Wikipedia

No Me Dejes de Querer

"No Me Dejes de Querer" (transl. "Don't Stop Loving Me")[1] is a song by Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan from her ninth studio album, Alma Caribeña (2000). The song was written by the artist along with Roberto Blades and her husband Emilio Estefan. The latter two also handled the song's production. It was released as the album's lead single on March 27, 2000, by Epic Records. "No Me Dejes de Querer" is a son cubano and murga song in which the narrator pleads her lover to never stop loving her. The song was met with mostly positive reviews, which found it to be an upbeat number.

"No Me Dejes de Querer"
Single by Gloria Estefan
from the album Alma Caribeña
ReleasedMarch 27, 2000 (2000-03-27)
StudioCrescent Moon Studios, Miami, Florida
Genre
Length3:28
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Estefan, Jr.
  • Blades
Gloria Estefan singles chronology
"Music of My Heart"
(1999) 		"No Me Dejes de Querer"
(2000) 		"Cómo Me Duele Perderte"
(2000)
Music video
"No Me Dejes de Querer" on YouTube

Commercially, the song reached number one in Spain and topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts in the United States. An accompanying music video directed by Emilio was filmed in Miami, Florida, and features Gloria dancing with extras at the Tropicana Club. The visual won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 2000. The song itself received several accolades including a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Tropical Song.

Background and composition

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In 1998, Gloria Estefan released Gloria!, a disco-influenced pop album. Although met with favorable reviews by music critics,[2][3] it was commercially unsuccessful.[4] A year later, she starred in the 1999 American biographical musical drama film Music of the Heart and recorded its title track "Music of My Heart" with NSYNC.[5] That year, she played a New Year's Eve concert at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida,[6] where during a rehearsal, her husband Emilio Estefan hinted that her next studio album would be "great".[4] Further details about the project were not revealed until February 2000, when the title was announced, Alma Caribeña.[7]

Recording for the album took place at Crescent Moon Studios in Miami, Florida, with Emilio and Roberto Blades handling its production.[8] Alma Caribeña is Gloria's third Spanish-language album after Mi Tierra (1993) and Abriendo Puertras (1995). In the album, she draws from a variety of Caribbean music genres.[9] Emilio and Blades co-wrote most of the album's tracks including "No Me Dejes de Querer", which features additional writing from Gloria.[8] Musically, "No Me Dejes de Querer" is a son cubano and Panamanian murga track with a salsa section.[8][10] Gloria described the song as a "happy record" and further elaborated: "It talks about a kind of love that is wonderful and happy and feels great, and you're saying to that person, 'Don't ever stop loving me'".[11] A remix of the track by Pablo Flores was also included in the album and features Los Rabanes lead singer Emilio Regueira.[12][13]

Promotion

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"No Me Dejes de Querer" was released as the album's lead single on March 27, 2000, by Epic Records.[14] The accompanying music video was directed by Emilio Estefan, filmed at the Tropicana Club in Miami, Florida, recorded in 24 hours, and released on March 28, 2000.[15] In the video, Gloria is seen wearing a Dolce & Gabbana dress and dancing with 200 extras who are dressed to the fashion of 1950s Cuba.[15] At the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards in 2000, "No Me Dejes de Querer" won Best Short Form Music Video.[16] At the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, the visual was nominated "Best Clip of the Year" under the Latin field but ultimately lost to "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin.[17][18]

Critical reception and accolades

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A writer for Palabra described "No Me Dejes de Querer" as a song with a "catchy melody and flavor of Cuban son".[15] Dan Aquilante of the New York Post called it a "sexy love song".[19] The Sunday Herald editor Graeme Virtue found the track to be the album's highlight, lauding it as an "irresistible limbo lurch". Virtue, however, regarded the remix to be pointless, stating it "reflects badly on the entire enterprise".[20] The Sun-Sentinel critic Sean Piccoli listed "No Me Dejes de Querer" alongside "Punto de Referencia" as tracks where Gloria "sounds much more at ease".[21] Writing for The Boston Globe, Cindy Rodriguez stated that the artist "really cuts loose" on the "brassy" track and sings "with fiery brilliance".[22] An editor for the Windsor Star described it as "uplifting" and claimed that Gloria leads a "spirited romp ".[23]

