Dulce Amor
Studio album by
Selena y Los Dinos
ReleasedDecember 24, 1988
Recorded1987–1988
GenreTejano, Jazz fusion, Cumbia music
Length32:47
LabelRP Records
ProducerManny Guerra, Timothy Muniz, Lauren Diaz, Carlos Diaz
Selena y Los Dinos chronology
Preciosa
(1988)		 Dulce Amor
(1988)		 Selena
(1989)
Singles from Dulce Amor
  1. "Dulce Amor"
    Released: 1988
  2. "Qué"
    Released: 1988
  3. "Always Mine"
    Released: 1988
  4. "Cariño, Cariño Mio"
    Released: 1988
  5. "Quisiera Darte"
    Released: 1988

Dulce Amor (English: Sweet Love) is the sixth and last independent studio album by Tejano music group Selena y Los Dinos. The album became the final album to be released from RP Records on December 24, 1988. Selena's brother, A.B. Quintanilla III had become the main songwriter. Selena recorded fourteen songs but only released ten. All the songs were recorded in three different recording studios. Dulce Amor helped Selena to be noticed at the 1989 Tejano Music Awards. She was then signed by EMI Latin. This would be the last studio album to be released under “Selena y Los Dinos” as all subsequent albums would be released under “Selena”. The album had only sold over 30,000 copies. It was ordered to be removed from stores by EMI Records.

Most of the songs produced were Tejano music mixed with Cumbia and Jazz fusion. Dulce Amor was nominated for "Album of the Year" while the song of the same name was nominated for "Song of the Year". Selena had won "Female Vocalist of the Year" and "Female Entertainer of the Year". Selena had promoted the album during her Dulce Amor Tour which had only lasted for less than a year. The album had mixed to negative reviews from music critics. The album was re-released in 2007 as "Classic Series Vol. 5".

Production and development

After Selena's fifth album Preciosa (1988) sold only 25,000 copies, the company had wanted Selena to record another record.[1] The success from Preciosa had the company believing that Selena would sell more copies with her next album.[1] In July 1988, Selena was in the recording studio and began recording songs. Her brother, A.B. Quintanilla III had become the main songwriter for Selena.[1] Juan Gabriel, a Mexican songwriter, had given Selena the rights to record "Costumbres".[1] Ricky Vela, a Selena y Los Dinos member, had written the song "Quisiera Darte".[1] The song "Qué" was written by Manny Guerra, the record manager for RP Records and GP Productions.[1] The songs "Tú Solamente Tú" and "La Puerta Se Cerro" were written by unknown writers.[2] On the liner notes, the writing credits are given to "Pendiente"[2] which means "Pending" in Spanish.

It had taken Selena three weeks to record fourteen songs.[3] However, the record company only had wanted ten songs to be on the album.[3] The others remained unreleased. Selena had recorded the songs "Dulce Amor", "Tú Solamente Tú", "La Puerta Se Cerro", "Costumbres", and "Dime" at RP Records studios in San Antonio, Texas.[3] The songs "Always Mine", "No Llores Más Corazón" and "Cariño, Cariño Mio" were recorded in Houston, Texas.[3] "Quisiera Darte" and the unreleased tracks were recorded in Hollywood, California.[3] The song "Tú Solamente Tú" was originally recorded by Selena for her debut album Mis Primeras Grabaciones (1984).[3]

While Selena was performing at the 1989 Tejano Music Awards, Jose Behar (who was the former head of Sony Music Latin) was among the audience that night.[4][5][6] He instantly wanted Selena to sign with EMI.[4] Behar called his boss stating that he believe he had found the next Gloria Estefan.[7][8] His boss told him that he was crazy, because Behar only had been in South Texas for only a week.[7] Selena was later signed with EMI Latin the following year.[7] Dulce Amor became her last independent LP record.[7]

