; and Levosia Entertainment in Hollywood. Producers and songwriters who collaborated with Selena on the album included Keith Thomas
, Trey Lorenz
of Epic Records
, Mark Goldenberg, Kit Hain, Guy Roche
, Donna Delorey, Diane Warren
, Rhett Lawrence
, David Byrne
of Luaka Bop Inc.
, Franne Golde
, Tom Snow, Full Force
, Brian "Red" Moore, A.B. Quintanilla III, Barrio Boyzz
, K.C. Porter, Felipe Bernmejo, Jose Hernandez and Felipe Valdes Leal. Amy Grant
and Vanessa Williams
were both in the process of writing songs for Selena to be included on the album. Dreaming of You was the first album that Selena's family did not produce, as Selena's family stepped down prior to the albums recording sessions; as they wished to allow professional pop producers to work her. Selena found this decision stressful, and felt the decision was forced on her in order to sell records.
The songs for the album were in a different style from those she had previously sung, being mostly pop love songs. Selena co-wrote with David Byrne, former lead vocalist of Talking Heads
for his Gospel song "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)"; her vocals were later used in the song after Byrne recorded it in Clifton, New York. Before choosing the song "Dreaming of You
" for the album Selena's husband Chris Pérez
and brother A.B. Quintanilla III, then her producer, told Selena that they both disliked the song. A.B. Quintanilla III would later state, after Selena's murder, that he "now understood" why Selena choose the song and Pérez stated that he grew to love it. Keith Thomas stated that every time Selena would walk in the recording studio that all eyes would be on her because of her smiles, energy, and eager to succeed, who made everyone laugh. Thomas also said that there were no ego problems with her. Selena began recording songs in late 1994 and had recorded six songs by January 20, 1995. Selena was scheduled to record "Oh No (I'll Never Fall in Love Again)" on the morning of March 31, 1995, but was killed on the same day by Yolanda Saldivar
, a prior friend and manager of her boutiques
. "Oh No" was later recorded in Spanish by her brother's band, Kumbia Kings
, on their album Amor, Familia Y Respeto
(2009). The composer Keith Thomas, who wrote "I Could Fall In Love", never finished his second song intended for Selena to record and revealed the song's fate when he made an appearance on a show which talked about Selena's life and death for the A&E
series Biography
. In 2008, freestyle
singer Brenda K. Starr
, revealed that she was supposed to guest starred in two unrecorded songs slanted for Dreaming of You. In June 2011 Dominican American
Latin soul
singer TeCheetah Lopez was given a demo of "Love Me Now", which was intended for Dreaming of You. The song was never produced and was written by Christopher Troy and Zac Harmon
. According to Jose Behar Dreaming of You was projected to be released in September or October 1995. In April 1995 EMI Latin decided to only release four out of the six English-language songs Selena had recorded for her crossover album; the song "Siempre Hace Frio
" ("It's Always Cold") was pulled from the album for unknown reasons.
duets. Betty Cortina from People magazine
wrote: "It was really a transition not only from a marketing point-of-view but really from a creative point-of-view, in the most fundamental ways for her ... ". Selena told numerous interviewers that she was going to sing a pop ballad with John Secada. After Selena's murder SBK Records proposed that EMI Latin finish the album and update SBK on its progress, while SBK Records removed themselves as affiliates; however, Selena's contract with EMI Latin was still active and EMI Latin took control of the project and collaborated on remix sessions with Q-Productions
. EMI Latin and EMI Records wanted to transform Selena's musical style from Tejano
-pop to Pop and contemporary R&B, which would give Selena her desired crossover. The album's booklet states that Selena displayed an instinctive ability to convey passion and sentiment in a variety of ways, and that the first half of the album, " ... spotlighted Selena wrapping her creamy seductive mezzo sound around slow confessionals such as 'I Could Fall in Love', 'Missing My Baby', and the title track."
", the first promotional single off Dreaming of You, was written by Keith Thomas
and incorporates elements of soft rock
, pop, R&B and soul
, and the song is set in E Major
with a moderate groove. Selena's vocal range spans four octaves with music notes F#3-A4, . The lyrics describe a woman who is in love with someone who does not know about it. She tries to confess her feelings for him, but is afraid of rejection, and decides not to tell him. According to The Billboard book of number one albums, "I Could Fall in Love" was regarded as the prime song of Dreaming of You and " ... could melt the hearts of millions around the world". Kathleen Tracy wrote that "I Could Fall in Love" and "Dreaming of You" were two hit ballads. Vibe editor James Hunter wrote: "Selena gives an astute, loving reading of Tennessee writer/producer Keith Thomas's song as though she recognizes the tune for the gem it is. "I Could Fall in Love" is a masterpiece. In light of the young singer's tragic end, you almost can't listen to the damn thing." After Selena's death the piece became a popular wedding song
.
"Dreaming of You
", the lead single from the album, is a power ballad derived from the genre of contemporary R&B
. The song features piano and guitar as its foundation, wind chimes and funk-influenced bass
instrumentation are also present. The song was composed by Franne Golde
and Tom Snow. Dreaming of You is set in Ab Major and begins in the key of G♯(Ab), changing to the key of A♯(Bb) after the bridge. Selena's vocal range spans Eb3-Eb5. The Los Angeles Times placed "Dreaming of You" at number five out of its top-ten singles of 1995. "Dreaming of You" is about a lonely and depressed woman in her room at night, who dreams endlessly of being with her boyfriend. Dreaming of You begins with a low-key
instrumentation
, which provides emphasis for Selena's vocals. Geraldo Martinez of El Dictamen wrote that the opening structure of the song was astonishingly tantalizing.
"I'm Getting Used to You
" was the second promotional single released from Dreaming of You. It was composed by Diane Warren
, produced by Rhett Lawrence
, and arranged by John Brimhall
. Four dance re-mixes by David Morales
were commissioned for promotional use. The song incorporates elements of Baroque
- and Dream-pop
sub-genres, and the lyrics describe a women who is in her first real relationship. Her boyfriend helps her change her views about love. Set in F Major
, the song's tempo is moderate. Because of the music's easy piano notation I'm Getting Used To You was featured in the Top Pop Hits of 1996 for Easy Piano book.
"Captive Heart
" is an up-tempo song that incorporates elements of 1990s synthpop, electro and fast Rock. Its lyrics are about a woman who is being controlled by her partner. She is unable to end the relationship because she is too much in love with him. The song was released as a promotional single. Vibe editor Ed Morales compared the song with Evelyn "Champagne" King
and "Wherever You Are", a duet with the Barrio Boyzz
. According to the Chicago Tribune, "Captive Heart" was destined for urban-contemporary radio. The Daily Vault said: "A surprising and painful flaw at the end of "Captive Heart" shows that she is making a mistake many popular singers today are making; exerting too much throat is a one-way ticket to voice destruction. The flaw is never heard again, but an uncertainty lingers in the listener's mind."
"God's Child (Baila Conmigo)", a duet with David Byrne
, was originally recorded for the motion picture soundtrack "Don Juan DeMarco
", in which Selena made a cameo appearance with Johnny Depp
and Faye Dunaway
. After Selena's murder, EMI Records decided to use the song on the crossover album. Byrne recorded his vocals in New York, while Selena recorded her verse in Corpus Christi, Texas, at her father's recording studio. The song was used on the soundtrack of the 1995 film, Blue in the Face
. According to the Chicago Tribune
, "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)", is an energetic, dark and mysterious song that combines elements of the rumba flamenca with rock and R&B undertones. Time states that the song is a " ... giddy soulful song".
"El toro relajo
" ("The Crazy Bull"), an unreleased Spanish-language Mariachi-ballad, was composed by Felipe Bermejo, produced by José Hernàndez
, and engineered by Bruce Robb. It was the sixth single release from the album. Its lyrics are about a woman warning a man, during a bullfighting
competition, that the bull is not tame. The woman wants to tame the bull so that her lover can ride it. Mariachi Sol de México were the back-up vocalists. "El Toro Relajo" was recorded for the movie soundtrack of Don Juan DeMarco. The Daily Vault said: "The most impressive track on the entire album is "El Toro Relajo", which switches conventional man-woman roles and has Selena singing as a toreador ... The track is short, amusing, and dedicated." El Toro Relajo became a traditional Cinco de Mayo
celebration song. Brennan told Time magazine that he believes the company who dropped the song from the Don Juan DeMarco soundtrack, regrets ever doing so. "Tú sólo tú
" was released as the seventh single off of Dreaming of You. Billboard magazine called it a classic emotive ballad, Time said that "Tú sólo tú" is a spirited mariachi song.
Dreaming of You was planned to include a greater number of English language tracks. However, on March 31, 1995, when she was scheduled to record "Oh No (I'll Never Fall in Love Again)" at her father's recording studio, Selena was killed by Yolanda Saldívar
. The album was shelved until the reactions to Selena's murder forced EMI Records to release Dreaming of You as it was. EMI re-released Selena's most popular and famous works, some of which were remixed using elements of Caribbean music genres such as dancehall
and reggae
. The Barrio Boyzz
, who had originally recorded "Donde quiera que estés
" with Selena, re-recorded the song in English, titled "Wherever You Are", and left Selena's Spanish verse as it was. Full Force
were asked to sing more melodies on the contemporary R&B remix of "Missing My Baby". "Como la flor
", "Techno Cumbia
", and "Bidi bidi bom bom
" were also remixed with dancehall and reggae elements. The Chicago Tribune called "Techno Cumbia" a " ... synthed-up cumbia ... ". The Daily Vault wrote: "A track that utilizes the rhythmic nature of Spanish, namely "Techno Cumbia" is a little underproduced in a bad way but Selena compensates the lack of background beautifully." Naming the upbeat songs as dance tracks, the Daily Vault said that the rest of the songs shared the under-produced quality.
. In an interview on January 20, 1995, Selena said the album would be released in July. EMI Records and EMI Latin released Dreaming of You on July 18, 1995. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200
chart, displacing the Pocahontas
(1995) soundtrack and Michael Jackson
. The album was among the ten best-selling debuts ever, and was the best-selling debut by a female artist. Fans in Dallas
, Texas, began lining up to purchase the album hours before stores were due to open. The album sold more than 331,000 copies in its first week. It became the biggest first-week seller by a female artist since SoundScan
began monitoring US sales in 1992, and the first album by a Hispanic artist to debut at number one, according to EMI Records. EMI estimated that sales exceeded 400,000, because many copies were sold at small stores that were not tracked by SoundScan.
"Dreaming of You" was well-received by critics. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Latin Albums
and Billboard Latin Pop Albums music charts, staying on the charts for nearly two-hundred weeks. Stores across Austin
, were sold out of Dreaming of You within minutes on the day the album was released, even though Austin stores limited purchases to two copies per costumer. Fans in Corpus Christi began celebrating the release of Dreaming of You at 19:00 in the parking lot of "Craig's Record Factory" the day before the release of the album. Some lip-synced and danced to Selena's music that was being played and when the doors opened at midnight, fans swarmed in and bought all the album copies in the store.
