Amarte Es un Placer (album)

In 1997, Luis Miguel released his twelfth studio album Romances. It is the third record in his Romance series where he performed covers of classic Latin American boleros. It sold more than 4.5 million copies and won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance in 1998. To promote Romances, he embarked on a tour of the United States, Latin America, and Spain which lasted more than a year. By 1998, Miguel was among the most successful Latin artists internationally with album sales of more than 35 million copies worldwide. In October 1998, Mexican composer Armando Manzanero, who worked with Miguel on the Romance albums, confirmed to a reporter from Notimex that he was assisting Miguel with a new project. After a two-year absence from the music scene, Miguel announced on 19 July 1999 that he would release a new album by September. He indicated the forthcoming album would be a return to pop recordings as opposed to the bolero cover versions he had recorded on the Romance series. The album's title, Amarte Es un Placer (), Miguel held a press conference at the Casino de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, on the album's launch date of 13 September 1999. He confirmed it was the first album where he was more involved in the tracks' composition: "Here something special was done, probably because I had more time to write a few things," he added. When asked why he opted to not record an English-language album, like other Latin acts such as Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin had successfully done, Miguel replied: "I think that Spanish is a good language. I like my language and I really feel proud of it. I'm not saying that I won't do it in the future, sing in English, I mean. But it's just that it's not the right time for me. Why should I do it, just because everybody else is doing it?" As well as co-writing several of the record's tracks, Miguel was assisted by other composers including Manzanero, Juan Carlos Calderón, and Arturo Pérez. ==Composition==

Amarte Es un Placer is a pop album composed of twelve love songs. It consists mainly of orchestrated romantic ballads and several uptempo numbers. "Quiero" is an R&B "groove" track which incorporates strings on its crescendo, a saxophone solo, and brass instruments. The song caused controversy when Mexican composer Marcos Lifshitz accused Calderón and Miguel of plagiarizing his composition "Siento nuestro aliento" which he wrote in 1997. A court ruled in favor of Lifshitz and ordered Miguel and his record label to pay 40 percent of the song's royalties as compensation. ==Singles==

"Sol, Arena y Mar" was released as the first single from Amarte Es un Placer on 19 July 1999. A remix of the song by American DJ Danny Saber was released as a single; it peaked at number two in Spain. "O Tú o Ninguna" was released as the album's second single on 6 September 1999. Rebecca Blake filmed the music video for the track in San Francisco. number two on the Mexican ballad charts, number three in Nicaragua, number four in Nicaragua, and ten in Uruguay. The third single, "Dormir Contigo", was released in January 2000 and peaked at number 11 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and number six on the Mexican ballads chart. In the same month, the music video for the fourth single, "Amarte Es un Placer", was directed by Alberto Tolot and filmed in Bel-Air, California. number two in Chile and three in Honduras. while "Tú, Sólo Tú" reached number ten on the ballads chart in Mexico. ==Promotion==

