"Miente" (English: "Lie") is a song by Spanish singer

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

from his second studio album, '' Vivir'' (1997). The song was written and produced by Rafael Pérez-Botija. It was released as the third

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from the album in 1997. An

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backed by a piano and

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, the song deals with the singer being in denial about a relationship ending. "Miente" was covered by

Robert Avellanet Roberto Alejandro Avellanet Negrón, known professionally as Robert Avellanet or Roba, is a Puerto Rican singer who was a member of '' Menudo'' from 1988 to 1991. His uncle is the famous Puerto Rican singer Chucho Avellanet. Biography Avella ...

on his debut studio album, ''Sentir'' (1999), as 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 ...

track. The

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for the cover features the singer playing billiards while a woman is driving away. Avellanet's version peaked at numbers 23 and 9 on the Hot Latin Songs and

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charts, respectively, and was a recipient of the

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Latin Award on the salsa field in 2000. "Miente" received positive reactions from three

music journalists Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, who generally considered it was one of the best tracks from ''Vivir''. Commercially, the original song topped the ''

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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 ...

and

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charts in the United States.

Background and composition

In 1995, Iglesias released his eponymous debut album, which sold over 4.7 million copies worldwide and had five of its

s reach number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs in the United States. In August 1996, '' El Informador'' reported that Iglesias was working on a follow-up album and it would be released in January the following year. The album's title of ''Vivir'' was revealed by Iglesias in December 1995, before it was eventually released on 28 January 1997. He also announced that the album was produced by Rafael Pérez-Botija and he had co-written its tracks with Roberto Morales. One of the three tracks Pérez-Botija composed for the album was "Miente", a "dramatic"

, that is backed by a piano and

. Lyrically, the song deals with the singer sensing "the end but being so love addicted, he goes into denial."

Promotion and reception

"Miente" was released as the third single from ''Vivir'' in 1997. The song was later included on Iglesias' compilation albums '' The Best Hits'' (1999) and the deluxe edition of '' Enrique Iglesias: 95/08 Éxitos'' (2008). A

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

version of the song was included on his album ''

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'' (1998). "Miente" was

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by Puerto Rican singer

for his debut studio album ''Sentir'' (1999). Avellanet's rendition was recorded as a

track and produced by Isidro Infante. The cover received the

Latin Award on the salsa field in 2000. A

was filmed for the cover version which the features Avellanet performing at a bar and playing billiards while a woman is driving away. Joey Guerra of the ''

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'' regarded "Miente" as "one of the strongest tracks" from ''Vivir''. Similarly, the ''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...

'' editor Ramiro Burr felt the song to be the album's "best cut" while Howard Cohen on the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' called it "terrific". In the US, "Miente" debuted at number five on the ''Billboard''

chart on the week of 5 August 1997 and topped the chart a week later; it spent four weeks at this position. The track also reached the top of the

chart, at which it spent three weeks. Avellanet's version peaked at numbers 23 and 9 on the Hot Latin Songs and

charts, respectively.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References