''Sobrevivir'' (''Survive'') is the eighth studio album by Puerto Rican recording artist

Olga Tañón Olga Teresa Tañón OrtizIn this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is ''Tañón'' and the second or maternal family name is ''Ortiz''. (born April 13, 1967) is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter. Over the course of her career, she has ...

, released on 19 November 2002 by

Warner Music Latina Warner Music Latina (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 *Andres Calamaro *Bohe ...

. The album was produced by

Humberto Gatica Humberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Celine Dion, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. Gatica's inter ...

Kike Santander Flavio Enrique "Kike" Santander Lora is a Colombian-American composer, record producer, arranger and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the principal Latino composers of the day, having worked with artists such as David Bisbal, Cristia ...

, and Manuel Tejada. ''Sobrevivir'' includes a collection of songs from different genres such as

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...

, merengue,

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura an ...

and

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

. The album lead single, " Asi es La Vida", became Tañón's third number-one single in the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Songs and the seventh best-performing Latin single of the year in the United States. Sobrevivir won a

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has bee ...

for

Best Female Pop Vocal Album The Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album was an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards from 2001 to 2011 The award was given to a female performer for albums containing at least 51 percent of new recordings of the pop g ...

. The LP was also certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

(Latin) in the US by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

Background and release

Olga Tañón, the first female Hispanic performer to receive two consecutive

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, for the albums ''Olga Viva, Viva Olga'' and ''Yo Por Ti'', recorded ''Sobrevivir'' under the guidance of Humberto Gatica, Kike Santander, and Manuel Tejada. About the album, Tañón said: "I loved doing this album, I loved working with people who I worked. Every album I record is more mature, musically speaking." ''Sobrevivir'' continued with the crossover from

tropical music Tropical music ( es, música tropical) is a term in the Latin music industry that refers to music genres deriving from or influenced by the Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean. It includes the islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, The Dominican Repub ...

that began with ''Nuevos Senderos'', ''

Te Acordarás de Mí ''Te Acordarás de Mí'' ("You Will Remember Me") is the title of a studio album released by singer Olga Tañón on October 27, 1998. This album became her second number-one album on the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums. The song "Voy A Sacarte ...

'' and ''Yo Por Tí'', being her first full length pop music album.

Music and lyrics

''Sobrevivir'' includes several

s, which reminds Tañón's previous work on the album ''Nuevos Senderos'' produced by

Marco Antonio Solís Marco Antonio Solís Sosa (born 29 December 1959) is a Mexican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. Born and raised in Ario de Rosales, Michoacán, Solís began his musical career at the age of six, performing part of Los Hermanito ...

. "Mentiras", a ballad, tells the story of a woman who finishes a tormentous relationship. "A Partir de Hoy" is described as an "ode to positivism," while "Angel de Mi Corazon" is a tribute to Tañón's daughter. The track "Quien Diria" features co-lead vocals by fellow Puerto-Rican American singer

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 multiple songs, one of them being " Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...

. The album also features "Beso a Beso", a modern

mixed with R&B, giving it a sound similar to some of

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin G ...

’s work. The singer declared about the musical content of ''Sobrevivir'': "The album is balanced, have sentimental ballads, the kind you hear as a masochist when you finish a relationship with your boyfriend, and on the other hand, the happiness and cheerful feeling of people who are in love."

Singles

The album lead single " Asi es La Vida" was released in early November, 2002, and debuted at number 43 in the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Songs chart in the week of December 2, 2002. The song peaked at number-one in the chart eight weeks later. "Asi es La Vida" also reached number two in the

Latin Pop Songs Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established ...

chart and ended 2003 as the seventh best performing Latin single of the year in the United States. A merengue version was released in the radio station and reached number-two on the

Tropical Songs The Tropical Airplay chart (formerly known as Tropical/Salsa and Tropical Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine introduced in 1994. The first number-one song on the chart was " Quien Eres Tu" by Luis Enrique. Originally, ra ...

chart. "No Podrás", written and produced by

, was released as the second and last single from the album. It peaked at number ten in the Top Latin Songs and at 16 in the Latin Pop Songs chart. Santander received a nomination for a Billboard Award for Producer of the Year for his work on the track.

Critical reception

The critical reception for the album has been mixed. Jason Birchmeier of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

declared that Tañón "missed her mark" angering her longtime fans, who wanted more merengue, not more

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

. Nevertheless, Birchmeier also named ''Sobrevivir'' "a fine album," and "about as good as any adult-leaning Latin pop release of its time." He also praised the tracks "Caramelo", "Así es La Vida", "Mentiras", "No Podrás", and especially "Quien Diria," a duet with

Leila Cobo Leila Cobo is a Colombian journalist, writer, novelist, pianist and television show host. She is noted for her coverage of Latin music for ''Billboard'' where she is currently the Chief Content Officer for Latin Music and Español, overseeing the ...

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 ...

'' magazine in a mixed review of ''Sobrevivir'', named the album "well executed", but "fails to fully define its singer: Is she a pop balladeer? A dance queen?", concluding that Tañón "sounds as if she's still searching for something else." The album was awarded the

for

. After receiving the award, Tañón said: "I swear I was surprised. Anything could have happened. The competition was very strong but I always had faith. I'm super happy."

Track listing

Charts and Certifications

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2002 albums Olga Tañón albums Spanish-language albums Warner Music Latina albums Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album