Release

Dulce Amor was released on 24 December 1988.[1] The album was supposed to be released in the summer of 1989.[1] However, Manny Guerra had wanted the album to be released real quick.[1] Guerra believed that if the album would have been released in the summer, that not too many Tejano fans would buy the album.[1] He said, because popular music albums are released in that period.[1] When the album was released, it had sold only 2,000 copies the first day.[9] Preciosa (1988) had sold 3,600 copies on its first day.[1] Guerra was not happy about the sales of the album.[9] However, within a month the album sold 10,000 copies.[3] It outperformed all of Selena's previous records.[9] By August 1989, the album sold 33,206 copies.[9] It was then pulled off shelves because of Selena's upcoming debut album with EMI Latin.[9] EMI Latin bought all the original copies of the album.[10] Only 50,000 copies of the album were shipped in Texas alone.[1]

In 1995, Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., had bought the rights to Selena's albums (1984–1989 period) from EMI Latin.[11] Since then, he has released the songs in compilation albums.[12] The songs "Always Mine", "No Llores Mas Corazon" and "La Puerta Se Cerro" were selected to be remixed for Anthology (1998).[13]

On 7 September 2007, Quintanilla Jr re-released the album as part of the "Classic Series" collection.[14] "Dulce Amor" was then re-titled "Classic Series Vol. 5". All the songs were remastered.[14]

Composition

"Dulce Amor" ("Sweet Love") the title track was the lead single from Dulce Amor. The song was written by A.B. Quintanilla III.[15] It was produced by Timothy Muniz.[15] "Dulce Amor" was nominated for "Song of the Year" at the 1989 Tejano Music Awards.[16] The song had its key signature in common time.[15] It was performed on G minor with 106 beats per minute.[15] The songs lyrics are about a girl expressing her emotions about a guy she really love. The song was mixed with Cumbia music and Jazz fusion.[3]

"Qué" ("What") was the second single released from Dulce Amor. The song's writer is unknown.[15] It was produced by Manny Guerra.[15] The song was performed on G minor with 147 beats per minute.[15] The songs lyrics are about a girl who has been tricked into believing that a guy really loved her. She feels a sense of loneliness and doubts herself. The songs' message is that, you can't always trust someone until you get to know them for who they really are. The song was mixed with Ranchera music and Mariachi.[3]

"Always Mine" was the third single released from Dulce Amor. The song was written by A.B. Quintanilla III.[15] It was produced by Roger Garcia,[15] who was the former back-up guitarist for Selena y Los Dinos.[9] "Always Mine" was selected to be remixed for Anthology (1998). The remixed version peaked at number four on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart and number 94 on the Canadian Hot 100.[17] The song describes a teen romance. A young girl who is under peer pressure by her friends must decide who she wants to be with. She struggles with low self-esteem. The song had its key signature in common time.[15] It was performed on B minor with 100 beats per minute.[15] The song was mixed with Polka, Pop and Contemporary R&B.[3]

"Cariño, Cariño Mio" ("Sweetheart, Sweetheart of Mine") was the fourth single released from Dulce Amor. The song was written by A.B. Quintanilla III.[15] It was produced by Lauren and Carlos Diaz.[15] The songs lyrics are about a girl who is in love with a guy. She sings about giving anything to him, just to be with him. The song had its key signature in common time.[15] It was performed on D major with 103 beats per minute.[15] The song was mixed with Polka and Jazz.[3]

"Quisiera Darte" ("I Give") was the fifth and final single released from Dulce Amor. The song was written by Ricky Vela,[15] who was the lead keyboardist for Selena y Los Dinos.[3] The song was produced by Manny Guerra.[15] The songs lyrics are about a girl asking her boyfriend if their relationship is "love". She tells him that she would do anything for him, and feels that their relationship is love. The song had its key signature in common time.[15] It was performed on C minor with 93 beats per minute.[15] The song was mixed with Jazz and Cumbia music.[3]

Promotion

Selena had promoted Dulce Amor during her Dulce Amor Tour.[18] Selena also promoted Preciosa (1988) along with her Dulce Amor Tour.[18] This was because the two albums were released in the same year.[18] Selena had performed songs from Dulce Amor on the Johnny Canales Show in South Texas, she also had done live concerts across Texas.[18] Selena earned $20,000 from the Dulce Amor Tour, which was double the amount she had made for her Preciosa Tour.[18]