To promote the album, Luis Miguel began his Amarte Es Un Placer Tour on 9 September 1999 in Gijón, Spain. In Madrid, he performed three sold-out shows, Miguel then toured South America where he performed in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In Argentina, he drew more than 50,000 attendees to his concerts. His eight shows in Chile attracted more than 101,800 spectators, the largest audiences of the year for an artist there. The first leg of the tour ended on 11 December 1999 in Maracaibo, Venezuela. A concert was planned for the San Jose Arena in California on New Year's Eve but was canceled because the gross income would not meet Miguel's requirements. Miguel began the second leg of his tour at the Centennial Garden in Bakersfield, California, on 1 February 2000. Two days later, he performed at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California, for five consecutive nights drawing more than 24,000 spectators. In the same month, he performed four shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and grossed $1.4 million. He also appeared in Minneapolis on 12 February and in Fairfax on 14 February. Following his concerts at Radio City Music Hall, Miguel performed 21 consecutive shows at the National Auditorium in Mexico City beginning on 24 February. Beating the previous record of 20 set by Mexican group Timbiriche, Miguel also set the record for most attendees with an overall count of 255,000 patrons. Miguel returned to tour in the United States on 24 March 2000, performing in several cities including Miami, Chicago, Atlantic City, and Houston. He later presented five shows in Monterrey, Mexico, from 13 to 17 April 2000. After a few more performances in the US, he ended the tour in San Diego, California on 6 May 2000. Miguel had the 23rd highest-grossing tour in the US that year, earning more than $15.7 million from his 44 shows in the country. The tour was recognized by the William Morris Agency as the highest-grossing tour by a Spanish-speaking artist. Miguel was accompanied by a 13-piece band during his tour which included horns, keyboards, guitars, and three female backup singers. His hour-and-a-half show consisted mainly of pop songs and ballads from Amarte Es un Placer and his earlier career, as well as medleys of boleros from the Romance-themed albums. During his concerts in Monterrey, he was joined by Cutbert Pérez's band Mariachi 2000 and performed live covers of Mario De Jesús Báez's "Y" and Rubén Fuentes "La Bikina". The shows included a large live-screen behind the stage and featured fireworks and confetti. Of his concert in Houston, Michael D. Clark of the Houston Chronicle wrote that Miguel "proved, once again, that it isn't necessary to change languages to reach U.S. audiences". He observed that Miguel seemed "determined to balance the upbeat with the overwrought" in contrast with his previous concerts, which were dominated by ballads. Clark was disappointed that the boleros were sung in medleys which did not allow any of them to stand out. AllMusic editor Perry Seibert gave the video album two-out-of-five stars. He criticized its lack of subtitles, closed captions, and supplemental materials, but stated it should not "dissuade fans of Latino music from checking out this entertaining DVD from Warner Bros." ==Critical reception==

On its release, Amarte Es un Placer was met with mixed reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor Jose F. Promis gave it two-and-a-half out of five stars, noting that from the title "one can deduce that the material consists of romantic music, mostly in the form of ballads". He felt that the horn sections on "Sol, Arena y Mar" and "Quiero" gave the songs a "jazzy, sophisticated, adult-leaning feel" and called "Te Propongo Esta Noche" "one of the album's most interesting songs". He criticized the inclusion of "overblown ballads", citing "No Me Fío" as an example. Promis called the production "flawless" and concluded that ballads are "what the fans have come to expect" from Miguel. Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant said that when the ballads "pile on", the album felt like "Telemundo soap-opera overkill". Nonetheless, he praised Miguel's "timing" on the uptempo songs and said his vocals make the dance tunes more "exciting". The Houston Chronicles Joey Guerra gave the album two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying that he was underwhelmed with the production for sounding too similar to Miguel's previous recordings. He recognized Miguel was capable of handling love songs because of his "rich, deep voice" on songs like "Tu Mirada", "Soy Yo", and "O Tú o Ninguna", but felt he "runs into trouble" on the dance tracks as he did on his prior albums. He chided "Sol, Arena y Mar" for its "tepid mix of blaring horns and uninspired lyrics" and said the other uptempo songs "don't fare any better"; he criticized the over usage of horns on every fast-paced track as "dated" and "repetitive". Miami Herald editor Leila Cobo was disappointed with the record. She wrote that while Miguel's vocals are still "dazzling", the production sounded "dated". She found "Tú, Sólo Tú" and "Dímelo en un Beso" to be "discoish duds that lack the oomph to get you on the dance floor". Cobo also commented the tracks suffered from a lack of "strong hooks or melodies" despite Miguel having the ability to "elevate pretty much any style". Even so, Cobo praised "Dormir Contigo" for its "few memorable lyrics" and "No Me Fío" for its arrangements. Daniel Chang of the Orange County Register rated the album three-and-a-half out of five stars and touted the delivery of Miguel's voice as well as the songs which help him convey his message. Chang noted that, "Even on weaker numbers, Miguel makes it work". ==Accolades==