The album was sold in approximately fifteen countries, and in the months following its release, Selena became more widely known. "Dreaming of You" and "I Could Fall in Love" were extensively played on major English speaking radio stations, preferably Adult contemporary music
radios. Dreaming of You sold half a million copies in Texas.
Within ten months of release, Dreaming of You was nearing triple-platinum status. The album was certified 3.5 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), for shipping more than 3,500,000 copies in its first year. Billboard named "I Could Fall in Love" and "Dreaming of You" the number one and two spot, respectively, in the Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Upon the release the album sold over 2,000,000 copies, and EMI Latin was inundated with orders of 500,000 units from retail stores, such as Abdelsayed's Counterfeit Factory, who were unable to fill their back-orders. The Counterfeit Factory, and another small Providence, Rhode Island
music store, were broken into by fans who stole approximately 35,000 cassettes, which were mostly of Dreaming of You. The criminals were arrested and charged with felony offenses. The album was the highest selling Latin album since Julio Iglesias
recorded his first English-language record, 1100 Bel Air Place
(1984).
In July 1995, Dreaming of You joined five of Selena's studio albums that remained in the top ten of Billboard Top 50 Latin Albums, simultaneously and Selena had became the first female artist to do so. The album peaked at number one. The album is the first to be mostly recorded in Spanish to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making Selena the first Latino artist to accomplish that feat. Two years after Selena's murder Dreaming of You and Siempre Selena
(1996) occupied the third and fourth slots respectively on the Billboard Top 50 Latin Albums. Dreaming of You was certified gold in Canada
, selling 50,000 copies. Some Texas retailers criticized sale figures for their state as Dreaming of You had sold poorly at their music stores.
In Texas and Mexico, bootleggers
sold counterfeited copies of Dreaming of You. A bootlegger in Corpus Christi, Texas, approached Selena's father, without knowing who he was. Quintanilla Jr. took all available copies and reported the man to local police. In Texas, counterfeit merchandise from Dreaming of You, such as shirts, bootleg copies and key chains, were sold from vehicles, trailers, and independent stores. There are no known reports of the public reporting bootleggers, although Quintanilla Jr reported any he found to the police. By 1996, 50,000 counterfeited copies of Dreaming of You were thought to have been sold at five dollars each.
and the UK Singles Chart
in 1995. Within weeks of the song's release, a double single version of "Dreaming of You", which included "Techno Cumbia" and additional remixes, was released on August 28, 1995. The song was also featured in the book Greatest Love Songs of the 90's. "Dreaming of You" won a BMI Millionaire Awards
for selling two million copies in the Untied States. Known as one of Selena's signature songs, it received extensive airplay on English-language radio stations after its release in the US. To date, "Dreaming of You" and "I Could Fall in Love" receive extensive airplay throughout the United States, especially on Oldies stations
.
"I Could Fall in Love" was ineligible for the US Billboard Hot 100 at the time, but reached number eight on the Hot 100 Airplay
chart and the top 10 on the Adult Contemporary Chart
. It became a promotional single on October 17, 1995. "I Could Fall in Love" peaked at number ten for eight weeks on the New Zealand Singles Chart, starting on October 22, 1995. The song was the highest ranking English language single, at the time, on the Hot Latin Tracks chart. "I Could Fall in Love" entered "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits". In 1997 Thomas was awarded "Among most played song" at the ASCAP pop awards for "I Could Fall in Love", and the single posthumously won the Tejano Crossover of The Year at the 16th Tejano Music Awards
.
EMI Latin released "I Could Fall in Love" as a double single, coupled with "Tú sólo tú", on the same day. "Tú sólo tú" peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Tracks and the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay
charts. The song won the "Song of the Year" award posthumously in 1996 at the 17th Tejano Music Awards
. It had also won the "Regional Mexican Hot Latin Track of The Year" and "Regional Mexican Hot Latin Video of The Year" posthumously at the International Billboard Latin Music Awards
.
Selena's three top-five singles made her runner-up to Shania Twain
on UU-BRU Radio Playlists "Top Female Act of the Year" in 1995. "Dreaming of You" and "I Could Fall in Love" were EMI Records' top selling downloads for the first quarter 2005, and the year-to-date top seller in April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005. For the week ending April 9, the two songs continued to chart on the list.
"I'm Getting Used To You" was released as the album's second promotional single on November 26, 1995. The single included four dance mixes by David Morales
. The song peaked at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
, number twenty seven on the Rhythmic Top 40 and number twenty three on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
charts. The song also peaked at number one on Billboard Hot Dance Breakouts
(Maxi-Single Sales) in 1996. "I'm Getting Used To You" entered the BPM List 2006: Main Edition in the top 100. "El toro relajo" became the lead single released from Dreaming of You in Mexico, and became a promotional single in the US on December 24, 1995. The song peaked at number fourteen on the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay chart.
"Sukiyaki" was released as a maxi single
in Japan on January 8, 1996, and included radio edits of "I Could Fall in Love" and "Dreaming of You". "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)" was released as a promotional single in the UK and Canada in January 1996. "Captive Heart" was released as a promotional single in Canada and the UK. It peaked at number ninety six on the Canadian Hot 100
and number thirty on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart in the United States.
(1995). The album was the number seventy five top-seller in the US for the BMG Music Club. Dreaming of You debuted at number one on the US Latin Albums chart for 128 weeks, and the US Latin Pop Albums chart for 104 weeks. Dreaming of You became the best-selling Spanish language album to chart on the Billboard Top Latin Albums. For selling 1,700,000 copies in the US, Dreaming of You was listed as one of the "Best-Selling Records of 1995" on Nielsen SoundScan and in Billboard magazine. Dreaming of You had sold over 400,000 copies in Argentina according to Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers
(CAPIF), over 500,000 copies in Mexico by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON), over 300,000 copies in Italy by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry
(FIMI), and over 100,000 copies in Spain by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE). The album has been certified diamond in three countries and was downloaded over one million times on the iTunes Store
, as of 2005. Rhapsody
reported that the album was downloaded over 400,000 times on its online store.
Dreaming of You became the second-fastest-selling album by a female artist, behind Janet Jackson
's janet.
(1993) which had then sold 350,000 copies. The album was predicted to sell 400,000 in the first week, however it only sold 331,000 copies. The album helped Selena to break several sales records. Dreaming of You outsold Mariah Carey
's Music Box (1993) and Whitney Houston
's The Body Guard (1992). A percentage of the proceeds from the album's sales was donated to the EMI Records Group's "Selena Scholarship Fund".
According to EMI, Dreaming of You sold 120,000 copies on the day of its release, followed by 40,000 copies the next day. US chain Musicland
sold 23,000 copies in twenty four hours, exceeding Michael Jackson
's HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995) which had sold 17,000 copies. Musicland's telephone lines were inundated by fans calling a month in advance to order the album. In New York, radio airplay of "Dreaming of You" and "I Could Fall in Love" surpassed expectation, while radio stations in Texas tried to outdo each other's airtime plays of songs from Dreaming of You when it was first released.
excellence and a poignant glimpse of the exploratory path her career was beginning to take." James Hunter, also from Vibe, commented on Selena's death and the effect it had on his listening experience, and wrote, "In light of the young singer's tragic end, you almost can't listen to the damn thing."
The Chicago Tribune
s Achy Obejas wrote that Dreaming of You was " ... an incomplete work. It's a record about Selena's past and about what might have been. It's full of promise and flaws, ... "'Dreaming of You' is not, as so many have proposed, the great Latino crossover. Indeed, even if Selena had lived, that road had already been paved by Gloria Estefan. But unlike Estefan, Selena—who was slain March 31, allegedly by the president of her own fan club—didn't get to take the next step: mainstream stardom and smashing sales figures while effortlessly balancing on the hyphen between Latino styles and American pop." Obejas also wrote: "It's not a masterpiece, or definitive, or even a testament to Selena's talents." Christopher John Farley
of Time
believed Dreaming of You " ... undoubtedly [had brought] her music to a far wider audience than she ever had when she was alive ... ", and placed Dreaming of You nine out of Farley's "Top 10 Posthumous Albums" chart in 2010; following the posthumous release of Michael
. Farley wrote that Dreaming of You, " ... contains some of Selena's finest, most enjoyable work; it's a commendable but sorrowful accomplishment". Contrasting her Tejano and English-language songs, Farley stated that her Tejano songs was sometimes clumsy, whereas her English pop songs were " ... sweet, pure and clear, and on the mariachi numbers, Selena shows off a voice that is sexy, strong and gracefully maturing."
Enrique Lopetegui of The Los Angeles Times wrote that Dreaming of You was Selena's " ... most eclectic and satisfying album ... ", and also said that it lacks cohesion. Lopetegui also wrote: "Still, the need to fill the rest of the album with Spanish songs makes for a collection even more interesting than the original [crossover] idea.", and "In the English songs [Selena] blossoms into a full-fledged soul singer, with an aggressiveness seldom shown before." Mary Talbot of the New York Daily News
wrote: "Listening to this album is akin to sifting through a dead woman's scrapbook. Like a collection of disparate jottings and snapshots some artful, some light, all weighted with nostalgia "Dreaming of You" shows Selena's past and outlines what could have been her future. But because she wasn't there to put them in order, the pieces don't tell a full or coherent story." Dave Hoekstra of the Chicago Sun-Times
wrote: " ... ['Dreaming of You'] deserves all the attention it's receiving. At her death, Selena was poised to take Tejano music to a higher level. "Dreaming of You" achieves that goal with dignity and delight."
Mario Tarradell of the Dallas Morning News wrote that the album contains, " ... breathy, love-struck vocal performances that sound like tepid imitations of Amy Grant
or Paula Abdul
. Ernesto Portillo Jr of the The San Diego Union-Tribune
wrote: "The four new English tracks should capture significant airplay on pop radio, although none breaks any new musical ground. On all four, Selena gives musical nods to Madonna, Gloria Estefan and Mariah Carey. Yet she manages to create some sense of self- identity." Alisa Valdes of the Boston Globe wrote: "['Dreaming of You'], carefully produced by some of the biggest heavies in the biz, slams."
Vocals
Instrumentals
Producers
A&R
Engineer
Mixers
Art
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, and second posthumous album, by American Tejano pop
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
singer Selena
Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez , known simply as Selena, was a Mexican American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits...
, and was released on July 18, 1995, by EMI Records
EMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
and EMI Latin
EMI Latin
EMI Televisa Music, also known as EMI Latin and EMI International, is a subsidiary of EMI which focuses on Latin American music....