Critical reception

Norberto Garcia of Texas Monthly stated that Dulce Amor was one of Selena's "strongest" LP record because it "showcase her exotic voice and expanded her talents[...]".[19] Domingo Rivera of Tejano Nation believed every song on Dulce Amor was horrible.[20] Rivera stated that he did not like not even one song.[20] He also stated that Selena could have done better with modern styles of Tejano music instead of mixing 1960s music into her songs.[20] Rivera then stated the album was "out of date" even when it was released in 1988.[20] Sophia Vargas of Tejano Weekly believed that "Dulce Amor" was not Selena's best of work.[21] Vargas believed that RP Records did not put their "all" for Selena.[21]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dulce Amor"A.B. Quintanilla III3:19
2."Qué"Manny Guerra3:38
3."Tú Solamente Tú" (Re-recording)Camilo Sesto2:35
4."Always Mine"Quintanilla III3:50
5."Costumbres"Juan Gabriel3:50
6."Dime"Quintanilla III3:26
7."No Llores Más Corazón"Quintanilla III3:17
8."La Puerta Se Cerro"Quintanilla III2:51
9."Cariño, Cariño Mio"Quintanilla III3:28
10."Quisiera Darte"Ricky Vela3:02

Awards and nominations

Year Awards ceremony Award Results
1989Tejano Music AwardsSong of the Year[16]Nominated
1989Tejano Music AwardsAlbum of the Year[16]Nominated
1989Tejano Music AwardsFemale Vocalist of the Year[16]Won
1989Tejano Music AwardsFemale Entertainer of the year[16]Won

Personnel

Credits are taken from the album's liner notes.[2]

Managerial
Performance credits
Visuals and imagery
Instruments
Technical and production

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Patoski, p. 23
  2. 1 2 3 RP Records (1988) Selena – Dulce Amor (Liner Notes) RP Records.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Patoski, p. 24
  4. 1 2 Doug Minnick (24 September 2010). "Jose Behar, interview". Taxi A&R. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  5. ↑ Lopetegui, Enrique (8 April 1995). "A Crossover Dream Halted Prematurely, Tragically Some Ambitious Plans Were Under Way to Bring Selena to Mainstream U.S. Audience". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  6. ↑ Richard Harrington (1995). "Selena: Numero Uno; Slain Tejano Singer's Album Tops Pop Chart". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Selena". IMDb. 21 March 1997.
  8. ↑ Sam Howe Verhovek (1 April 1995). "Grammy Winning Singer Selena Killed in Shooting at Texas Motel". The New York Times. p. 1.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Patoski, p. 25
  10. ↑ Patoski, p. 26
  11. ↑ Patoski, p. 49
  12. ↑ Paredez, p. 100
  13. ↑ Paredez, p. 104
  14. 1 2 Paredez, p. 144
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Quintanilla-Perez, Selena; Quintanilla III, A.B. (1988). "Dulce Amor: Selena Digital Sheet Music". Sheetmusicplus.com. Alfred Music Publishing. MN02909172 (Product Number). {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Past Tejano Music Award Winners". RDS Marketing. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  17. ↑ Maria Chavez (2005). "Edition Espcial Selena". TVyNovelas (in Spanish). Vol. 24, no. 14. Editorial Televisa. p. 124. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Patoski, p. 30
  19. ↑ Norberto Garcia (1996). "Selena discography overview". Texas Monthly. Vol. 23, no. 11. Emmis Publishing, L.P. p. 103.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Domingo Rivera (1992). "Selena Surpasses Expectations in Tejano music". Tejano Nation. Vol. 4, no. 2. p. 56.
  21. 1 2 Sophia Vargas (1995). "Loss in the Tejano world". Tejano Weekly. Vol. 5, no. 23. p. 79.

References

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