"Amiga Mía" () is a song by Spanish singer

Alejandro Sanz Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, better known as Alejandro Sanz (; born 18 December 1968), is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He has won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He has received the Latin Grammy for Latin Grammy Award ...

from his fifth studio album, ''

Más Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Music Albums * ''Más'' (album), ...

'' (1997). WEA Latina released it as the album's fourth single in the same year. The song was written by Sanz and produced by Miguel Angel Arenas and Emanuele Ruffinengo. The rock

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

carries a message of unrequited love and was inspired by a close friend of Sanz. The song received positive reactions from

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

s who regarded it as one of his best songs. A music video for "Amiga Mía" features the artist performing on top of a building while the townspeople watch and his love interest leaves with her fiancé. The song was a recipient of a

Broadcast Music, Inc. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 22.4 milli ...

(BMI) Latin Award in 1999. Commercially, the track at peaked at number two on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Latin Songs The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin music, Latin songs, published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart ranki ...

chart in the United States, while also topping the

Latin Pop Airplay Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion of ...

chart in the US. "Amiga Mía" was included on the

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

for the Más Tour and all subsequent tours. It has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

Natalia Jiménez Natalia Altea Jiménez Sarmento (born 29 December 1981) is a Spanish singer-songwriter who started her musical career in the 2000s as vocalist of . Her first disc as a soloist was titled Natalia Jiménez. She has received Grammy and Latin Gram ...

and Joe King, with live renditions being performed by

India Martínez Jenifer Yésica Martínez Fernández (Córdoba, Spain, October 13, 1985), known professionally as India Martínez, is a Spanish flamenco and pop singer. Her artistic name was made out by the first manager she had at the age of 17, when she si ...

and

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for his soulful and dance oriented songs, most notably 2017's "Despacito". Fonsi received his first Latin ...

Background and composition

Since the release of his first album with

WEA Latina Warner Music Latina Inc. (formerly WEA Latina) is a record label part of Warner Music Group that focuses on Latin music. The record label was established in 1987. List of artists currently on Warner Music Latina *Alaya * Alex Ubago * Andrés Ca ...

, '' Viviendo Deprisa'' (1991), Alejandro Sanz has a maintained popular following in his native Spain. The album, along with its follow-ups, ''

Si Tú Me Miras ''Si Tú Me Miras'' (If You Look at Me) is the third studio album recorded by Spanish singer and songwriter Alejandro Sanz, It was released by WEA Latina on August 17, 1993. where he counted with the collaboration of musicians Paco de Lucía (in t ...

'' (1993), '' Básico'' (1994), and '' 3'' (1995), were successful in the country having been certified multi-platinum. The tracks in the records are characterized as

romantic ballad Latin ballad () is a sentimental ballad derived from bolero that originated in the early 1960s in Los Angeles, California and Southern California. Some of the best known artists of the Latin ballad are Julio Iglesias, Mocedades, José Luis Rod ...

s. On 12 July 1997, Sanz announced that he had finished recording his next project, ''

'', which was recorded and mixed in Italy under the direction of Emanuelle Ruffinengo and Miguel Angel Arenas, who handled its production. The album was recorded at Excalibur in Milan, Plastic in Rome, Sintonia and Red Led in Madrid, Spain and was released on 9 September 1997. Sanz penned over 30 compositions, of which ten made it to the final release including "Amiga Mía". "Amiga Mía" is a rock ballad that "treatises on loneliness, regrets and misery." The song narrates "the sad story of a person who was fixed on someone who did not correspond to his love". The composition was inspired by the experience of his close friend, Irene Chamorro, who was in love with Spanish musician

Antonio Flores Antonio González Flores (14 November 1961 – 30 May 1995) was a Spanish singer-songwriter and actor. He was Romani people, Romani on his father's side and maternal grandmother's side. Antonio is known for his pop rock style of singing. Hi ...