. Dreaming of You comprises previously unreleased English- and Spanish-language songs, and previously released tracks that were remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed with a Caribbean influence from the dance hall and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
genres. The first half of the album incorporates slow and mid-tempo R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
ballads and pop songs, and the remainder incorporates Latin-inflected grooves. The album was re-released on September 24, 2002, as part of the Selena: 20 Years of Music collection, the re-release included one music video and spoken liner notes by her family, friends and her former band, Selena y Los Dinos
Selena y Los Dinos
Selena y Los Dinos was the band in which Grammy-Award-winning Tejano music singer Selena performed, until her death on March 31, 1995. Selena fronted the band since 1980, started by her father Abraham Quintanilla, Jr....
.
By 1993, EMI Latin thought Selena should release a crossover album. She had proven her capacity for success; she had won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
, and several other accolades, signed a sponsorship tour with Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, dominated the Latin music charts, and expanded the "Tejano Music Movement" across the United States. EMI Latin thought that she had reached her peak in the Spanish language market and it wanted to launch her into a career as a mainstream American solo pop artist. Selena was partnered with major pop music producers, some of whom were Grammy Award winners. EMI Latin and EMI Records wanted to change Selena's musical styles from Tejano and Latin Pop to Pop and contemporary R&B, and to facilitate her own crossover dream. Recordings had been made and a crossover tour
Crossover tour
The Crossover Tour was a scheduled world crossover tour for Mexican-American singer Selena. The tour was to begin in the summer of 1995, when Selena's planned crossover album was to be released world wide...
was being planned. On the morning of March 31, 1995, Selena was murdered by Yolanda Saldivar
Yolanda Saldívar
Yolanda Saldívar is a Mexican American woman who was convicted in 1995 of the murder of Tejano music singer Selena at a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas on March 31, 1995.- Early life :...
, a friend and employee at her Selena Etc.
Selena Etc.
Selena Etc. was a South Texas-based boutique, salon, and clothing store, which was built by Latin Superstar, Selena. Selena Etc. was built and finished on January 27, 1993 in Corpus Christi, Texas which was the headquarters building...
boutiques.
"Dreaming of You" debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, and sold more than 331,000 units in its first week. Selena was the first Hispanic singer to have an album, mostly in Spanish, debut at number one. The album made the second-highest chart debut in the world after Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995), and Selena became the second-fastest-selling female artist, after Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
's janet.
Janet.
Janet is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Janet Jackson, released on May 18, 1993 by Virgin Records. Prior to its release, Jackson was at the center of a high-profile bidding war over her recording contract. Her original label A&M sought to renew her contract, while others, such...
(1993). The album was among the top ten debuts of all time and among the best-selling albums for a female artist. On its release date the album sold more than 175,000 copies, a record for a female pop singer. Critics gave the album mixed to positive reviews; many said that Dreaming of You was not Selena's peak as an artist. Her previous record, Amor Prohibido
Amor Prohibido
Amor Prohibido is the fifth studio album by American Tejano pop singer Selena. The album was released on March 13, 1994 by EMI Latin. It was re-released on September 24, 2002, as part of the Selena: 20 Years of Music collection, and included music videos and spoken liner notes by her family,...
(1994), was considered a more consistent release and a good introduction to her work. Several tracks from the album were released as singles in the United States and other countries.
Production and development
Selena performed at the 1989 Tejano Music Awards1989 Tejano Music Awards
The 9th Tejano Music Awards were held in 1989. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The Tejano Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony recognizing Tejano music musicians.- Vocalists of The Year :*Male Vocalist of The Year...
, which was attended by Jose Behar, the former head of Sony Music Latin
Sony Music Latin
Sony Music Latin is a record label owned by Sony Music Entertainnment. The label focuses on artists for Latin music.-Labels distributed by Sony Music Latin:*Pina Records*Top Stop Music*Premium Latin Music-List of artists on Sony Music Latin:...
who had recently launched EMI Latin Records
EMI Latin
EMI Televisa Music, also known as EMI Latin and EMI International, is a subsidiary of EMI which focuses on Latin American music....
, and the new head of Sony Music Latin. Behar was searching for new Latin acts, and wanted to sign Selena to EMI's Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, while Sony Music Latin was offering double Capitol's amount to Selena's father and manager, Abraham Quintanilla Jr
Abraham Quintanilla Jr
Abraham Isaac Quintanilla, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the father of singer Selena, who was murdered in 1995.-Early life:...
. Behar thought that he had found the next Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
, and told his superior that he had found what he was looking for. Behar's superior replied that Behar was crazy as he had been in South Texas less than a week. Quintanilla Jr. chose EMI Latin's offer because of the potential for a crossover, and he wanted his children to be the first artists to sign with the company.
Before Selena signed her contract with EMI Latin in 1989, her first major contract, Behar and Stephen Finfer
Stephen Finfer
Stephen J. Finfer is a Music Publisher, Manager, Attorney, Television Producer and Business Executive whose clients have included Kara DioGuardi, Scott Storch, Selena Quintanilla, Emanuel Kiriakou, David Hodges, Mitch Allan and Kasia Livingston. Having previously operated his own law firm and...
requested Selena for a crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
album and she recorded "Only Love
Only Love (Engelbert Humperdinck/Selena song)
"Only Love" is a song written by Robbie Buchanan and Mark Spiro and it was first recorded by Englebert Humperdinck sometime in between the 1970s and 1980s, and was then recorded by the late tejano singer Selena in 1989 and was not released until 1996, when it was released for the first time on her...
", "Is It the Beat?
Is It the Beat?
"Is It the Beat?" is a freestyle pop song which was written by Pamela Phillips Oland & A.B. Quintanilla III that was recorded in 1989 by Tejano singer Selena. The song was not released until after her death on March 31, 1995, when it was included on the soundtrack album to the film, Selena...
", and "Where Did the Feeling Go?
Where Did the Feeling Go?
"Where Did the Feeling Go?" is a song written by Norman Saleet and first recorded by Russell Hitchcock for his eponymous debut solo album in 1988...
" for the heads of EMI Records' pop division. Behar's request for a major crossover album was denied and Selena was told that she needed a bigger fan base to sell a major album. Behar said later that he thought that EMI Records, and people in general, did not believe that a Mexican American woman could be of "crossover potential". By 1993 Selena had won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Selena Live!
Selena Live!
"Live!" or "Selena Live!" is a live album by American Tejano pop singer Selena, released on May 4, 1993 by EMI Latin. The album was re-released on September 22, 2002 as part of the Selena: 20 Years of Music collection that included spoken liner notes by her family, friends and her former band...
(1993), won several accolades, signed a sponsorship tour with Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, dominated the Latin music charts, and expanded the "Tejano Music Movement" across the United States. EMI Latin thought that Selena should release a crossover album, and believed she had reached her peak in the Spanish language market and wanted to launch her career as an American solo pop artist. Selena said in interviews that the album would be released during 1994, though following the release of Amor prohibido
Amor Prohibido
Amor Prohibido is the fifth studio album by American Tejano pop singer Selena. The album was released on March 13, 1994 by EMI Latin. It was re-released on September 24, 2002, as part of the Selena: 20 Years of Music collection, and included music videos and spoken liner notes by her family,...
in March 1994, she said that the crossover album was still being developed. During a private dinner in a Thai restaurant in 1994, Selena was very upset about the pressure she was under from the press about the album. She said that she had told numerous news crews that the album was about to be released, but she had not recorded one song for the album. Behar thought Selena was joking because of her bubbly personality, and said that Selena was correct. He subsequently told the chairman of EMI Records, Charles Koppelman
Charles Koppelman
Charles Koppelman is the chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and was Martha Stewart's right-hand man on NBC's The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005.-Career:...
, that Selena and her band Los Dinos
Selena y Los Dinos
Selena y Los Dinos was the band in which Grammy-Award-winning Tejano music singer Selena performed, until her death on March 31, 1995. Selena fronted the band since 1980, started by her father Abraham Quintanilla, Jr....
would leave EMI and find a record company willing to record an English language album for Selena. Behar had lied to the chairman to force the crossover album to begin. EMI relented and the recording sessions began. Selena was signed to EMI's SBK Records
SBK Records
SBK Records was a record label of the EMI Group that was founded in 1988.Stephen Swid, Martin Bandier, and Charles Koppelman formed the production company SBK in 1989 after they purchased the music publishing division of CBS Records in 1986....
in November 1993 after less than twenty-four hours in Los Angeles. The news of Selena's new deal was front-page news on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
. Selena said she felt intimidated by the recording deal because the situation was new to her and that only a few people had believed she would achieve success in the pop world.
Selena began recording the first song for the album, "I Could Fall in Love
I Could Fall in Love
"I Could Fall in Love" is the first single by American singer Selena from her last studio album Dreaming of You, released in October 1995 by EMI International.-Song information:...
", in late 1994. Selena was paired with major pop music producers, some of which were Grammy Award winners. Selena's sister Suzette Quintanilla stated that Selena would take a very long time before deciding that a song represented what "Selena was all about"; however, SBK Records controlled the entire project and allowed Selena to choose only one song. This was because, SBK knew what they were doing for a crossover event. Recording sessions for the album took place at several recording studios during 1994 to 1995, including: her father's Q-Productions
Q-Productions
Q-Productions is a record company owned and operated by Abraham Quintanilla Jr. Founded in 1993, Q Productions or also known as Q, or Q-Zone specializes within the Latin music industry, and it is located in Texas. The company's most recognized contributing artists are Selena , Los Tres Reyes, and...
studio in Corpus Christi; The Bennett House
The Bennett House
The Bennett House is a recording studio located on 4th Avenue South in Franklin, Tennessee.Built in 1875, the two-story building has served as a residence, a clothing store and, starting in 1980, a recording studio used by many popular music artists when recording in Tennessee...
in Franklin, Tennessee; Bananaboat Studio in Burbank, California; Oakshire Recorders in Los Angeles; Conway Studios in Hollywood; Clinton Studios in Clinton, New York; and Levosia Entertainment in Hollywood. Producers and songwriters who collaborated with Selena on the album included Keith Thomas
Keith Thomas (producer)
Keith Thomas, born and raised in the Atlanta suburb of Conyers, Georgia, is a Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter with 40 #1 Billboard hits...
, Trey Lorenz
Trey Lorenz
Trey Lorenz is an African American singer and songwriter. He was born in Florence, South Carolina and is a graduate of Wilson High School.-Biography:...
of Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, Mark Goldenberg, Kit Hain, Guy Roche
Guy Roche
Guy Roche is a record producer and songwriter who is best known for the hit singles he has co-written/co-produced for Christina Aguilera, which include but are not limited to "What a Girl Wants", "I Turn to You", and "Come on Over Baby . He also co-wrote Brandy's Never Say Never single "Almost...
