Wepa (song)
Encyclopedia
"Wepa" is a Dance-pop
song by American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan
and is the lead single
of her eleventh studio album, Miss Little Havana
. The song was produced by Pharrell Williams
and her long-time collaborator and husband, Emilio Estefan Jr.. This single is the first commercial release to the English-market since "I Wish You
" back in 2003.
A short-form video promoting Miami's Heat
basketball team, has been streaming on music video channels, but at Estefan's official website there's a live behind-the-scenes video which appears to be the recording of this film. Official music video was premiered on 28 September 2011.
producer, Pharell Williams, who had also worked before with other major artists such as Shakira
, Madonna
and many more. Since Pharell's production work has rocketed careers to the peaks of the charts, the tweet caused much curiosity and interest in the possibilty that Estefan may be working with Williams for a possible new English album.
The song has been announced as the lead single of this new album, which consists principally of dance music and Latin rhythms, returning to Gloria's career beginning,. The song is basically a preview of what the album will include as the fresh new-image Estefan wants to shown on this new era of her career and the return to the dance market, which is one of the main markets Estefan first started out in with the Miami Sound Machine; her last dance project was made in 1998 on her commercially-acclaimed Gloria!
album.
The song in the making was inspired principally by Estefan's music from her early career with the Miami Sound Machine including "meregue beats mixed with Pharrell's urban sound". This was noted by Estefan in an interview where she stated that recording dance music was an easy issue for her, mostly because it was the core of her career. She also noted that "Wepa" does not have a literal translation, it was just a expression like "wow" or "hey", which is used mostly by Puerto Ricans and Colombians.
Not being Gloria's first collaboration with Cuban rapper Pitbull
, they worked together in "No Llores
", a remix made by R3hab was released for further promotion of the single, this version of the song even received better reception than the original version of the song, Sadao Turner giving positive review to the song. But there were some negative reviews, as Romeo's Corner said: "I can’t help but to think of Jennifer Lopez’ “On The Floor” when I listen to it. Gloria Estefan’s vocals on the track sound out of place and uninspired".
basketball team was launched at music video channels, though it is not the official music video it been supporting the spread of the song while she is promoting the song as the lead single for the album.
Gloria's gave the first live appearance with the brand new song when she sang at the 2011 Alma Awards. She's also schedule to appear with an unknown date yet, at the program Dancing With The Stars
.
" entered twenty-seven years before.
A Spanish version of the song, released to Latin radio-stations has been surfacing and after frequently moderated airplay, the song made its debut at the "Top Tropical Songs" at number thirteen, staying one week at that position, getting low for the next and returning at the third week for the same position. For the last week of September, the song went onto the Top placing it at a Top Ten hit peaking at number six..
U.S. Digital EP
Official Remixes
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song by American singer-songwriter 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 is the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
of her eleventh studio album, Miss Little Havana
Miss Little Havana
-Charts:-Release history:-External links:*...
. The song was produced by Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams , commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music...
and her long-time collaborator and husband, Emilio Estefan Jr.. This single is the first commercial release to the English-market since "I Wish You
I Wish You
"I Wish You" was the third single released by Gloria Estefan on her tenth studio album Unwrapped. The single was not released for commercial purpose, only were sent promotional CD singles to radio stations at U.S., while was released as CD single format only at Europe.-From the Artist:"I Wish You"...
" back in 2003.
A short-form video promoting Miami's Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
basketball team, has been streaming on music video channels, but at Estefan's official website there's a live behind-the-scenes video which appears to be the recording of this film. Official music video was premiered on 28 September 2011.
Background
It was announced via Twitter that Gloria was working on new English-language material, made by The NeptunesThe Neptunes
The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...
producer, Pharell Williams, who had also worked before with other major artists such as Shakira
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and many more. Since Pharell's production work has rocketed careers to the peaks of the charts, the tweet caused much curiosity and interest in the possibilty that Estefan may be working with Williams for a possible new English album.
The song has been announced as the lead single of this new album, which consists principally of dance music and Latin rhythms, returning to Gloria's career beginning,. The song is basically a preview of what the album will include as the fresh new-image Estefan wants to shown on this new era of her career and the return to the dance market, which is one of the main markets Estefan first started out in with the Miami Sound Machine; her last dance project was made in 1998 on her commercially-acclaimed Gloria!
Gloria!
gloria! is the eighth studio album released by American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan, released in 1998 by Epic Records .-Album history:gloria! is a groove-oriented, exuberant, Disco influenced album...
album.
The song in the making was inspired principally by Estefan's music from her early career with the Miami Sound Machine including "meregue beats mixed with Pharrell's urban sound". This was noted by Estefan in an interview where she stated that recording dance music was an easy issue for her, mostly because it was the core of her career. She also noted that "Wepa" does not have a literal translation, it was just a expression like "wow" or "hey", which is used mostly by Puerto Ricans and Colombians.
Critical reception
"Wepa" has received mixed reception from music critics, among those favorable, Gloria has been compared to sound similar to Ke$ha, as Elliot Glazer from BestWeekEverTV.com review about the song: "it sounds like a hyperactive dance march that borrows as equally from Ke$ha — the Kween of Tra$hpop — as it does from Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. Although it doesn’t necessarily sound like her voice was Auto-Tuned, there is an element of robotic call-and-response that one would more likely expect from, say, The Black Eyed Peas. Basically, Gloria Estefan wants to sit at the kids table, and that is FINE!"Not being Gloria's first collaboration with Cuban rapper Pitbull
Pitbull (rapper)
Armando Christian Pérez , better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002, after which he released his debut album in 2004 titled M.I.A.M.I. under TVT Records...