. Musically, it is accompanied by a

flamenco guitar A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar, but with lower action, thinner tops and less internal bracing. It usually has nylon strings, like the classical guitar, but it generally possesses a livelier, grittier sound compared ...

riff and " percussive beats". In the lyrics, he chants: "Amiga mía, lo sé, sólo vives por él que lo sabe también, pero él no te ve como yo" ("My friend, I know you only live for him, and he knows it too, but he doesn't see you like I do").

Promotion and reception

"Amiga Mía" was released as the fourth single from ''Más'' in 1997. The music video for the song has Sanz singing on top of a building to a woman he loves as the townspeople watch and ends with the woman walking away with her fiancé. "Amiga Mía" was included on the artist's compilation albums '' Grandes Éxitos 1991–2004'' (2004) and '' Colección Definitiva'' (2011). '' El Norte'' critic Devorah Davis regarded it as one of the album's two "sweeping ballads" along with " Y, ¿Si Fuera Ella?". Tarradell praised Sanz's "powderkeg" vocals and felt the instruments gave it an "exotic feel". The track was listed as one of the best Sanz's song by ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' and

Los 40 Los 40 (stylized as LOS40, formerly ''Los 40 Principales'', ) is a Spanish Top 40-themed music radio station that broadcasts current and recent music, primarily focusing on genres such as pop, dance, electropop, Electro Latin, and Reggaeton. T ...

. The track was recognized as one of the best-performing songs of the year at the 1999 BMI Latin Awards. Commercially, "Amiga Mía" became the singer's first number one on the ''

chart and peaked at number two on the

chart in the US.

Live performances and covers

"Amiga Mía" was included on the

for the Más (1998–99), El Alma Al Aire (2001–02), No Es Lo Mismo (2004),

El Tren De Los Momentos ''El Tren de los Momentos'' (The Train of the Moments) is the eighth studio album recorded by Spanish singer-songwriter Alejandro Sanz, It was released by WEA Latina on November 7, 2006 (see 2006 in music). which counts with the collaborations of ...

(2007–08), Paraiso (2009–11), La Música No Se Toca (2012–14), and #LaGira (2019) tours. An acoustic rendition of the song was performed for a live audience and recorded for the album, ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

'' (2001). To commemorate the 20th anniversary of ''Más'', Sanz held a concert at the

Vicente Calderón Stadium The Vicente Calderón Stadium ( ) was the home stadium of Atlético Madrid from its completion in 1966 to 2017, with a seating capacity of 54,907. It was located on the banks of the Manzanares, in the Arganzuela district of Madrid, Spain. The ...

in Madrid, Spain on 24 June 2017, where he presented the songs from the album live with musical guests, including "Amiga Mía" with Spanish musician

. Spanish singer

"Amiga Mía" on the album, ''¿Y Si Fueran Ellas?'' (2013), a collection of Sanz's songs recorded by female artists. Puerto Rican artist Joe King recorded a

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

version of the track on his disc, ''Corazón Partío'' (1999), which

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Eugene Chadbourne described as "friendly if possessive". King's rendition peaked at number 33 and 16 on the Hot Latin Songs and

Tropical Airplay The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

charts, respectively. As part of the

Latin Recording Academy The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., trading as The Latin Recording Academy (; ), is a multinational membership-based association composed of Latin music industry professionals, musicians, producers, recording engineers, and o ...

tribute to Sanz, who was presented with the Person of the Year accolade in 2017, Puerto Rican musician

performed "Amiga Mía" live where he was accompanied by a violin section.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the ''Más'' liner notes. * Miguel Angel Arena – producer * Joan Bibiloni – acoustic guitar * Paolo Costa – bass guitar * Luca Jurman –

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

* Lele Melotti – drums * Saverio Porciello – acoustic guitar * Paola Repele – chorus * Elena Roggero – chorus * Emanuele Ruffinengo – piano, keyboards,

programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...

, producer * Alejandro Sanz – vocals, songwriting * Ludovico Vagnone – electric guitar

Charts

References