, Donna Delorey, Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
, Rhett Lawrence
Rhett Lawrence
Rhett Lawrence is a record producer and songwriter. He is originally famous for producing the Grammy Award–winning, Billboard #1 Hot 100 and #1 R&B single "Vision of Love" for Mariah Carey. He produced and co-wrote the Kelly Clarkson pop rock hit "Miss Independent” which was #1 for 6 weeks at Top...
, David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
of Luaka Bop Inc.
Luaka Bop
Luaka Bop is a world music-oriented record label established by David Byrne, former guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer of the art rock/new wave band Talking Heads. It has been a wholly independent label since leaving V2 in 2006. Previous distribution relationships included Warner and Virgin...
, Franne Golde
Franne Golde
Franne Golde is a songwriter, musician, singer and writer. Her songs have appeared on more than 100 million records worldwideFranne has received BMI awards for singles with The Pussycat Dolls , Randy Travis’s "A Man Ain't Made of Stone", The Kinleys' "Somebody's Out There Watching" from the Touched...
, Tom Snow, Full Force
Full Force
Full Force is a group of R&B performers and producers from Brooklyn, New York, USA, calling itself the original hip hop vocal band.-Members:*B-Fine - drums and drum programming*Shy Shy - bass guitar...
, Brian "Red" Moore, A.B. Quintanilla III, Barrio Boyzz
Barrio Boyzz
The Barrio Boyzz were a Latin pop group. The group were made up of Puerto Rican American and Colombian Americans who grew-up in New York City. They gained popularity during the 1990s, especially when they became label-mates with the Mexican-American singer-songwriter Selena, and landed their first...
, K.C. Porter, Felipe Bernmejo, Jose Hernandez and Felipe Valdes Leal. Amy Grant
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...
and Vanessa Williams
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
were both in the process of writing songs for Selena to be included on the album. Dreaming of You was the first album that Selena's family did not produce, as Selena's family stepped down prior to the albums recording sessions; as they wished to allow professional pop producers to work her. Selena found this decision stressful, and felt the decision was forced on her in order to sell records.
The songs for the album were in a different style from those she had previously sung, being mostly pop love songs. Selena co-wrote with David Byrne, former lead vocalist of Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
for his Gospel song "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)"; her vocals were later used in the song after Byrne recorded it in Clifton, New York. Before choosing the song "Dreaming of You
Dreaming of You (Selena song)
"Dreaming of You" is the name of a Selena love song written by Franne Golde and Tom Snow. It was Selena's biggest single, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.The song was released at the end of the first quarter of 1995, after Selena's murder...
" for the album Selena's husband Chris Pérez
Chris Perez
Christopher Gilbert "Chris" Pérez is a American guitarist and the widower of "The Queen of Tejano music" Selena. He is currently a guitarist for A.B. Quintanilla III y Los Kumbia All Starz since he joined in 2006. Prior to that, Pérez was the lead guitarist for his wife's band Selena y Los Dinos...
and brother A.B. Quintanilla III, then her producer, told Selena that they both disliked the song. A.B. Quintanilla III would later state, after Selena's murder, that he "now understood" why Selena choose the song and Pérez stated that he grew to love it. Keith Thomas stated that every time Selena would walk in the recording studio that all eyes would be on her because of her smiles, energy, and eager to succeed, who made everyone laugh. Thomas also said that there were no ego problems with her. Selena began recording songs in late 1994 and had recorded six songs by January 20, 1995. Selena was scheduled to record "Oh No (I'll Never Fall in Love Again)" on the morning of March 31, 1995, but was killed on the same day by Yolanda Saldivar
Yolanda Saldívar
Yolanda Saldívar is a Mexican American woman who was convicted in 1995 of the murder of Tejano music singer Selena at a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas on March 31, 1995.- Early life :...
, a prior friend and manager of her boutiques
Selena Etc.
Selena Etc. was a South Texas-based boutique, salon, and clothing store, which was built by Latin Superstar, Selena. Selena Etc. was built and finished on January 27, 1993 in Corpus Christi, Texas which was the headquarters building...
. "Oh No" was later recorded in Spanish by her brother's band, Kumbia Kings
Kumbia Kings
Kumbia Kings was a Latin Grammy-winning Mexican cumbia group from Corpus Christi, Texas created by A.B. Quintanilla. Their music encompasses the styles of cumbia , hip hop and R&B. They produce songs in both Spanish and English. The band's producers from the beginning have been A.B. Quintanilla III...
, on their album Amor, Familia Y Respeto
Amor, Familia Y Respeto
- Trivia :* "Oh No" was going to be the fifth recorded song by A.B's sister Selena in 1995 in English under the title "Oh No " for her album Dreaming of You but she sadly was killed in the same year. In this album A.B...
(2009). The composer Keith Thomas, who wrote "I Could Fall In Love", never finished his second song intended for Selena to record and revealed the song's fate when he made an appearance on a show which talked about Selena's life and death for the A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
series Biography
Biography (TV series)
Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987...
. In 2008, freestyle
Freestyle music
Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
singer Brenda K. Starr
Brenda K. Starr
Brenda K. Starr is an American singer-songwriter. She is well known originally in dance-pop, but now mostly in salsa-based music...
, revealed that she was supposed to guest starred in two unrecorded songs slanted for Dreaming of You. In June 2011 Dominican American
Dominican American
A Dominican American is any American who has origins in the Dominican Republic.Immigration records of Dominicans in the United States date from the late 19th century, and New York City has had a Dominican community since the 1930s...
Latin soul
Latin soul
Latin soul was a short lived musical genre movement which developed in the 60's in New York City. It consisted of a blend of Cuban mambo with elements of Latin Jazz and Soul music. Although short-lived, the genre had a great influence on the growing Salsa movement which would dominate the New York...
singer TeCheetah Lopez was given a demo of "Love Me Now", which was intended for Dreaming of You. The song was never produced and was written by Christopher Troy and Zac Harmon
Zac Harmon
Zac Harmon is an American blues musician from Jackson, Mississippi. Harmon is currently signed to Toronto's NorthernBlues Music.Zac moved to Los Angeles in 1980 in the pursuit of a career in music. He worked as a studio musician, and later, built himself to become a writer/producer...
. According to Jose Behar Dreaming of You was projected to be released in September or October 1995. In April 1995 EMI Latin decided to only release four out of the six English-language songs Selena had recorded for her crossover album; the song "Siempre Hace Frio
Siempre Hace Frio
-Song information:The song was recorded in late 1994 but was never released. It was expected to be included on Selena's next Spanish album following "Dreaming of You". The song was a hit single. It stayed at #2 on the Hot Latin Tracks Chart for 8 weeks....
" ("It's Always Cold") was pulled from the album for unknown reasons.
Composition
The crossover album was planned as a pop album, consisting of confessional love songs and contemporary R&BContemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
duets. Betty Cortina from People magazine
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
wrote: "It was really a transition not only from a marketing point-of-view but really from a creative point-of-view, in the most fundamental ways for her ... ". Selena told numerous interviewers that she was going to sing a pop ballad with John Secada. After Selena's murder SBK Records proposed that EMI Latin finish the album and update SBK on its progress, while SBK Records removed themselves as affiliates; however, Selena's contract with EMI Latin was still active and EMI Latin took control of the project and collaborated on remix sessions with Q-Productions
Q-Productions
Q-Productions is a record company owned and operated by Abraham Quintanilla Jr. Founded in 1993, Q Productions or also known as Q, or Q-Zone specializes within the Latin music industry, and it is located in Texas. The company's most recognized contributing artists are Selena , Los Tres Reyes, and...
. EMI Latin and EMI Records wanted to transform Selena's musical style from Tejano
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
-pop to Pop and contemporary R&B, which would give Selena her desired crossover. The album's booklet states that Selena displayed an instinctive ability to convey passion and sentiment in a variety of ways, and that the first half of the album, " ... spotlighted Selena wrapping her creamy seductive mezzo sound around slow confessionals such as 'I Could Fall in Love', 'Missing My Baby', and the title track."
Musical style and lyrics
"I Could Fall in LoveI Could Fall in Love
"I Could Fall in Love" is the first single by American singer Selena from her last studio album Dreaming of You, released in October 1995 by EMI International.-Song information:...
", the first promotional single off Dreaming of You, was written by Keith Thomas
Keith Thomas (producer)
Keith Thomas, born and raised in the Atlanta suburb of Conyers, Georgia, is a Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter with 40 #1 Billboard hits...
and incorporates elements of soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
, pop, R&B and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and the song is set in E Major
E major
E major is a major scale based on E, with the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps .Its relative minor is C-sharp minor, and its parallel minor is E minor....
with a moderate groove. Selena's vocal range spans four octaves with music notes F#3-A4, . The lyrics describe a woman who is in love with someone who does not know about it. She tries to confess her feelings for him, but is afraid of rejection, and decides not to tell him. According to The Billboard book of number one albums, "I Could Fall in Love" was regarded as the prime song of Dreaming of You and " ... could melt the hearts of millions around the world". Kathleen Tracy wrote that "I Could Fall in Love" and "Dreaming of You" were two hit ballads. Vibe editor James Hunter wrote: "Selena gives an astute, loving reading of Tennessee writer/producer Keith Thomas's song as though she recognizes the tune for the gem it is. "I Could Fall in Love" is a masterpiece. In light of the young singer's tragic end, you almost can't listen to the damn thing." After Selena's death the piece became a popular wedding song
Wedding music
Wedding music applies music played at wedding celebrations, including the ceremony and any festivities before or after the event. The music can be performed live by musicians and/or vocalists or use pre-recorded songs, depending on the format of the event, traditions associated with the...
.
"Dreaming of You
Dreaming of You (Selena song)
"Dreaming of You" is the name of a Selena love song written by Franne Golde and Tom Snow. It was Selena's biggest single, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.The song was released at the end of the first quarter of 1995, after Selena's murder...
", the lead single from the album, is a power ballad derived from the genre of contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
. The song features piano and guitar as its foundation, wind chimes and funk-influenced bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
instrumentation are also present. The song was composed by Franne Golde
Franne Golde
Franne Golde is a songwriter, musician, singer and writer. Her songs have appeared on more than 100 million records worldwideFranne has received BMI awards for singles with The Pussycat Dolls , Randy Travis’s "A Man Ain't Made of Stone", The Kinleys' "Somebody's Out There Watching" from the Touched...
and Tom Snow. Dreaming of You is set in Ab Major and begins in the key of G♯(Ab), changing to the key of A♯(Bb) after the bridge. Selena's vocal range spans Eb3-Eb5. The Los Angeles Times placed "Dreaming of You" at number five out of its top-ten singles of 1995. "Dreaming of You" is about a lonely and depressed woman in her room at night, who dreams endlessly of being with her boyfriend. Dreaming of You begins with a low-key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
instrumentation
Instrumentation
Instrumentation is defined as the art and science of measurement and control of process variables within a production, or manufacturing area....