, they worked together in "No Llores
No Llores
"No Llores" was the first single released by Gloria Estefan for her eleventh studio album 90 Millas. The single was released to U.S. radio-stations on June 18, 2007. The song features prominent Latin music performers such as guitarists Carlos Santana and Jose Feliciano, Sheila E...
", a remix made by R3hab was released for further promotion of the single, this version of the song even received better reception than the original version of the song, Sadao Turner giving positive review to the song. But there were some negative reviews, as Romeo's Corner said: "I can’t help but to think of Jennifer Lopez’ “On The Floor” when I listen to it. Gloria Estefan’s vocals on the track sound out of place and uninspired".
Promotion
The song went onto being initially promoted through clubs and dance radio stations, at the same time, prior to its official release a music video featuring Gloria to the Miami HeatMiami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
basketball team was launched at music video channels, though it is not the official music video it been supporting the spread of the song while she is promoting the song as the lead single for the album.
Gloria's gave the first live appearance with the brand new song when she sang at the 2011 Alma Awards. She's also schedule to appear with an unknown date yet, at the program Dancing With The Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
.
Chart performance
The song was sent first to clubs and dance stations where it received a lot of rotation, becoming Estefan's twenty-third song to enter to the "Hot Dance Club Songs" since "Dr. BeatDr. Beat
"Dr. Beat" is the first international single released by the American band Miami Sound Machine led by Gloria Estefan on their first English language but eighth studio album overall Eyes Of Innocence. The single was released worldwide in 1984 becoming a top success across Europe where the album...
" entered twenty-seven years before.
A Spanish version of the song, released to Latin radio-stations has been surfacing and after frequently moderated airplay, the song made its debut at the "Top Tropical Songs" at number thirteen, staying one week at that position, getting low for the next and returning at the third week for the same position. For the last week of September, the song went onto the Top placing it at a Top Ten hit peaking at number six..
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Wepa".U.S. Digital EP
- "Wepa" (Original version)
- "Wepa" (Spanish version)
- "Wepa" (Ralphi Rosario club remix)
- "Wepa" (DJ Africa remix)
- "Wepa" (Keisha Mai Ash & Tony Mardini beat is on mix)
- "Wepa" (Emilio Estefan & Tony Mardini South Beach mix)
Official versions
Original versions- Album version — 3:58
- Spanish version - 3:58
Official Remixes
- Ralphi Rosario Club Mix - 7:35
- Ralphi Rosario Dub - 7:35
- Ralphi Rosario Radio Edit - 3:28
- Ralphi Rosario Spanish Club Mix - 7:35
- Ralphi Rosario Spanish Radio Edit - 3:28
- DJ Africa Remix - 4:31
- DJ Africa & Motiff Spanish Radio Mix - 3:05
- Keisha Mai Ash & Tony Mardini Beat Is On Mix - 5:00
- Emilio Estefan & Tony Mardini South Beach Mix - 5:30
- Emilio Estefan Comparsa Remix - 5:50
- Emilio Estefan Comparsa's Spanish Radio Edit - 3:42
- UK Radio Edit - 3:53
- Klubjumpers Extended Mix - 5:52
- Klubjumpers Dub - 5:51
- Klubjumpers Radio Mix - 3:54
- Pablo Flores Club Mix - 8:00
- Pablo Flores English Radio Mix Edit - 3:55
- Pablo Flores English Radio Mix Edit #1 (No French) - 4:01
- Pablo Flores English Radio Mix Edit #2 (No French) - 3:40
- Pablo Flores Spanish Club Mix - 8:00
- Pablo Flores Spanish Radio Mix Edit - 3:55
- Martorano vs. Flores Mixshow Edit - 5:50
- Rosabel Attitude Club Mix - 8:19
- Rosabel Attitude Club Edit - 7:23
- Rosabel Attitude Dub - 8:05
- Rosabel Attitude Radio Edit - 3:51
- Rosabel Dub Pass 2 - 8:06
- Gustavo Scorpio Club Mix - 7:49
- Gustavo Scorpio Dub Mix - 5:32
- R3hab Vocal Remix - 4:20
- R3hab Dub - 4:18
- R3hab Remix Edit - 3:24
- R3hab Remix (Featuring Pitbull) - 3:28
- Dada Club Mix - 4:42
- DJ Chuckie Surinam Club Remix - 5:10
- DJ Chuckie Surinam Radio Mix - 3:48
- DJ Chuckie Surinam Radio Dub
- DJ Yiannis Subelo' Club Mix - 7:28
- DJ Yiannis Subelo' Dub
- DJ Yiannis Subelo' Radio Edit - 3:50
- Cesar Vilo Hot-Rhythm Remix
- Otto Von Schirach Remix
- Hildward Croes Soca Dushi Remix - 5:08
Chart performance
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Brazil Top 40 | 5 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs | 1 |
| US Billboard Tropical Songs | 3 |
| Spain Top 40 | 26 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | Digital download | |