"Somos Novios" (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "We're a couple") is a song first recorded by Mexican songwriter

Armando Manzanero Armando Manzanero Canché (7 December 1934 – 28 December 2020) was a Mexican musician, singer, composer, actor and music producer, widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era and one of the most successful comp ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

recorded an English version of "Somos Novios" with original English lyrics titled "It's Impossible", which was a top 10 hit in the US and the UK. The song has become one of the most popular

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

s of all time and it has been covered by numerous artists. The recording by Manzanero was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.

Background

The song was the title track of Manzanero third album ''Somos Novios'' released in July 1968. Manzanero also appeared in the 1969 Mexican film of the same title ''Somos Novios'' starring

Palito Ortega Ramón Bautista Ortega (; born February 28, 1941) is an Argentine singer and actor, better known as Palito Ortega (). Ortega is an icon of Argentine popular music, and is considered one of the main representatives of the musical style called N ...

, and performed the song. The song was included in the inaugural inductions for the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame established in 2001 to honor early Latin music recordings.

Perry Como version

"Somos Novios" was adapted in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

by Sid Wayne, who wrote original English lyrics set to the music. Sid Wayne was a collaborator with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, but decided to give the song instead to Perry Como.

recorded the song under the title "It's Impossible". The Como version would be one of his most influential records, and in February 1971 it became his first song to reach the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in more than 12 years, peaking at No. 10. The song's peak on the Hot 100 chart came just weeks after concluding a four-week run at number one on the ''Billboard''

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart. On the UK Singles Chart, the single reached No. 4 in 1971. Como's version was nominated for Song of the Year at the 1971 Grammy but lost to "

You've Got a Friend "You've Got a Friend" is a 1971 song and single by American singer-songwriter Carole King. It was first recorded by King and included on her second studio album, '' Tapestry'' (1971). Another well-known version by James Taylor appears on his ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Andrea Bocelli versions

Italian tenor

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...

recorded the song with American singer

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

in 2006. The duet was released as a single in from Bocelli's eleventh studio album, '' Amore'' (2006). Aguilera and Bocelli performed the song together at the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

on March 3, 2006. Jonathan Widran of

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 ...

considered the song "enchanting" and noted that Aguilera's vocals were "delightfully torchy". This version was ranked at number ten on the list of Aguilera's best songs by '' AXS''. On the

Italian Singles Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) or the Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when ...

, "Somos Novios (It's Impossible)" reached number thirty-nine in April 2006. Another version of the duet with Japanese singer

Rimi Natsukawa is a Japanese singer. She is best known for her 2001 single " Nada Sōsō." Childhood Natsukawa was born in Ishigaki, the largest city in the Yaeyama Islands chain. From a young age she enjoyed singing, and wanted to be a singer after heari ...

was released as a bonus track in the album's Japanese edition, as well as a bonus track for the Japanese edition of Bocelli's first

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere'' (2007). Bocelli has also covered the song as a duet with a number of other artists, including Petra Berger and

Katharine McPhee Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American actress and singer. In May 2006, she was the runner-up on the fifth season of ''American Idol.'' Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records in January 2007, and debuted at n ...

. McPhee joined Bocelli onstage at the JCPenney Jam and their version is included on the album for the event.

References

External links

"Somos Novios" — Roberto Rubio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Somos Novios (It's Impossible) 1970 singles 2006 singles Songs written by Armando Manzanero Songs written by Sid Wayne Perry Como songs Andrea Bocelli songs Christina Aguilera songs Luis Miguel songs Andy Williams songs Song recordings produced by David Foster Male–female vocal duets Songs in Spanish Boleros 1968 songs Latin Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients RCA Victor singles Decca Records singles Armando Manzanero songs