, which provides emphasis for Selena's vocals. Geraldo Martinez of El Dictamen wrote that the opening structure of the song was astonishingly tantalizing.
"I'm Getting Used to You
I'm Getting Used To You
"I'm Getting Used to You" is the title of the fourth single released by Selena from the album Dreaming of You.-Song information:The track was written by superstar songwriter Diane Warren and was chosen to be the fourth release...
" was the second promotional single released from Dreaming of You. It was composed by Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
, produced by Rhett Lawrence
Rhett Lawrence
Rhett Lawrence is a record producer and songwriter. He is originally famous for producing the Grammy Award–winning, Billboard #1 Hot 100 and #1 R&B single "Vision of Love" for Mariah Carey. He produced and co-wrote the Kelly Clarkson pop rock hit "Miss Independent” which was #1 for 6 weeks at Top...
, and arranged by John Brimhall
John Brimhall
John Brimhall was an American musical arranger and author of books on music composition, theory, and performance...
. Four dance re-mixes by David Morales
David Morales
David Morales is an internationally acclaimed Grammy-winning house music DJ and producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is one of the most prolific remixers of all time, transforming many pop music songs into club-friendly dance tracks...
were commissioned for promotional use. The song incorporates elements of Baroque
Baroque pop
Baroque pop, Baroque rock, or English baroque, often used interchangeably with chamber pop/rock, is a pop and rock music subgenre which originated in the mid-1960s in the United Kingdom and United States...
- and Dream-pop
Dream pop
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, when bands like The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into dreamy, sensual soundscapes. The term was almost...
sub-genres, and the lyrics describe a women who is in her first real relationship. Her boyfriend helps her change her views about love. Set in F Major
F major
F major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...
, the song's tempo is moderate. Because of the music's easy piano notation I'm Getting Used To You was featured in the Top Pop Hits of 1996 for Easy Piano book.
"Captive Heart
Captive Heart (song)
"Captive Heart" is a song by American Tejano pop singer Selena, released from EMI Records and EMI Latin on August 22, 1995. It was the second promotional single released from Dreaming of You , behind "God's Child ". It was written by Mark Goldenberg and Kit Hain, while it was produced by Guy Roche...
" is an up-tempo song that incorporates elements of 1990s synthpop, electro and fast Rock. Its lyrics are about a woman who is being controlled by her partner. She is unable to end the relationship because she is too much in love with him. The song was released as a promotional single. Vibe editor Ed Morales compared the song with Evelyn "Champagne" King
Evelyn King (singer)
Evelyn "Champagne" King is an American R&B, disco and post-disco singer. Some of her best-known songs are "Shame", "Love Come Down," and "I'm in Love."-Biography:...
and "Wherever You Are", a duet with the Barrio Boyzz
Barrio Boyzz
The Barrio Boyzz were a Latin pop group. The group were made up of Puerto Rican American and Colombian Americans who grew-up in New York City. They gained popularity during the 1990s, especially when they became label-mates with the Mexican-American singer-songwriter Selena, and landed their first...
. According to the Chicago Tribune, "Captive Heart" was destined for urban-contemporary radio. The Daily Vault said: "A surprising and painful flaw at the end of "Captive Heart" shows that she is making a mistake many popular singers today are making; exerting too much throat is a one-way ticket to voice destruction. The flaw is never heard again, but an uncertainty lingers in the listener's mind."
"God's Child (Baila Conmigo)", a duet with David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
, was originally recorded for the motion picture soundtrack "Don Juan DeMarco
Don Juan DeMarco
Don Juan DeMarco is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Johnny Depp as John Arnold DeMarco, a man who believes himself to be Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and domino mask, DeMarco undergoes psychiatric treatment with Marlon Brando's character, Dr. Jack...
", in which Selena made a cameo appearance with Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
and Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
. After Selena's murder, EMI Records decided to use the song on the crossover album. Byrne recorded his vocals in New York, while Selena recorded her verse in Corpus Christi, Texas, at her father's recording studio. The song was used on the soundtrack of the 1995 film, Blue in the Face
Blue in the Face
Blue in the Face is a 1995 comedy directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster. It stars Harvey Keitel, Victor Argo, Giancarlo Esposito, Roseanne Barr, Michael J. Fox, Lily Tomlin, Mira Sorvino, Lou Reed, Mel Gorham, Jim Jarmusch,and Malik Yoba....
. According to the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)", is an energetic, dark and mysterious song that combines elements of the rumba flamenca with rock and R&B undertones. Time states that the song is a " ... giddy soulful song".
"El toro relajo
El Toro Relajo
"El Toro Relajo" is the title of a popular mariachi song written by Felipe Bermejo and has been recorded by several artists...
" ("The Crazy Bull"), an unreleased Spanish-language Mariachi-ballad, was composed by Felipe Bermejo, produced by José Hernàndez
José Hernàndez
José L. Hernàndez is an American musician and music producer. He is the founder and director of the Mariachi Heritage Society which aims to help young people develop their skills in Latin music. He also directs the Mariachi Sol de Mexico. He has worked with many famous musicians in Latin music,...
, and engineered by Bruce Robb. It was the sixth single release from the album. Its lyrics are about a woman warning a man, during a bullfighting
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
competition, that the bull is not tame. The woman wants to tame the bull so that her lover can ride it. Mariachi Sol de México were the back-up vocalists. "El Toro Relajo" was recorded for the movie soundtrack of Don Juan DeMarco. The Daily Vault said: "The most impressive track on the entire album is "El Toro Relajo", which switches conventional man-woman roles and has Selena singing as a toreador ... The track is short, amusing, and dedicated." El Toro Relajo became a traditional Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday held on May 5. It is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla...
celebration song. Brennan told Time magazine that he believes the company who dropped the song from the Don Juan DeMarco soundtrack, regrets ever doing so. "Tú sólo tú
Tú Sólo Tú
"Tú Sólo Tú" is the title of the second single released from the album Dreaming of You, recorded by Selena. The track was written by Felipe Valdés Leal and was the first Spanish single to be released posthumously after Selena's death in 1995...
" was released as the seventh single off of Dreaming of You. Billboard magazine called it a classic emotive ballad, Time said that "Tú sólo tú" is a spirited mariachi song.
Dreaming of You was planned to include a greater number of English language tracks. However, on March 31, 1995, when she was scheduled to record "Oh No (I'll Never Fall in Love Again)" at her father's recording studio, Selena was killed by Yolanda Saldívar
Yolanda Saldívar
Yolanda Saldívar is a Mexican American woman who was convicted in 1995 of the murder of Tejano music singer Selena at a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas on March 31, 1995.- Early life :...
. The album was shelved until the reactions to Selena's murder forced EMI Records to release Dreaming of You as it was. EMI re-released Selena's most popular and famous works, some of which were remixed using elements of Caribbean music genres such as dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
. The Barrio Boyzz
Barrio Boyzz
The Barrio Boyzz were a Latin pop group. The group were made up of Puerto Rican American and Colombian Americans who grew-up in New York City. They gained popularity during the 1990s, especially when they became label-mates with the Mexican-American singer-songwriter Selena, and landed their first...
, who had originally recorded "Donde quiera que estés
Donde Quiera Que Estés
"Donde Quiera Que Estés" is a duet by American Tejano pop singer Selena and Nuyorican band the Barrio Boyzz, released as the lead single from the Barrio Boyzz album Dondequiera Que Estés . It was written by K. C. Porter, Miguel Flores, Desmond Child, and produced by A.B. Quintanilla III, Domingo...
" with Selena, re-recorded the song in English, titled "Wherever You Are", and left Selena's Spanish verse as it was. Full Force
Full Force
Full Force is a group of R&B performers and producers from Brooklyn, New York, USA, calling itself the original hip hop vocal band.-Members:*B-Fine - drums and drum programming*Shy Shy - bass guitar...
were asked to sing more melodies on the contemporary R&B remix of "Missing My Baby". "Como la flor
Como La Flor (song)
"Como La Flor" is a song by Mexican-American singer Selena, from her third studio album, Entre a Mi Mundo . Written and produced by Selena, Abraham Quintanilla III, and Ricky Vela, the song was also produced by Abraham Quintanilla Jr, the track was released as the album's second single. It was...
", "Techno Cumbia
Techno Cumbia
"Techno Cumbia" is a song by American Tejano pop singer Selena, released as the seventh single from her album, Amor prohibido . It was written by Selena's brother and music producer, A.B. Quintanilla III, backup singer Pete Astudillo, lead keyboardist Ricky Vela, and produced by Quintanilla and...
", and "Bidi bidi bom bom
Bidi Bidi Bom Bom
"Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" is a song by Mexican-American Tejano pop singer Selena from her album Amor Prohibido . The album's second single, "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" was written by Selena and Pete Astudillo. It was produced by A.B. Quintanilla III – Selena's brother – and Bebu Silvetti. The song was...
" were also remixed with dancehall and reggae elements. The Chicago Tribune called "Techno Cumbia" a " ... synthed-up cumbia ... ". The Daily Vault wrote: "A track that utilizes the rhythmic nature of Spanish, namely "Techno Cumbia" is a little underproduced in a bad way but Selena compensates the lack of background beautifully." Naming the upbeat songs as dance tracks, the Daily Vault said that the rest of the songs shared the under-produced quality.
Release
Dreaming of You was scheduled to be released sometime in 1994 but it was delayed until after the release of Selena's last entirely Spanish language studio album, Amor prohibidoAmor Prohibido
Amor Prohibido is the fifth studio album by American Tejano pop singer Selena. The album was released on March 13, 1994 by EMI Latin. It was re-released on September 24, 2002, as part of the Selena: 20 Years of Music collection, and included music videos and spoken liner notes by her family,...
. In an interview on January 20, 1995, Selena said the album would be released in July. EMI Records and EMI Latin released Dreaming of You on July 18, 1995. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, displacing the Pocahontas
Pocahontas (soundtrack)
Pocahontas: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Disney's 1995, thirty-third animated feature Pocahontas. It contains songs from the film written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, conducted by David Friedman, and performed by Judy Kuhn, Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt, Jim...
(1995) soundtrack and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. The album was among the ten best-selling debuts ever, and was the best-selling debut by a female artist. Fans in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas, began lining up to purchase the album hours before stores were due to open. The album sold more than 331,000 copies in its first week. It became the biggest first-week seller by a female artist since SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
began monitoring US sales in 1992, and the first album by a Hispanic artist to debut at number one, according to EMI Records. EMI estimated that sales exceeded 400,000, because many copies were sold at small stores that were not tracked by SoundScan.
