"Simplemente Amigos" (English: ''Just Friends'') 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 Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

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 was produced by Mariano Pérez Bautista. It was released by CBS Discos (now Sony Music Latin) on March 20, 1989, as the second single from her fourth studio album '' Tierra de Nadie'' (1988). The song became Gabriel's second number-one single in the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks chart after " Ay Amor" in late 1987. The success of the song led its parent album to its peak at number one in the ''Billboard'' Latin Pop Albums and approximate sales of six million units in Latin America. "Simplemente Amigos" is 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 one of the most covered songs, aside from being named her first smash hit. The song title was later used in a

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 ...

featuring songs by Gabriel and fellow Mexican singer-songwriter

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, ...

Chart performance

The song debuted in the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks chart at number 36 in the week of May 20, 1989, climbing to the top ten two weeks later. "Simplemente Amigos" peaked at number-one on September 2, 1989, on its sixteenth week, holding this position for two consecutive weeks, replacing " Baila Mi Rumba" by

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

performer José Luis Rodríguez "El Puma" and being replaced by

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

with " Si Voy a Perderte". It ranked seventh in the

Hot Latin Tracks The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, ...

Year-End Chart of 1989 and spent 29 weeks within the Top 40 in the United States. It also reached number one the Guatemalan Spanish Charts in the country.

Cover versions

"Simplemente Amigos" is one of the most covered songs on Gabriel's repertoire. Banda Preciosa de Durango, BXS Bryndis X Siempre, Keyla Caballero, Calor del Norte, David Cedeno, Cumbia Na Na Na, Los Grey's, Grupo Secreto, Grupo Super T,

Gary Hobbs Gary Lee Hobbs (born January 5, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Called "Tejano music's Vince Gill", he has been widely recognized for his resonant baritone vocals, characterized by their emotive quality, and i ...

, Iris, JC y Su Banda Duranguense, Junior Klan, Mónica,

Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In many Slavic languages, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope": Ukrainia ...

Emilio Navaira Emilio H. Navaira III (August 23, 1962 – May 16, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter of Tejano music, Tejano and country music. He is the winner of one Grammy Award and one Latin Grammy Award. Known to most by the Mononymous person, mono ...

, Quadra, Bienvenido Rodríguez, Oscar Rubio y su Banda Canela, Son de Azúcar, and Violento have recorded versions of the song. Mexican singer

Myriam Miriam () is a feminine given name recorded in Biblical Hebrew in the Book of Exodus as the name of the sister of Moses, the prophetess Miriam. Spelling variants include French ''Myriam'', German ''Mirjam, Mirijam''; hypocoristic forms include ...

also did her version of the track and included it on her album ''Simplemente Amigos'' — a

Tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

to Ana Gabriel. This album peaked at number-one in the

Mexican Albums Chart Top 100 México was a record chart which accounted for sixty percent of the albums sold in Mexico. The chart had the support of major record distributors in Mexico and was issued by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videograma ...

and received a

gold certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in México for sales over 300,000 copies.

Certifications

References

{{Ana Gabriel 1989 singles 1988 songs Ana Gabriel songs Songs written by Ana Gabriel Songs in Spanish CBS Discos singles 1980s ballads Pop ballads