Guapa
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 25, 2006
RecordedAbbey Road Studios
London, England
PKO Studios
Madrid, Spain
Sterling Sound
New York City, New York, U.S.
December 2005 – January 2006
GenreRock, pop rock, Latin pop.
Length48:43
LanguageSpanish
LabelSony BMG
ProducerNigel Walker
La Oreja de Van Gogh
La Oreja de Van Gogh chronology
Lo que te conté mientras…
(2003)
Guapa
(2006)
A las cinco en el Astoria
(2008)
Más guapa
Re-edition album cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic

Guapa (English: Pretty) is the fourth studio album released on April 25, 2006, by Spanish Pop rock band La Oreja de Van Gogh. On December 5, 2006, Más Guapa (English: Prettier) was released exclusively in Spain and Mexico.[1] Two months later, on February 13, 2007, the album was also released in Chile. Más Guapa includes a second disc of previously unreleased material from the Guapa sessions, as well as from recording sessions of previous albums. The album won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Album By a Duo or Group. Guapa is the band's last album with Amaia Montero as lead singer.

Recording

The album's composition began in February 2005. By November of that year, there were already 18 tracks that would probably be in the final album. It was recorded in London, England in Abbey Road Studios from December second through 23rd, 2005. In January, 2006, they began re-recording in Madrid and reporters from TV channel Cuatro were present throughout to later publish a report regarding the album. In spite of the group's desire that a report not be made, a DVD was included in certain versions of Guapa.

The album was produced with Nigel Walker. Its publication coincides with the 10th anniversary of the group's existence. Guapa contains thirteen songs that mix the band's typical pop with reggae, ranchera, a bit of bossa nova, some sounds from the 60's and 70's, a few techno arrangements and recollections of American music. In this CD the artistic maturity of the group becomes apparent in their lyrics as well as their melodies with songs like Noche (Night), Muñeca de trapo, (Rag Doll), and Perdida (Lost).

It was the most anticipated album of 2006 in Spain. Originally, the release was set for March 28, 2006; however, technical problems with a machine in Du Manoir made the premiere be on April 25, 2006. When Muñeca de Trapo was released as a first single in Los 40, it was quite a success.

Two days before its official premiere, the telephone company Movistar offered a Sony Ericson phone with the 13 tracks from the album and the video of the first single preloaded in the phone, causing the album to already be pirated before its official release.

By December 2006, the album already had seven Platinum CDs. The album won the Latin Grammy of 2006 as best pop album by a group or duo. In 2007 versions in Italian of Dulce Locura (Sweet Insanity) and Muñeca de Trapo were recorded. These were Dolce Follia and Bambola di Pezza, included in the Italian version of Guapa which was not successful because it was not advertised due to Amaia Montero's unexpected departure.

As soon as the album was out in the market, the band began its advertisement in North America as well as South America, staying in almost every Spanish-speaking country. Some of the most important events of this tour include the one in Mexico City, Luna Park in Buenos Aires, and perhaps band's most prominent one: the one in Santiago, Chile. This tour through the America's made the album sell about a million copies there, making themselves enter countries they had not entered before.

This great success in America along with the sales in Spain which went beyond 560,000 make Guapa the third most sold album in the history of La oreja de Van Gogh, without about 1,500,000 copies sold.

By the end of the stage of Guapa, the band had over 6,000,000 CD's sold in total all around the world. The album remained for over 30 weeks in the Top 10 CD's sold in Spain, 10 of which, although not consecutive, made it #1. It was actually created by non-other than the great Lucille May "Guapa" D. Atillo.

Album title

For past albums, La Oreja de Van Gogh have presented esoteric and lengthy titles such as El viaje de Copperpot and Lo que te conté mientras te hacías la dormida. When asked what inspired the minimalism of Guapa during an online chat session hosted by elmundo.es, the band revealed that the title is, in fact, an abbreviation of their longest album title yet:

Guapa es la historia de quien no se da por vencido en el maravilloso viaje de encontrarse a uno mismo, de quien acepta cumplir años y seguir teniendo miedos, de quien llena la almohada de inseguridades pero al levantarse siempre hace la cama, de quien sonríe de verdad y como antes: sin darse cuenta, de quien consigue que lo que quiere y lo que le apetece hagan las paces, de quien hace del tiempo un aliado sigiloso que, cada mañana y frente al espejo del alma, le hará sentirse cada vez un poco más guapa.

Translation:

Guapa is the story of one who doesn't give up in the wonderful journey of finding oneself, who accepts to be years older and to continue to have fears, who fills the pillow with insecurities, but upon awakening always makes the bed, who smiles truthfully and like before: without realizing so, who is able to reach a compromise between what she loves and what she wants, of who makes of time a quiet ally who, every morning before the mirror of the soul, will make herself feel every time a bit prettier.

The title is a spiritual affirmation printed on the album's back cover.