"Dreaming of You" was well-received by critics. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Latin Albums
Billboard Top Latin Albums
Latin Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine and is labeled as the most important music chart for Spanish language, full-length albums in the American music market. Like all Billboard album charts, the chart is based on sales...
and Billboard Latin Pop Albums music charts, staying on the charts for nearly two-hundred weeks. Stores across Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, were sold out of Dreaming of You within minutes on the day the album was released, even though Austin stores limited purchases to two copies per costumer. Fans in Corpus Christi began celebrating the release of Dreaming of You at 19:00 in the parking lot of "Craig's Record Factory" the day before the release of the album. Some lip-synced and danced to Selena's music that was being played and when the doors opened at midnight, fans swarmed in and bought all the album copies in the store.
The album was sold in approximately fifteen countries, and in the months following its release, Selena became more widely known. "Dreaming of You" and "I Could Fall in Love" were extensively played on major English speaking radio stations, preferably Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
radios. Dreaming of You sold half a million copies in Texas.
Within ten months of release, Dreaming of You was nearing triple-platinum status. The album was certified 3.5 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA), for shipping more than 3,500,000 copies in its first year. Billboard named "I Could Fall in Love" and "Dreaming of You" the number one and two spot, respectively, in the Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Upon the release the album sold over 2,000,000 copies, and EMI Latin was inundated with orders of 500,000 units from retail stores, such as Abdelsayed's Counterfeit Factory, who were unable to fill their back-orders. The Counterfeit Factory, and another small Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
music store, were broken into by fans who stole approximately 35,000 cassettes, which were mostly of Dreaming of You. The criminals were arrested and charged with felony offenses. The album was the highest selling Latin album since Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
recorded his first English-language record, 1100 Bel Air Place
1100 Bel Air Place
-Production:*Track 1 arranged by Tony Renis & John Barnes; Tracks 2, 3, 5, 6 & 7 arranged by Michel Colombier; Track 4 arranged by Robbie Buchanan & Ramon Arcusa, with Beach Boys' vocals arranged by Brian Wilson; Tracks 8 & 9 arranged by Randy Kerber, with percussion arrangements on track 8 by...
(1984).
In July 1995, Dreaming of You joined five of Selena's studio albums that remained in the top ten of Billboard Top 50 Latin Albums, simultaneously and Selena had became the first female artist to do so. The album peaked at number one. The album is the first to be mostly recorded in Spanish to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making Selena the first Latino artist to accomplish that feat. Two years after Selena's murder Dreaming of You and Siempre Selena
Siempre Selena
Siempre Selena combines remixes of recordings Selena made as a teenager with a couple of later, previously-unreleased tracks. Like Dreaming of You, the 1995 album that documented her final English-language recording sessions and added some concurrent Latin hits. It features the romantic mariachi...
(1996) occupied the third and fourth slots respectively on the Billboard Top 50 Latin Albums. Dreaming of You was certified gold in Canada
Cria
A cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically...
, selling 50,000 copies. Some Texas retailers criticized sale figures for their state as Dreaming of You had sold poorly at their music stores.
Crossover Tour
The Crossover Tour (TCT) was a scheduled world tour to promote Dreaming of You. It was scheduled to begin in mid-1995, after the initial release of the crossover album. TCT would promote Selena in countries where Selena was not well-known.Commercial promotion
Several commercials were released in the US, Mexico and South America to promote the album. Jose Behar of EMI Latin said that promotion " ... will be on the superstar scale" and that "[We] didn't put this marketing campaign behind it because there was a tragedy. ... We put this marketing campaign behind it because we believed that this was going to be a huge album because of the music. This is a record that we're going to work over the next 10 months."In Texas and Mexico, bootleggers
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
sold counterfeited copies of Dreaming of You. A bootlegger in Corpus Christi, Texas, approached Selena's father, without knowing who he was. Quintanilla Jr. took all available copies and reported the man to local police. In Texas, counterfeit merchandise from Dreaming of You, such as shirts, bootleg copies and key chains, were sold from vehicles, trailers, and independent stores. There are no known reports of the public reporting bootleggers, although Quintanilla Jr reported any he found to the police. By 1996, 50,000 counterfeited copies of Dreaming of You were thought to have been sold at five dollars each.
Singles
EMI Latin released the lead single, "Dreaming of You" on August 14, 1995. It peaked at number one on the French Singles Chart and the Spanish Singles Chart. In 2008, the song peaked at number one on the Latin Rhythm Airplay Chart. It then peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot Singles Recurrents, Latin Pop AirplayLatin Pop Airplay
Latin Pop Airplay is a record chart published on Billboard magazine. It features Latin music information from pop music usually in Spanish. It was established by the magazine on October 8, 1994 with Mañana by Cristian Castro being the first song to reach number-one...
and the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in 1995. Within weeks of the song's release, a double single version of "Dreaming of You", which included "Techno Cumbia" and additional remixes, was released on August 28, 1995. The song was also featured in the book Greatest Love Songs of the 90's. "Dreaming of You" won a BMI Millionaire Awards
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
for selling two million copies in the Untied States. Known as one of Selena's signature songs, it received extensive airplay on English-language radio stations after its release in the US. To date, "Dreaming of You" and "I Could Fall in Love" receive extensive airplay throughout the United States, especially on Oldies stations
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
.
"I Could Fall in Love" was ineligible for the US Billboard Hot 100 at the time, but reached number eight on the Hot 100 Airplay
Hot 100 Airplay
The Hot 100 Airplay chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures radio airplay, and is one of the three component charts, along with the Hot Singles Sales and the Hot Digital Songs charts, that determine the chart positions of singles on the Billboard...
chart and the top 10 on the Adult Contemporary Chart
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
. It became a promotional single on October 17, 1995. "I Could Fall in Love" peaked at number ten for eight weeks on the New Zealand Singles Chart, starting on October 22, 1995. The song was the highest ranking English language single, at the time, on the Hot Latin Tracks chart. "I Could Fall in Love" entered "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits". In 1997 Thomas was awarded "Among most played song" at the ASCAP pop awards for "I Could Fall in Love", and the single posthumously won the Tejano Crossover of The Year at the 16th Tejano Music Awards
1995 Tejano Music Awards
The 15th Tejano Music Awards were held in 1995. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The Tejano Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony recognizing Tejano music musicians.- Vocalists of The Year :*Male Vocalist of The Year...
.
EMI Latin released "I Could Fall in Love" as a double single, coupled with "Tú sólo tú", on the same day. "Tú sólo tú" peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Tracks and the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay
Latin Regional Mexican Airplay
Regional Mexican Songs is a record chart published on Billboard magazine. It was established by the magazine on October 8, 1994 with La Niña Fresa by Banda Z being the first song to reach number-one. It features Latin music information from different genres like Mariachi, Norteño, Banda and...
charts. The song won the "Song of the Year" award posthumously in 1996 at the 17th Tejano Music Awards
Tejano Music Awards
The Tejano Music Awards had been launched in 1980 by former art teacher and music veteran Rudy Trevino and the leader of the Latin Breed Band, Gilbert Escobedo. Only 1,500 fans turned out for the first Tejano Music Awards. Over the years, San Antonio evolved into the Nashville of Tejano music...
. It had also won the "Regional Mexican Hot Latin Track of The Year" and "Regional Mexican Hot Latin Video of The Year" posthumously at the International Billboard Latin Music Awards
Billboard Latin Music Awards
The Billboard Latin Music Awards grew out of the Billboard Music Awards program from Billboard Magazine, an industry publication charting the sales and radio airplay success of musical recordings. The awards began in 1990...
.
Selena's three top-five singles made her runner-up to Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
on UU-BRU Radio Playlists "Top Female Act of the Year" in 1995. "Dreaming of You" and "I Could Fall in Love" were EMI Records' top selling downloads for the first quarter 2005, and the year-to-date top seller in April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005. For the week ending April 9, the two songs continued to chart on the list.
"I'm Getting Used To You" was released as the album's second promotional single on November 26, 1995. The single included four dance mixes by David Morales
David Morales
David Morales is an internationally acclaimed Grammy-winning house music DJ and producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is one of the most prolific remixers of all time, transforming many pop music songs into club-friendly dance tracks...
. The song peaked at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
, number twenty seven on the Rhythmic Top 40 and number twenty three on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
charts. The song also peaked at number one on Billboard Hot Dance Breakouts
Hot Dance Singles Sales
Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...
(Maxi-Single Sales) in 1996. "I'm Getting Used To You" entered the BPM List 2006: Main Edition in the top 100. "El toro relajo" became the lead single released from Dreaming of You in Mexico, and became a promotional single in the US on December 24, 1995. The song peaked at number fourteen on the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay chart.
"Sukiyaki" was released as a maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
in Japan on January 8, 1996, and included radio edits of "I Could Fall in Love" and "Dreaming of You". "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)" was released as a promotional single in the UK and Canada in January 1996. "Captive Heart" was released as a promotional single in Canada and the UK. It peaked at number ninety six on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
and number thirty on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart in the United States.
Commercial performance
Dreaming of You sold 175,000 copies on its first day of release, a record for a female pop singer. The album was Selena's last studio album and her second posthumous album, which followed Las Reinas Del PuebloLas Reinas Del Pueblo
Las Reinas Del Pueblo English: The Queens of The People is a 1995 greatest hits album featuring the music of American Tejano singer "La Reina del TexMex" Selena and "La Reina De La Banda" Graciela Beltrán...
(1995). The album was the number seventy five top-seller in the US for the BMG Music Club. Dreaming of You debuted at number one on the US Latin Albums chart for 128 weeks, and the US Latin Pop Albums chart for 104 weeks. Dreaming of You became the best-selling Spanish language album to chart on the Billboard Top Latin Albums. For selling 1,700,000 copies in the US, Dreaming of You was listed as one of the "Best-Selling Records of 1995" on Nielsen SoundScan and in Billboard magazine. Dreaming of You had sold over 400,000 copies in Argentina according to Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers
Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers
The Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers is an Argentine organization member of the IFPI, which represents the music industry in the country. It is a nonprofit organization integrated by multinational and independent record labels....
(CAPIF), over 500,000 copies in Mexico by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON), over 300,000 copies in Italy by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry
Federation of the Italian Music Industry
The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy....
(FIMI), and over 100,000 copies in Spain by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE). The album has been certified diamond in three countries and was downloaded over one million times on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, as of 2005. Rhapsody
Rhapsody (online music service)
Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...
reported that the album was downloaded over 400,000 times on its online store.
Dreaming of You became the second-fastest-selling album by a female artist, behind Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
's janet.
Janet.
Janet is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Janet Jackson, released on May 18, 1993 by Virgin Records. Prior to its release, Jackson was at the center of a high-profile bidding war over her recording contract. Her original label A&M sought to renew her contract, while others, such...