In an otherwise negative review of Alma Caribeña, Deborah Davis of El Norte highlighted the song alongside "Tres Gotas de Agua Bendita" as songs where the artist "shines".[24] The Newsday reviewer Richard Torres noted that Gloria "gets into a fine call-and-response with the background vocalists" in the track.[3] The San Diego Union-Tribune contributor Ernesto Portillo Jr. complimented "No Me Dejes de Querer" as a "solid salsa dance number".[25] Elysa Gardner wrote for USA Today: "Those seeking zestier fare can check out the sexy, horns-fueled 'No Me Dejes de Querer'".[26] Mark Marymont of the Springfield News-Leader felt that "No Me Dejes de Querer" is "carried on a happy, propulsive beat" and further marked that the original and remix versions "recall Estefan's early days with the Miami Sound Machine.[27] The Sunday Mail's Kris Teo commented that the song "smacks with a happy party feel with a breathtaking salsa mid- section".[28] The Chicago Tribune reviewer Achy Obejas called the remix a "cardiac- provoking dance beat".[29]

AllMusic reviewer William Ruhlmann regarded the remix to be a "requisite dancefloor entry".[1] The Observer's Neil Spencer, who was not impressed with Alma Caribeña, opined that "things only catch fire on the finale, 'No Me Dejes de Querer', where Estefan does battle with some snorting brass".[30] In an unfavorable review of the album, The Morning Call contributor Len Righi cited "No Me Dejes de Querer" as showing "how little consequence she is" and wrote that Reguiera outperformed her on the remix, which she described as the "most exciting track on the disc".[13] Maddy Costa of The Guardian was more critical of the song, stating that the remix was the artist's "smartest decision" when making the album. Costa lambasted the track as an "abysmal song, the kind of spangly, flashing-lights-and-thrusting-rhythm tackiness you hear blaring from the speakers of every crap tourist disco from Benidorm to Barbados; something that parents of teenagers dance to in their exclusive resort hotels. It's so awful, it sends you scuttling back to track one to get the bad taste out of your mouth".[31]

At the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards in 2000, "No Me Dejes de Querer" was nominated in the Best Tropical Song category, which was awarded to "El Niágara en Bicicleta" by Juan Luis Guerra.[32][33] It was recognized as an award-winning song at the 2001 BMI Latin Awards.[34] At the 8th Annual Billboard Latin Music Awards in the same year, it was nominated for Latin Dance Maxi-Single of the Year and Latin Dance Club Play Track of the Year, but ultimately lost both awards to "Solo Me Importas Tú" by Enrique Iglesias.[35]

Commercially, it reached number one in Spain and topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts in the United States.[36][37][38] It became her first Spanish-language song to rank on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 77.[39] Furthermore, it reached 100 in the Netherlands,[40] 76 in Switzerland,[41] and numbers 8 and 31 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs and Regional Mexican Airplay charts in the United States, respectively.[42][43] Due to it ranking on the latter chart, however, Epic Records was suspected of performing payola by the magazine.[44]

Formats and track listings

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Remixes[45]

  1. No Me Dejes De Querer (Album Version) – 3:28
  2. No Me Dejes De Querer (Pablo Flores Miami Mix) – 8:37
  3. No Me Dejes De Querer ("Flores" Del Caribe Mix Radio Edit) – 4:27
  4. No Me Dejes De Querer (Unplugged) – 3:27

