''Baladas en Español'' () is a

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

by Swedish

pop duo A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guit ...

Roxette Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo originally consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, both of whom were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, ...

, released on 21 October 1996 by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

. The compilation was only issued in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking territories. It was a commercial success upon release, peaking in the top ten of several national

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...

s, and was certified gold or platinum in numerous territories, namely Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Spain. As of 2001, the record sold in excess of 1.2 million copies worldwide. " Un Día Sin Ti" and " No Sé Si Es Amor" were released as commercial singles, though most songs on the album would go on to receive substantial amounts of airplay on Latin American and Spanish radio. In 2022, a complete collection of the record was released, consisting of all the Spanish language songs recorded by Roxette.

Composition and style

The album consists of twelve of Roxette's ballads and downtempo tracks, translated into Spanish by songwriter Luis Gomez Escolar, of whom very little is known. Escolar's translations have been criticised by both fans and media for being poorly representative of the original English lyrics, as well as for being overly-simplistic and juvenile.

Commercial performance

''Baladas en Español'' was released on 21 October 1996, exclusively in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking territories. However, it was also released in the US by

EMI Latin Capitol Latin (formerly EMI Latin) is a brand of Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a division of Universal Music Group. Previously, it was a subsidiary of EMI. History In 1989, José Behar, the former head of CBS Discos, signed Selena t ...

, making it the final Roxette album to be officially issued in the country. The record was preceded by the release of " Un Día Sin Ti" as its

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

, which reached the top ten of ''

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 ...

''s

Latin Pop Songs The '' Billboard'' Latin pop charts began in 1985 when an album chart were introduced as Latin Pop Albums in the June 29 issue of the magazine. In October 1994, ''Billboard'' then established Latin Pop Airplay, which initially rank the most-played ...

. The song also charted on the national airplay chart of Spain. Its music video was directed by

Jonas Åkerlund Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (; born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish filmmaker and musician who is best known for his work in music videos. Åkerlund was a member of the Swedish black metal band Bathory. He has directed well-known videos for artists ...

. " No Sé Si Es Amor" was released as the album's second and final single in January 1997, peaking at number six in Spain. "Soy una Mujer" was released as a

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

exclusively in Mexico in July 1997. The album was a commercial success upon release, and has been certified double platinum in Spain (indicating shipments of over 200,000 units), platinum in Argentina and Brazil (for 60,000 and 250,000 copies, respectively), and gold (100,000 copies) in Mexico. As of 2001, ''Baladas en Español'' has sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide, and just over 13,000 copies in the US.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Baladas en Español''. * Roxette are

Per Gessle Per Håkan Gessle (; born 12 January 1959) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the male half and primary songwriter of the pop rock duo Roxette, which he formed with Marie Fredriksson in 1986 and which was disbande ...

and

Marie Fredriksson Gun-Marie Fredriksson (; 30 May 1958 – 9 December 2019) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, pianist, and lead vocalist of pop-rock duo Roxette, which she formed in 1986 with Per Gessle. The duo achieved international success in the late 1980s an ...

* Recorded at Tits & Ass Studio in

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational urban areas of Sweden, city at the mouth of the Nissan (river), Nissan river, in the provinces of Sweden, province of Halland on the Sweden, Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat ...

, Sweden; EMI Studios and

Polar Studios Polar Studios was a recording studio in Stockholm, Sweden, which operated from 1978 through 2004. The studio was formed by ABBA musicians Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and the band's manager Stig Anderson, owner of the Polar Music recording l ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden;

Mayfair Studios Mayfair Recording Studios was a recording studio in London, England, which was in operation from the 1960s until 2008. Background The studio, located at 64 South Molton Street in the Mayfair area of the West End of London, was originally establi ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England and Capri Digital Studios in

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

, Italy between 1987 and 1996. * All songs published by Jimmy Fun Music, except: "Watercolours in the Rain" published by Shock the Music/Jimmy Fun Music * All songs produced by

Clarence Öfwerman Clarence Öfwerman (born 22 November 1957) is a Swedish record producer and musician, best known as the longtime producer of Roxette, having been with the band from their debut album, ''Pearls of Passion'', in 1986, through to 2016's '' Good Ka ...

Mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

by Alar Suurna at Polar Studios Musicians * Marie Fredriksson –

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

* Per Gessle – lead and background vocals, mixing * Pelle Alsing –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Bo Eriksson –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

* Anders Herrlin –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Jonas Isacsson – acoustic and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

s * Christer Jansson – drums * Clarence Öfwerman – keyboards and production;

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

s and

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

* Kjell Öhman –

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

* Mats "M.P." Persson – acoustic and electric guitars * Pelle Sirén – acoustic and electric guitars Technical * Kjell Andersson – sleeve design * Kevin Davies –

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

* Mats Holmquist – string arrangements and conducting * Michael Ilbert – engineering, mixing * Henrik Jansson – string arrangements and conducting * Jonas Linell – photography * Lars Nordin – photography * Alar Suurna – engineering

Charts

Certifications

!scope="row", Worldwide , , 1,200,000 , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baladas En Espanol 1996 albums Roxette albums Spanish-language compilation albums 1990s Spanish-language albums EMI Records compilation albums