(1993) which had then sold 350,000 copies. The album was predicted to sell 400,000 in the first week, however it only sold 331,000 copies. The album helped Selena to break several sales records. Dreaming of You outsold Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's Music Box (1993) and Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
's The Body Guard (1992). A percentage of the proceeds from the album's sales was donated to the EMI Records Group's "Selena Scholarship Fund".
According to EMI, Dreaming of You sold 120,000 copies on the day of its release, followed by 40,000 copies the next day. US chain Musicland
Musicland
The Musicland Group, Inc. was an entertainment company which ran Sam Goody, Suncoast Motion Picture Company and the Media Play Superstore Chain. Musicland filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in January 2006. Trans World Entertainment which runs FYE, and sells CDs, DVDs, and video games, purchased...
sold 23,000 copies in twenty four hours, exceeding Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995) which had sold 17,000 copies. Musicland's telephone lines were inundated by fans calling a month in advance to order the album. In New York, radio airplay of "Dreaming of You" and "I Could Fall in Love" surpassed expectation, while radio stations in Texas tried to outdo each other's airtime plays of songs from Dreaming of You when it was first released.
Critical response
Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic wrote that most Americans first learned about Selena because of her murder, and Dreaming of You was the first record of Selena's that they heard. He wrote, "Dreaming of You would have been a stronger album if she had lived, but it still stands as a powerful – and touching – testament to her talents." Billboard stated that Dreaming of You " ... captured Selena stepping from her Tejano roots into today's world of pop". Vibe editor, Ed Morales called the album a " ... brief recap of Selena's cumbia flavored, Tex-MexTejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
excellence and a poignant glimpse of the exploratory path her career was beginning to take." James Hunter, also from Vibe, commented on Selena's death and the effect it had on his listening experience, and wrote, "In light of the young singer's tragic end, you almost can't listen to the damn thing."
The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
s Achy Obejas wrote that Dreaming of You was " ... an incomplete work. It's a record about Selena's past and about what might have been. It's full of promise and flaws, ... "'Dreaming of You' is not, as so many have proposed, the great Latino crossover. Indeed, even if Selena had lived, that road had already been paved by Gloria Estefan. But unlike Estefan, Selena—who was slain March 31, allegedly by the president of her own fan club—didn't get to take the next step: mainstream stardom and smashing sales figures while effortlessly balancing on the hyphen between Latino styles and American pop." Obejas also wrote: "It's not a masterpiece, or definitive, or even a testament to Selena's talents." Christopher John Farley
Christopher John Farley
For the late comedian and SNL actor, see Chris Farley.Christopher John Farley is a Jamaican-born American journalist, columnist, and author.-Early life and education:...
of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
believed Dreaming of You " ... undoubtedly [had brought] her music to a far wider audience than she ever had when she was alive ... ", and placed Dreaming of You nine out of Farley's "Top 10 Posthumous Albums" chart in 2010; following the posthumous release of Michael
Michael (album)
Michael is a posthumous album of previously unreleased tracks by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released from December 10, 2010 - January 14, 2011 by Epic Records and Sony Music Entertainment and features guest performances by Akon, 50 Cent, Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl...
. Farley wrote that Dreaming of You, " ... contains some of Selena's finest, most enjoyable work; it's a commendable but sorrowful accomplishment". Contrasting her Tejano and English-language songs, Farley stated that her Tejano songs was sometimes clumsy, whereas her English pop songs were " ... sweet, pure and clear, and on the mariachi numbers, Selena shows off a voice that is sexy, strong and gracefully maturing."
Enrique Lopetegui of The Los Angeles Times wrote that Dreaming of You was Selena's " ... most eclectic and satisfying album ... ", and also said that it lacks cohesion. Lopetegui also wrote: "Still, the need to fill the rest of the album with Spanish songs makes for a collection even more interesting than the original [crossover] idea.", and "In the English songs [Selena] blossoms into a full-fledged soul singer, with an aggressiveness seldom shown before." Mary Talbot of the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
wrote: "Listening to this album is akin to sifting through a dead woman's scrapbook. Like a collection of disparate jottings and snapshots some artful, some light, all weighted with nostalgia "Dreaming of You" shows Selena's past and outlines what could have been her future. But because she wasn't there to put them in order, the pieces don't tell a full or coherent story." Dave Hoekstra of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
wrote: " ... ['Dreaming of You'] deserves all the attention it's receiving. At her death, Selena was poised to take Tejano music to a higher level. "Dreaming of You" achieves that goal with dignity and delight."
Mario Tarradell of the Dallas Morning News wrote that the album contains, " ... breathy, love-struck vocal performances that sound like tepid imitations of Amy Grant
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...
or Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
. Ernesto Portillo Jr of the The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-Predecessors:The predecessor newspapers of the Union-Tribune were:* San Diego Sun, founded 1861 and merged with the Evening Tribune in 1939.* San Diego Union, founded October 10, 1868.* Evening Tribune, founded December 2, 1895.-Ownership:...
wrote: "The four new English tracks should capture significant airplay on pop radio, although none breaks any new musical ground. On all four, Selena gives musical nods to Madonna, Gloria Estefan and Mariah Carey. Yet she manages to create some sense of self- identity." Alisa Valdes of the Boston Globe wrote: "['Dreaming of You'], carefully produced by some of the biggest heavies in the biz, slams."
Standard edition
Personnel
Credits are taken from the album's liner notes.Vocals
- Selena Quintanilla-PerezSelenaSelena Quintanilla-Pérez , known simply as Selena, was a Mexican American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits...
– main and back-up vocalist, composer, and ideal - Trey LorenzTrey LorenzTrey Lorenz is an African American singer and songwriter. He was born in Florence, South Carolina and is a graduate of Wilson High School.-Biography:...
– back-up vocalist - David ByrneDavid ByrneDavid Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
– composer, guitar, harmonium, percussion, writer, vocals - Barrio BoyzzBarrio BoyzzThe Barrio Boyzz were a Latin pop group. The group were made up of Puerto Rican American and Colombian Americans who grew-up in New York City. They gained popularity during the 1990s, especially when they became label-mates with the Mexican-American singer-songwriter Selena, and landed their first...
– vocals, scatsScat singingIn vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice... - Full ForceFull ForceFull Force is a group of R&B performers and producers from Brooklyn, New York, USA, calling itself the original hip hop vocal band.-Members:*B-Fine - drums and drum programming*Shy Shy - bass guitar...
– back-up vocals, co-producer, additional arranger, additional keyboards, drum programming, remixer - Mariachi Sol de Mexico – chorus, back-up vocalist
- Donna De Lory – back-up vocalist
Instrumentals
- Pete AstudilloPete AstudilloPedro "Pete" Astudillo is a Mexican American songwriter.-Life:Astudillo was one of the leaders of the Tejano music scene, and from an early age followed mariachi and conjunto music. He began his musical career as a backup vocalist for the queen of Tejano, Selena, as a member of Selena y Los Dinos...
– composer, back-up vocals, tambourine - Marc Antonie – guitar
- Neil StubenhausNeil StubenhausNeil Stubenhaus is an American bass guitarist.-Career:He started his musical training playing drums and switched to bass guitar at the age of 12. He studied at the Berklee College of Music where he graduated in 1975...
– bass - Art Meza – percussion
- Luis ConteLuis ConteLuis Conte is a Cuban percussionist.-Early years:As a child in Cuba, Conte began his musical odyssey playing the guitar. However, he soon switched to percussion, and that has remained his mode since....
– percussion - Jerry HeyJerry HeyJerry Hey is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Thriller and the distinctive flugelhorn solo on Dan Fogelberg's hit Longer....
– horns - Dan HigginsDan HigginsDan Higgins is an American saxophone and woodwind player. He has worked with such artists as Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Al Jarreau, Maroon 5, Kenny Loggins, Barry Manilow, Elton John, Go West, The Temptations, Lionel Richie, Joe Cocker and Eros Ramazzotti. He's also got over 300 motion...
– horns - Gary Grant – horns
- Bill Reichenbach Jr. – horns
- Paul Socolow – bass
- Todd Turkisher – drums
- Valerie Naranjo – marimba
- Ricky VelaRicky VelaRicardo "Ricky" Vela is an award-winning song-writer and keyboards for the band Selena y Los Dinos. Ricky Vela joined the band as the bands keyboard player...
– keyboards, additional keyboards, drum programming - Joe Ojeda – keyboards
- Chris PerezChris PerezChristopher Gilbert "Chris" Pérez is a American guitarist and the widower of "The Queen of Tejano music" Selena. He is currently a guitarist for A.B. Quintanilla III y Los Kumbia All Starz since he joined in 2006. Prior to that, Pérez was the lead guitarist for his wife's band Selena y Los Dinos...
– guitar - Suzette Quintanilla Arriaga – drums
- Nick Moroch – additional guitar
Producers
- Keith ThomasKeith Thomas (producer)Keith Thomas, born and raised in the Atlanta suburb of Conyers, Georgia, is a Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter with 40 #1 Billboard hits...
– composer, producer - Kit Hain – composer
- Tom Snow – composer
- Franne GoldeFranne GoldeFranne Golde is a songwriter, musician, singer and writer. Her songs have appeared on more than 100 million records worldwideFranne has received BMI awards for singles with The Pussycat Dolls , Randy Travis’s "A Man Ain't Made of Stone", The Kinleys' "Somebody's Out There Watching" from the Touched...
– composer - Mark Goldenberg – composer
- Diane WarrenDiane WarrenDiane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
– composer - K.C. Porter – composer, engineer
- Felipe Valdés Leal – composer
- Guy RocheGuy RocheGuy Roche is a record producer and songwriter who is best known for the hit singles he has co-written/co-produced for Christina Aguilera, which include but are not limited to "What a Girl Wants", "I Turn to You", and "Come on Over Baby . He also co-wrote Brandy's Never Say Never single "Almost...
– producer, keyboards, synthesizer - Nathaniel "Mick" GuzaskiMick GuzauskiMick Guzauski is a multi-platinum Mixing Engineer and sound engineer.Guzauski's work spans a wide range of styles, including jazz, R&B, Latin, rock, pop, and easy listening...
– mixer - Mario Luccy – engineer
- Brian "Red" Moore – engineer, mixer, recorder
- Moana Suchard – engineer and assistant engineer
- Rhett LawrenceRhett LawrenceRhett Lawrence is a record producer and songwriter. He is originally famous for producing the Grammy Award–winning, Billboard #1 Hot 100 and #1 R&B single "Vision of Love" for Mariah Carey. He produced and co-wrote the Kelly Clarkson pop rock hit "Miss Independent” which was #1 for 6 weeks at Top...