Charts

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Gloria Estefan - Alma Caribeña Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Gloria Estefan - Gloria! Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Torres, Richard (May 28, 2000). "Latin Sounds: Gloria Estefan the Baladeer". Newsday. p. D25. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Cobo, Leila (May 11, 2000). "Gloria Estefan Stirs Latin Rhythms 'Alba Caribena'". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. C10. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  5. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Original Soundtrack - Music of the Heart Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Heiman, JD (December 1999). "All About Eve". US Weekly (263): 90–98. ISSN 1529-7497. ProQuest 236537780. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Lannert, John (February 26, 2000). "Estefan to Open Latin Music Confab". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 9. p. 46. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Niurka, Norma (May 3, 2000). "Gloria caribeña". El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). p. 101. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  9. ^ Flick, Larry (May 6, 2000). "Epic's Estefan Blends Caribbean Sounds on Set" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 19. p. 132. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  10. ^ Martinez, Gerald (June 1, 2000). "Caribbean Soul!". Sunday Mail. p. 12. ProQuest 326211996. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  11. ^ "Gloria Estefan Lets Her Alma Caribeña Shine". New York Daily News. June 4, 2000. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  12. ^ "Trae Gloria sabor panameno". Reforma (in Spanish). April 2, 2000. p. 15. ProQuest 310424590. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Righi, Len (July 29, 2000). "Disc Reviews". The Morning Call. p. A51. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
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  18. ^ Hay, Carla (2001). "Gorillaz, Fatboy Slim Top Video Awards". Billboard. Vol. 104. p. 10. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  19. ^ Aquilante, Dan (May 23, 2000). "Henley Does a Good 'Job'". New York Post. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  20. ^ Virtue, Graeme (May 14, 2000). "Alma Caribea Gloria Estefan (Epic)". Sunday Herald. p. 11. ProQuest 331078936. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  21. ^ Piccoli, Sean (May 23, 2000). "Estefan Goes Home with Soul". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  22. ^ Rodriguez, Cindy (July 14, 2000). "Estefan Continues Trend with 'Alma Caribena'". The Boston Globe. p. D16. ProQuest 405364853. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  23. ^ "CD Reviews". Windsor Star. July 6, 2000. p. E6. ProQuest 254348227. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  24. ^ Davis, Deborah (June 25, 2000). "Le falta un poco de alma". El Norte (in Spanish). p. 24. ProQuest 316015798. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  25. ^ Portillo Jr., Ernesto (June 22, 2000). "Album Reviews". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. NIGHT & DAY-29. ProQuest 271676520. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  26. ^ Gardner, Elysa (May 30, 2000). "Hot Raps Crowd 'House'; Benson Picks 'Absolute' Winner". USA Today. p. 10D. ProQuest 408820597. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  27. ^ Marymont, Mark (May 28, 2000). "At 74, King's Blues Strong as Ever". Springfield News-Leader. p. 5G. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  28. ^ Teo, Kris (June 18, 2000). "The Definitive Wonder". Sunday Mail. p. 31. ProQuest 325005630. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  29. ^ Obejas, Achy (August 6, 2000). "The Beat Goes on Albita Picks Up Where Estefan, Emilio and Gloria, Have Left Off". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.9. ProQuest 419205654. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  30. ^ Spencer, Neil (May 14, 2000). "Arts: Music: Pop Releases Gloria Estefan Alma Caribena". The Observer. p. 10. ProQuest 250449959. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  31. ^ Costa, Maddy (May 19, 2000). "Music: It Cuts Both Ways". The Guardian. p. FRIDAY16. ProQuest 245509499. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  32. ^ "The Full List of Nominations". Los Angeles Times. July 8, 2000. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  33. ^ Basham, David (September 14, 2000). "Santana, Luis Miguel, Maná Lead Latin Grammy Winners". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  34. ^ "BMI Honors Top Latin Songwriters and Publishers at 8th Annual Awards Ceremony". BMI Awards. April 20, 2001. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  35. ^ Cobo, Leila (April 28, 2001). "Billboard Awards Recognize The Best In Latin Music". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 17. p. 56. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  36. ^ a b "Gloria Estefan – No Me Dejes de Querer" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  37. ^ "Gloria Estefan Chart History (Latin Pop Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  38. ^ "Gloria Estefan Chart History (Tropical Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  39. ^ a b "Gloria Estefan Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  40. ^ a b "Gloria Estefan – No Me Dejes de Querer" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  41. ^ a b "Gloria Estefan – No Me Dejes de Querer". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  42. ^ a b "Gloria Estefan Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  43. ^ "Gloria Estefan Chart History (Regional Mexican Airplay)". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  44. ^ Burr, Ramiro (June 10, 2000). "Perera Blends Jazz and Latin Pop". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 24. p. 46. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  45. ^ No Me Dejes de Querer (Media notes). Gloria Estefan. United States: Epic Records. 2000. CDP-14314.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  46. ^ "Gloria Estefan Chart History (Hot Latin Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  47. ^ "The Year in Music: 2000". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 53. December 30, 2000. pp. YE-72, 76, 78. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
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