Baladas en Español

Baladas en Español (transl. Ballads in Spanish) is a Spanish language compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 21 October 1996 by EMI. The compilation was only issued in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking territories. It was a commercial success upon release, peaking in the top ten of several national record charts, and was certified gold or platinum in numerous territories, namely Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Spain. As of 2001, the record sold in excess of 1.2 million copies worldwide.

Baladas en Español
Compilation album by
Roxette
Released21 October 1996
Recorded1987–1996
GenrePop
Length51:50
LanguageSpanish
LabelEMI
ProducerClarence Öfwerman
Roxette chronology
Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus!
(1995)		 Baladas en Español
(1996)		 Have a Nice Day
(1999)
Singles from
Baladas en español
  1. "Un Día Sin Ti"
    Released: 29 October 1996
  2. "No Sé Si Es Amor"
    Released: 28 January 1997

"Un Día Sin Ti" and "No Sé Si Es Amor" were released as commercial singles, though most songs on the album would go on to receive substantial amounts of airplay on Latin American and Spanish radio. In 2022, a complete collection of the record was released, consisting of all the Spanish language songs recorded by Roxette.

Composition and style

The album consists of twelve of Roxette's ballads and downtempo tracks, translated into Spanish by songwriter Luis Gomez Escolar, of whom very little is known.[1] Escolar's translations have been criticised by both fans and media for being poorly representative of the original English lyrics, as well as for being overly-simplistic and juvenile.[2]

Commercial performance

Baladas en Español was released on 21 October 1996,[3] exclusively in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking territories. However, it was also released in the US by EMI Latin, making it the final Roxette album to be officially issued in the country.[4] The record was preceded by the release of "Un Día Sin Ti" as its lead single, which reached the top ten of Billboard's Latin Pop Songs.[5] The song also charted on the national airplay chart of Spain.[6] Its music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.[7] "No Sé Si Es Amor" was released as the album's second and final single in January 1997,[4] peaking at number six in Spain.[6] "Soy una Mujer" was released as a promotional single exclusively in Mexico in July 1997.[4]

The album was a commercial success upon release, and has been certified double platinum in Spain (indicating shipments of over 200,000 units), platinum in Argentina and Brazil (for 60,000 and 250,000 copies, respectively), and gold (100,000 copies) in Mexico. As of 2001, Baladas en Español has sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide,[8] and just over 13,000 copies in the US.[9]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Per Gessle; lyrics adapted to Spanish by Luis G. Escolar; all music is composed by Gessle, except tracks 1, 7, 11 and 12 by Gessle and Mats MP Persson; track 8 by Marie Fredriksson

No.TitleEnglish titleLength
1."Un Día Sin Ti" ("Spending My Time")"A Day Without You"4:38
2."Crash! Boom! Bang!" 4:26
3."Directamente a Ti" ("Run to You")"Straight to You"3:30
4."No Sé Si Es Amor" ("It Must Have Been Love")"I Do Not Know If This Is Love"4:41
5."Cuánto Lo Siento" ("I'm Sorry")"How Sorry I Am!"3:13
6."Tímida" ("Vulnerable")"Timid"4:44
7."Habla el Corazón" ("Listen to Your Heart")"Speak the Heart"5:09
8."Como la Lluvia en el Cristal" ("Watercolours in the Rain")"Like the Rain on the Glass"3:42
9."Soy una Mujer" ("Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)")"I'm a Woman"3:45
10."Quiero Ser Como Tú" ("I Don't Want to Get Hurt")"I Want to Be Like You"4:16
11."Una Reina Va Detrás de un Rey" ("Queen of Rain")"A Queen Goes After a King"4:51
12."El Día del Amor" ("Perfect Day")"The Day of Love"3:55
Total length:51:50

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Baladas en Español.[10]

Charts
Chart (1996–97)
  • Peak
  • position
Argentine Monthly Albums (CAPIF)[11] 6
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[12] 6
Spanish Albums (Promúsicae)[6] 8

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[13] Platinum 60,000^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[14] Platinum 250,000*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[15] Gold 100,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[6][16] 2× Platinum 200,000^
United States — 13,000[9]
Summaries
Worldwide 1,200,000[8]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Muere la cantante de Roxette Marie Fredriksson: "Baladas en español", un éxito criticado por sus traducciones" ["Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson dies: 'Baladas en español', a success criticized for its translations"]. BBC (in Spanish). 10 December 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  2. Palmer, Manu (11 November 2016). "No traduzcan más éxitos del pop en inglés al castellano, por favor" ["Don't translate any more English pop hits into Spanish, please."]. Vanity Fair (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  3. "Baladas en español | Roxette". Qobuz. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  4. Thorselius, Robert (May 2003). The Look for Roxette: The Illustrated Worldwide Discography & Price Guide (1st ed.). Sweden: Premium Förlag Publishing. ISBN 978-9197189484.
  5. "Latin Songs: Top Latin Pop Songs Chart | 15 March 1997". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 15 March 1997. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  6. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  7. Ballad & Pop Hits - The Complete Video Collection (DVD liner notes). Roxette. EMI. 2003. 7243 4 90946 9 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. Ninni O Schulman (15 April 2001). "Sagan om Roxette: På väg tillbaka - eller?" [Lord of Roxette: On the way back - or?]. Expressen (in Swedish). Bonnier AB. Archived from the original on 5 June 2001. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  9. Keith Caulfield (16 August 2005). "Billboard.com > Ask a Question > Roxette's Rocky U.S. Relationship". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  10. "Digital booklet". Baladas en español (liner notes). Roxette. Stockholm, Sweden: EMI Records. 1996. 7243 8 544142 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. John Lannert (18 January 1997). "What Does It Take To Break A Hit? | Don't Cry For Julio". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 3. p. 38. ISSN 0006-2510.
  12. "Hits Of The World - Portugal". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 5. 1 February 1997. p. 49. ISSN 0006-2510.
  13. "CAPIF - Representando a la Industria Argentina de la Música". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  14. "Brazilian album certifications – Roxette – Baladas en español" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  15. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 6 June 2017. Type Roxette in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Baladas en español in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  16. "Weekly Charts - Promusicae - Productores de Música de España" (PDF). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 11 September 2016. To access the Baladas en español certification from this reference, user must enter "Albums", "2006" and "Semana 11 - (13/03 a 19/03)" as the search parameters and download the corresponding PDF file. The album appeared at No. 98 that week.
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