At the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2000, Amarte Es un Placer received a nomination for Best Latin Pop Performance, which went to Tiempos by Rubén Blades. At the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards in the same year, Miguel won the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance (for "Tu Mirada"). Miguel did not attend the award ceremony and declined an invitation to perform. At the 12th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards, it was nominated for Pop Album of the Year but lost to Supernatural by Santana. The album won the award for Pop Album of the Year by a Male Artist at the 2000 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Miguel received two nominations at the 2000 El Premio de la Gente in the categories of Male Pop Artist or Group and Album of the Year; he lost both awards to MTV Unplugged by Maná. In Argentina, he was nominated for Best Male Latin Artist and Best Latin Album for Amarte Es un Placer at the 2000 Premios Gardel and awarded Best Latin Album at the 1999 Premios Amigo in Spain. The record was nominated in the category of Best Pop Album by a Male Artist at the 1999 Premios Globos which was awarded to Ricky Martin's self-titled album. ==Commercial performance==

Amarte Es un Placer was released commercially on 13 September 1999. The disc spent nine weeks in this position and was later replaced by Desde un Principio: From the Beginning by Marc Anthony. It peaked at number 36 on the Billboard 200 chart, his highest debut position outside of the Romance albums, and sold more than 35,000 copies within its first week. It ended 1999 as the fifteenth bestselling Latin album in the US and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping 500,000 copies. In Spain, the disc debuted on top of the Spanish albums chart and was certified 7× platinum by the Productores de Música de España for shipping 700,000 copies. In Argentina, Amarte Es un Placer peaked at number six on the Argentina albums chart and was certified 5× platinum for shipping 300,000 copies. In Chile, it was certified quadruple platinum and was the second bestselling album of 1999 in the country. In Mexico, it was certified 5× platinum by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Elsewhere in Latin America, the record received a platinum certification in Venezuela and gold certifications in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Amarte Es un Placer had sold 3.5 million copies worldwide. ==Track listing==

