"¡Ay, Amor!" (English: ''Oh Love'') is a

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 ...

written and performed by Mexican singer-songwriter

Ana Gabriel María Guadalupe Araujo Yong (born December 10, 1955), known professionally as Ana Gabriel, is a Mexican singer and songwriter. With over 40 million records sold worldwide, Gabriel is the best-selling Mexican female artist, and one of the best- ...

and produced by Mariano Pérez Bautista. It was released as the first single from her third studio album, '' Pecado Original'' (1987). This song became the second to spend 14 consecutive weeks at number one in the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks chart, after fellow Mexican singer

Daniela Romo Teresa Presmanes Corona (born 27 August 1959), known professionally as Daniela Romo, is a Mexican singer, actress and TV hostess. During her career, she has sold 15 million records, making her one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Biog ...

with " De Mí Enamórate", being surpassed in the same year by Yuri when her single "Qué Te Pasa" achieved sixteen weeks at the top of the chart. "¡Ay, Amor!" is also recognized as one of Gabriel's

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

s and has been performed by several singers, including Tino y su Banda Joven, Jannette Chao, Keyla Caballero, Myriam and Yuri.

Background

Mexican singer-songwriter

, after ten years of preparation, received in 1984 the opportunity to participate on the Mexican Festival 'Valores Juveniles', in which she participated as a composer with the song "No Me Lástimes Más", and won second place in the contest. Following this victory she was called by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

and was offered an exclusive contract. The following year, 1985, Gabriel participated in the

OTI Festival OTI Festival (, ), often known simply as La OTI, was an international song competition, organised annually between 1972 and 2000 by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI), featuring participants representing primarily Ibero-Americ ...

with the song "Búscame", wrote with Tony Flores, and took the award for 'Revelation of the Year'. That same year she recorded his first album, entitled '' Un estilo''. In 1986 she participated again in the OTI with the song "A Tu Lado" and this time was recognized as 'Singer of the Year'. Finally, in 1987, Gabriel had her third chance at this festival with the song "¡Ay, amor!", which earned the awards for Best Song, Best Singer and Best Composer, and the opportunity to represent Mexico at the Festival OTI International in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, Portugal, where she ranked third, in a tie with Spain. "¡Ay, Amor!" was produced by Mariano Pérez Bautista and was released as the first single from Gabriel's third studio album '' Pecado Original'' (1987). This song was a success in Mexico and United States, leading the album to its peak at number three in the ''Billboard'' Latin Pop Albums and approximate sales of two and a half million units in Latin America.

Chart performance

The song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks chart at number 35 on 21 November 1987 and climbed to the top ten four weeks later. It reached the top position of the chart on 23 January 1988, replacing " Soy Así" by Mexican singer

José José José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz (17 February 1948 – 28 September 2019), known professionally as José José, was a Mexican singer. Also known as ''El Príncipe de la Canción'' (The Prince of Song), his performance and vocal style have influenced ma ...

and being replaced twelve weeks later by

Juan Gabriel Alberto Aguilera Valadez (; 7 January 1950 – 28 August 2016), known professionally as Juan Gabriel (), was a Mexican singer-songwriter and actor. Colloquially Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed Juanga () and El Divo de Juárez, ...

's " Debo Hacerlo". "¡Ay, amor!" returned to number-one for two additional weeks, replacing "

Y Ahora Te Vas "Y Ahora Te Vas" () is a song written and produced by Mexican singer and songwriter, Marco Antonio Solís. It was performed by him as the lead singer of Los Bukis. It was released as the second single from his 11th Grammy nominated studio album ...

" by

Los Bukis Los Bukis (English: the Bukis; ''buki'' meaning "kid" in the Purépecha language) are a Mexican Grupera, grupero band. Formed in Ario de Rosales, Michoacán in 1973, the band's current lineup consists of singer and songwriter Marco Antonio Solís, ...

and being replaced by "

Qué Te Pasa "Qué Te Pasa" (''"What's Up With You"'') is a dance song written by J.R. Florez and Gian Pietro DiFelissati, produced by Felissatti and performed by Mexican singer Yuri. It was released in 1987 as the first single from her seventh studio album ...

" by Yuri. Only four female singers have achieved the same number of weeks (or more) at number one on the Hot Latin Tracks history:

(14 weeks with " De Mí Enamórate" in 1986–1987), Yuri (16 weeks with "

" in 1988) and

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

(25 weeks with "

La Tortura "" (English language, English: "The Torture") is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, featuring Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz, from Shakira's sixth studio album, ''Fijación Oral, Vol. 1'' (2005). The song was produced by Shakira and ...

" in 2005).

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Credits and personnel

This information adopted from

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 ...

. *Mariano Pérez Bautista – director, producer, mixing *Carlos Gómez – piano, arranger, keyboards, engineer *Javier Losada – piano, arranger, keyboards, engineer *Henry Díaz – percussion *Ana Gabriel – lead vocals, lyrics *Rodrigo García – acoustic guitar *Eduardo Gracía – bass *Antonio Moreno – drums *Tito Saavedra – engineer, mixing *Antonio Sauco – arranger *Maisa Hens – vocals *María Lar – vocals *José Flacón – vocals

References

{{authority control 1987 singles 1987 songs Ana Gabriel songs Songs written by Ana Gabriel Songs in Spanish CBS Discos singles 1980s ballads Pop ballads