– producer, arranger, synthesizers, drums, programming - A.B. Quintanilla III – producer, arranger, bass
- Jose Hernandez – arranger, producer
- Rokusuke EiRokusuke Eiis a Japanese lyricist, composer, author, essayist and TV personality.Ei wrote the lyrics to the song "Sukiyaki", which has been used in several English language films. He has also written the lyrics to the song "Miagete goran yoru no hoshi wo" sung by Kyu Sakamoto in 1963...
– composer - Hachidai NakamuraHachidai Nakamurawas a China-born Japanese songwriter and jazz pianist.- Biography :Hachidai Nakamura was born in Qingdao, China to Japanese parents. He moved to Fukuoka at a young age, where he attended high school, and eventually graduated from Waseda University in Tokyo with a degree in literature...
– composer
A&R
- Delphine – synth programming
- Jake Lee – A&R manager
Engineer
- Abraham Quintanilla JrAbraham Quintanilla JrAbraham Isaac Quintanilla, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the father of singer Selena, who was murdered in 1995.-Early life:...
– management - Dan Garcia – engineer
- Bruce RobbBruce Robb (producer)Bruce Robb is an American musician, record producer, engineer, and music supervisor. He is most recognized for his active role in the formative years of the music industry: first as a member of “The Robbs” during the music revolution of the 1960s, then as a founder of Cherokee Studios in the...
– engineer - Carl Harris Jr – assistant engineer
- Joanie Smith – production coordination
- Chris Kholer – computer technician
- Bob LudwigBob LudwigBob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....
– mastering and digital Remastering - Arto LindsayArto LindsayArthur Morgan Lindsay is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He is a 1974 graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida....
– producer - Susan RogersSusan RogersSusan Rogers is an American scientist who worked as a sound engineer for several musical artists such as David Byrne, Barenaked Ladies and most famously alongside Prince on albums such as Purple Rain and Sign o' the Times.-References:...
– producer, engineer - Kurt Lundvall – assistant engineer
- Tim Conklin – additional engineer
- Perry Tembelis – assistant engineer
Mixers
- Michael BrauerMichael BrauerMichael Brauer is a New York-based mix engineer whose credits encompass a wide range of genres, and include The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, John Mayer, Ash, My Morning Jacket, Ben Folds, Dream Theater, The New Radicals, Change, Fountains of Wayne, David Poe, Wilco, Alpha...
– mixer - Gerry E. Brown – re-mixer
- Bill Molina – digital editing
- Tony PelusoTony PelusoTony Peluso was an American guitarist and record producer. He was lead guitarist for pop duo Carpenters from 1972 to 1983....
– mixer - Mike Aavold – mixing assistant
Art
- Nancy Brennan – art, concept
- Jose Behar – art direction
- Barbie Insua – art direction
- Margo ChaseMargo ChaseMargo Chase is an American graphic designer. Originally a biology major with intentions of becoming a veterinarian, Chase fell in love with design when she took a course on a whim. Her first job in graphic arts was a tedious paste-up position, which gave her great appreciation for computers...
– packaging deisgn - Brian Hunt – packaging deisghn
- Marucie Rinaldi – photography
- Charles KoppelmanCharles KoppelmanCharles Koppelman is the chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and was Martha Stewart's right-hand man on NBC's The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005.-Career:...
– EMI Records - Manolo Gonzalez – EMI Latin
- Mario Ruiz – EMI Latin
- Davitt SigersonDavitt SigersonDavitt Sigerson is an American novelist whose first career was in the music business. Sigerson was a record producer, singer, songwriter, record company executive, and journalist.He went to school and Oxford University in the UK...
– EMI Records - John Lannert – biography
Album charts
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
| US Latin Albums Billboard Top Latin Albums Latin Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine and is labeled as the most important music chart for Spanish language, full-length albums in the American music market. Like all Billboard album charts, the chart is based on sales... (Billboard) |
1 |
| US Latin Pop Albums Latin Pop Albums Latin Pop Albums is a record chart published on Billboard magazine. It features Latin music information of the Pop music genre. Established in June 1985, this chart features only full length albums and like all album charts on Billboard, is based on sales. The information is compiled by Nielsen... (Billboard) |
1 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
1 |
| Spanish Albums Chart | 1 |
| Portuguese Albums Chart Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa The Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa is currently the only recording industry association in Portugal. Created in 1989, it succeeded GPPFV and UNEVA .... |
1 |
| Mexican Albums Chart | 1 |
| Italian Albums Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
4 |
| Argentinian Albums Chart Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers The Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers is an Argentine organization member of the IFPI, which represents the music industry in the country. It is a nonprofit organization integrated by multinational and independent record labels.... |
6 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1995) | Rank |
|---|---|
| US Top Latin Albums (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
1 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
54 |
| US Latin Pop Albums Latin Pop Albums Latin Pop Albums is a record chart published on Billboard magazine. It features Latin music information of the Pop music genre. Established in June 1985, this chart features only full length albums and like all album charts on Billboard, is based on sales. The information is compiled by Nielsen... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
1 |
Singles charts
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Latin |
MEX |
US AC |
US Pop Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... |
US Adult |
US 40 Rhythmic Airplay Chart The Rhythmic Airplay Chart is an airplay chart that is featured weekly in Billboard Magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on Rhythmic stations, whose playlist includes mostly hit-driven R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic pop, and some Dance tracks... |
NZL |
CAN Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
SPA |
||||
| "Dreaming of You Dreaming of You (Selena song) "Dreaming of You" is the name of a Selena love song written by Franne Golde and Tom Snow. It was Selena's biggest single, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.The song was released at the end of the first quarter of 1995, after Selena's murder... " |
1995 | 22 | 11 | — | 9 | 32 | 33 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 1 | ||
| "I Could Fall in Love I Could Fall in Love "I Could Fall in Love" is the first single by American singer Selena from her last studio album Dreaming of You, released in October 1995 by EMI International.-Song information:... " |
— | 2 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 1 | |||
| "I'm Getting Used To You I'm Getting Used To You "I'm Getting Used to You" is the title of the fourth single released by Selena from the album Dreaming of You.-Song information:The track was written by superstar songwriter Diane Warren and was chosen to be the fourth release... " |
— | — | — | 23 | — | — | 27 | — | — | — | |||
| "Tú Sólo Tú Tú Sólo Tú "Tú Sólo Tú" is the title of the second single released from the album Dreaming of You, recorded by Selena. The track was written by Felipe Valdés Leal and was the first Spanish single to be released posthumously after Selena's death in 1995... " |
— | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "El Toro Relajo El Toro Relajo "El Toro Relajo" is the title of a popular mariachi song written by Felipe Bermejo and has been recorded by several artists... " |
— | 24 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Missing My Baby" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | — | — | |||
| "Como La Flor Como La Flor (song) "Como La Flor" is a song by Mexican-American singer Selena, from her third studio album, Entre a Mi Mundo . Written and produced by Selena, Abraham Quintanilla III, and Ricky Vela, the song was also produced by Abraham Quintanilla Jr, the track was released as the album's second single. It was... " |
— | — | — | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | 11 | |||
| "Techno Cumbia Techno Cumbia "Techno Cumbia" is a song by American Tejano pop singer Selena, released as the seventh single from her album, Amor prohibido . It was written by Selena's brother and music producer, A.B. Quintanilla III, backup singer Pete Astudillo, lead keyboardist Ricky Vela, and produced by Quintanilla and... " |
— | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 97 | 35 | |||
| "Wherever You Are Donde Quiera Que Estés "Donde Quiera Que Estés" is a duet by American Tejano pop singer Selena and Nuyorican band the Barrio Boyzz, released as the lead single from the Barrio Boyzz album Dondequiera Que Estés . It was written by K. C. Porter, Miguel Flores, Desmond Child, and produced by A.B. Quintanilla III, Domingo... " |
— | 4 | — | — | — | — | 36 | — | 89 | 2 | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||||||||
Certifications
Awards and nominations
| Awards ceremony | Year | Award | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premio Lo Nuestro Awards | 1995 | Female Pop Artist of the Year | |
| Tejano Music Awards Tejano Music Awards The Tejano Music Awards had been launched in 1980 by former art teacher and music veteran Rudy Trevino and the leader of the Latin Breed Band, Gilbert Escobedo. Only 1,500 fans turned out for the first Tejano Music Awards. Over the years, San Antonio evolved into the Nashville of Tejano music... |
Female Vocalist of the Year | ||
| Female Entertainer of the Year | |||
| Tejano Crossover Song of the Year (I Could Fall in Love) | |||
| 1996 | Female Entertainer of the Year | ||
| Female Vocalist of The Year | |||
| Album of the Year – Overall | |||
| Song of the Year for "Tu, Solo Tu" | |||
| Showband of the Year | |||
| Tejano Crossover of the Year for "I Could Fall in Love" | |||
| ASCAP | Among most played song (I Could Fall in Love) | ||
| BMI Millionaire Awards Broadcast Music Incorporated Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed... |
Singles Selling Over a Million copies (Dreaming of You) | ||
| Billboard Latin Music Awards Billboard Latin Music Awards The Billboard Latin Music Awards grew out of the Billboard Music Awards program from Billboard Magazine, an industry publication charting the sales and radio airplay success of musical recordings. The awards began in 1990... |
Regional Mexican Hot Latin Track of The Year (Tu, Solo Tu) | ||
| Regional Mexican Hot Latin Video of The Year (Tu, Solo Tu) |
1995
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | July 18, 1995 | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... (Standard Edition) |
EMI Records EMI Records EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide... /EMI Latin EMI Latin EMI Televisa Music, also known as EMI Latin and EMI International, is a subsidiary of EMI which focuses on Latin American music.... |
| Canada | |||
| Netherlands | |||
| Denmark | |||
| Belgium | |||
| Thailand | |||
| Australia | |||
| Germany | |||
| France | |||
| United Kingdom | |||
| New Zealand | |||
| Colombia | |||
| Malaysia | |||
| Taiwan | |||
| Korea | |||
| Ecuador | |||
| Spain | |||
| Hong Kong | |||
| Austria | |||
| Switzerland | |||
| Ireland | |||
| Mexico | |||
| Japan | Bonus Tracks Edition | EMI Music Japan |
2002 re-release
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 22, 2002 | 20 Years of Music Collection | EMI Latin Music |
| Canada | |||
| Australia | |||
| France | |||
| Germany | |||
| Spain | |||
| Austria | |||
| Philippines | |||
| Portugal | |||
| Turkey | |||
| Italy | |||
| Switzerland | |||
| Ireland | |||
| Japan | EMI Music Japan/Toshiba EMI Limited |
See also
- List of best-selling Latin albums in the United States
- List of works published posthumously
- List of number-one Billboard Top Latin Albums from the 1990s
- List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Pop Airplay of 1995
- List of number-one albums of 1995 (U.S.)
- List of BMG Music Club's top selling albums in the United States
- Best-Selling Records of 1995