All tracks produced by Luis Miguel. ==Personnel==

Adapted from the Amarte Es un Placer liner notes: Performance credits Brass • Jerry Hey • Gary Grant • Dan Higgins • Bill Reichenbach • Chuck Findley Chorus • Carlos Murguia • Natisse Jones • Kenny O'Brien-Paez • Giselda Vatcky • Will Wheaton • Terry Wood • Maria del Rey Concert masters • Bruce Dukov • Ralph Morrison Drums • Vinnie Colaiuta ("Quiero", "Tú, Sólo Tú", "No Me Fío") • Victor Loyo ("Dímelo en un Beso", "Ese Momento", "Sol, Arena y Mar", "Te Propongo Esta Noche", "Tu Mirada", "Dormir Contigo", "O Tú o Ninguna", "Soy Yo") Guitars • Paul Jackson, Jr. ("Quiero", "Tú, Sólo Tú", "Dímelo en un Beso", "Sol Arena y Mar", "Te Propongo Esta Noche") • Michael Landau ("Tu Mirada", "Dormir Contigo", No Me Fío", "O Tú o Ninguna") Keyboards • Robbie Buchanan ("Dormir Contigo", "Soy Yo", No Me Fío", "O Tú o Ninguna", "Amarte Es un Placer") • Michel Colombier ("Ese Momento") • Francisco Loyo ("Quiero", "Tú, Sólo Tú", "Dímelo en un Beso", "Sol, Arena y Mar", "Te Propongo Esta Noche", "Tu Mirada") Orchestra director • Pablo Aguirre ("No Me Fío", "O Tú o Ninguna") • Michel Colombier ("Ese Momento", "Amarte Es un Placer") • Larry Rench • Bill Ross ("Dormir Contigo", "Soy Yo") Percussion • Tom Aros ("Tú, Sólo Tú", "Dímelo en un Beso", "Te Propongo Esta Noche") • Luis Conte ("Quiero", "Sol Arena y Mar") Viola • Bob Becker • Denyse Buffum • Carole Castillo • Brian Dembow • Suzanna Giordano • Mimi Granat • John Hayhurst • Carrie Holzman • Vicky Miskolczy • Jorge Moraga • Janet Lakatos • Carole Mukogawa • Dan Neufeld • Maria Newman • Simon Oswell • John Scanlon • Harry Shirinian • David Stenske • Ron Strauss • Mihail Zinovyev Violin • Richard Altenbach • Jenny Bellusci • Becky Bunnell • Darius Campo • Mario DeLeon • Joel Deroiuin • Bruce Dukov • Dave Ewart • Mike Ferrill • Kirstin Fife • Berj Garabedian • Carmen Garabedian • Pam Gates • Julie Gigante • Endre Granat • Alan Grunfeld • Clayton Haslop • Gwenn Heller • Lilly Ho Chen • Pat Johnson • Karen Jones • Peter Kent • Ezra Kliger • Razdan Kuyumjian • Natalie Leggett • Brian Leonard • Constance Meyer • Horia Moroaica • Sid Page • Katia Popov • Barbra Porter • Debbie Price • Rachel Purkin • Kathleen Robertson • Gil Romero • Jay Rosen • Marc Sazer • Kwihee Shamban • Daniel Shindaryov • Leonardo Suarz-Paz • Lesa Terry • Olivia Tsui • Mari Tsumura • Margaret Wooten • Ken Yereke • Tiffany Yi Hu Cello • Bob Adcock • Vage Ayrikyan • Jodi Burnett • Larry Corbett • Steve Erdody • Chris Ermacoff • Stephanie Fife • Dennis Karmazyn • Suzie Katayama • Armen Ksajikian • Tim Landauer • Dane Little • Miguel Martinez • Steve Richards • Dan Smith • Tina Soule Bass • Nico Abondola • Ann Atkinson • Drew Dembowski • Chris Kollgaard • Ed Meares • Bruce Morgenthaler • Paul Morin • Dave Stone Wind section • Phil Ayling • Emily Bernstein • Gary Bovyer • Tom Boyd • Luise DiTullio • Mike Grego • Greg Huckins • Jim Kanter • Sheridon Stokes • Dave Shostac • Jim Walker French horns • Steve Becknell • David Duke • Steve Durnin • Joe Meyer • Brian O'Connor • John Reynolds • Kurt Snyder • Jim Thatcher Harp • Gayle Levant • Amy Wilkins Additional musicians • Alejandro Caballo – synth bass • Lalo Carillo – bass • Francisco Loyo – synthesizer, acoustic piano • Jeff Nathanson – saxophone • Dean Parks – acoustic guitar • Peter Limonick – Timpani • Chester Thompson – Hammond B3 Organ • David Shamban – violoncello Technical credits • Luis Miguel – producer • Alejandro Asensi – executive producer • Armando Manzanero – music assistance • Rafa Sardina – engineer and mixer • John Sorenson – audio engineer and mixing ("Dímelo en un Beso", "Tú, Sólo Tú") • Carlos Castro – additional recording • Francisco Loyo – production assistant • Al Schmitt – string recording engineer • Shair Sutcliffe – production coordinator • Alberto Tolot – photography • Jeri and John Heiden – graphic design • D. Ashton – assistant engineer, mixing assistant • B. Cook – assistant engineer, mixing assistant • G. Collins – assistant engineer, mixing assistant • M. Huff – assistant engineer, mixing assistant • B. Kinsley – assistant engineer, mixing assistant • A. Olmsted – assistant engineer, mixing assistant • C. Poledouris – assistant engineer, mixing assistant • B. Smith – assistant engineer, mixing assistant • Katie Teasdale – assistant engineer, mixing assistant • Ron McMaster – mastering engineer Recording and mixing locations • A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA – recording • Cello Studios, Hollywood, CA – recording • Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA – recording • Watersound, Studio City, CA – recording • Lion Recording, Hollywood, CA – recording • Record Plant, Hollywood, CA – recording, mixing • Pacifique Studios, North Hollywood, CA – mixing ("Sol, Arena y Mar") • Capitol Mastering, Hollywood, CA - mastering ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications and sales==