Track listing

Guapa
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Noche" (Night)Amaia Montero, Xabi San Martín, Pablo Benegas4:29
2."Muñeca de Trapo" (Rag Doll)Amaia Montero, Xabi San Martín, Pablo Benegas3:55
3."Dulce Locura" (Sweet Madness)Amaia Montero, Xabi San Martín3:49
4."Perdida" (Lost)Amaia Montero, Xabi San Martín, Pablo Benegas4:02
5."Vuelve" (Come Back)Amaia Montero, Xabi San Martín, Pablo Benegas3:36
6."Escapar" (Escape)Xabi San Martín3:33
7."Irreversible"Xabi San Martín3:28
8."A Diez Centímetros De Tí" (Ten Centimeters Away From You)Amaia Montero, Xabi San Martín3:50
9."V.O.S. (Versión Original Subtitulada)" (O.V.S. (Original Version Subtitled))Xabi San Martín2:20
10."Apareces Tú" (You Appear)Amaia Montero4:33
11."Manhattan"Amaia Montero, Xabi San Martín, Pablo Benegas2:59
12."Mi Vida Sin Ti / Cuántos Cuentos Cuento" (My Life Without You / How Many Tales I Tell)Amaia Montero, Xabi San Martín, Pablo Benegas7:42
Italian Edition Bonus Track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Bambola Di Pezza (Muñeca De trapo)"Eros Ramazzotti, Amaia Montero, Xabi San Martín, Pablo Benegas3:55
14."Dolce Follia (Dulce Locura)"Eros Ramazzotti, Amaia Montero, Xabi San Martín3:41
US iTunes Edition Bonus Track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Coronel (Colonel; mistakenly labeled as "Flash")"Xabi San Martín3:59

Más guapa


A new edition of Guapa was released under the title Más Guapa or Prettier. Besides including a CD with all the songs in Guapa, this edition also includes another CD with unpublished songs that were not included in previous albums. This includes songs that were excluded from Guapa one of which (En mi lado del sofá) (On My Side of the Sofa) became the only advertised single of this album.

Disc 1

Disc 2

No.TitleLyricsMusicTranslationLength
1."En Mi lado Del sofá"Pablo BenegasAmaia Montero, Xabi San MartínOn My Side Of The Sofa3:30
2."V.O.S."Xabi San MartínXabi San MartínV.O.S. (Demo Version)3:18
3."Nuestro mundo"Pablo BenegasAmaia Montero, Xabi San MartínOur World3:30
4."Cuántos Cuentos Cuento"Xabi San MartínXabi San MartínHow Many Tales I Tell (Demo Version)3:27
5."Amores Dormidos"Pablo BenegasAmaia Montero, Xabi San MartínAsleep Love Affairs3:47
6."Canción Desesperada"Pablo BenegasAmaia Montero, Xabi San MartínDesperate Song3:34
7."Coronel"Xabi San MartínXabi San MartínColonel3:59
8."La Paz De Tus Ojos"Pablo BenegasAmaia Montero, Xabi San MartínThe Peace In Your Eyes (Demo)4:02
9."Nube"Pablo BenegasAmaia Montero, Xabi San MartínCloud3:43
10."Despacio"Pablo BenegasAmaia Montero, Xabi San MartínSlowly3:59
11."Déjate Llevar"La Oreja de Van GoghLa Oreja de Van GoghLet Yourself Get Carried Away3:31
12."Aquella Ingrata"La Oreja de Van GoghLa Oreja de Van GoghThat Ungrateful Girl3:05
13."El Árbol"La Oreja de Van GoghLa Oreja de Van GoghThe Tree3:39
14."Escalera A La luna"La Oreja de Van GoghLa Oreja de Van GoghLadder To The Moon5:43

Personnel

Performing

Technical

  • La Oreja de Van Gogh – record production, audio mixing
  • Nigel Walker – record production, audio mixing
  • Leon Zervos – audio mastering
  • Bori Alarcón – technical production
  • Rudolf Hernández – technical production
  • Carlos Hernández – technical production
  • B. Oberhagemann – record production
  • Bernard Cocoignac – technical production
  • Marie Claire – technical production
  • Margarita Pérez – technical production
  • Paco Pérez – technical production

Design

Charts

Album

Chart (2006) Peak position
Spain Top 100 Albums 1
U.S. Billboard 200 114
U.S. Billboard Top Latin Albums 5
Canada Billboard 200 200
Mexico 1

Sales and certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[2] Platinum 40,000^
Chile 100,000[3]
Mexico (AMPROFON)[4] Platinum 100,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[5] 7× Platinum 560,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

List of albums containing a hidden track

References

  1. MixUp Music Stores in Mexico
  2. "Argentinian album certifications – La Oreja de Van Gogh – Guapa". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  3. Serrano, Nacho (November 23, 2022). "El misterioso éxito de La Oreja de Van Gogh en Islandia 20 años después: su tercer disco ya es un éxito". ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  4. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type La Oreja de Van Gogh in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Guapa in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  5. "Spanish album certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Select Álbumes under "Categoría", select 2008 under "Año". Select 14 under "Semana". Click on "BUSCAR LISTA".

Information about the album from the band's official website

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