| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |
Mi Reflejo (English "My Reflection") is Christina Aguilera's second studio album.
It was released on September 12, 2000 by BMG U.S. Latin. After the commercial success of her debut album, Christina recorded her follow-up project during 2000.
The album contains five Spanish-language versions of tracks from her first album in addition to four original compositions and two cover songs.
The tracks were adapted and composed by Rudy Pérez who also produced the album.
In the United States, "Mi Reflejo" peaked at number-one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts where it spent 19 weeks at the top of both charts.
The album was the best-selling Latin pop album of 2000 and was certified 6× Platinum (Latin field) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
It reached number two on the Argentine albums and was certified platinum in that country.
Upon its release, the album received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who noted musical similarities to Christina Aguilera.
The album led to Christina receiving a Latin Grammy award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Album" as well as a Grammy nomination, two Billboard Latin Music Awards and a Lo Nuestro nomination.
Three singles were released from the album: "Ven Conmigo (Solamente Tú)," "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti" and "Falsas Esperanzas."
To promote the album, Christina extended her tour Christina Aguilera In Concert into 2001 for eight more dates and performed at the 2001 Grammy Awards.
Album Background[]
According to her manager Steve Kurtz, Christina expressed interest in recording a Spanish-language album before she recorded her debut album.
At the time, she was simultaneously touring to promote her debut album and recording a Christmas album My Kind of Christmas (which was later released during that same year).
The original album title was intended to be titled "Latin Lover Girl."
The title's origin came from the Spanish version of the song "Reflection" which Christina recorded for the soundtrack to the movie "Mulan."
Album Composition[]
In 1999, Christina began recording in Miami with Cuban-American producer Rudy Pérez.
He co-wrote the songs "Si No Te Hubiera Conocido", "Cuando No es Contigo", and "El Beso Del Final."
He also composed the Spanish versions of "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" ("Ven Conmigo (Solamante Tú)"), "Genie in a Bottle" ("Genio Atrapado"), "I Turn to You" ("Por Siempre Tu"), "What a Girl Wants" ("Una Mujer"), and "Reflection" ("Mi Reflejo").
Christina covers Perez's song "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti", which was originally performed by Puerto Rican singer Lourdes Robles's 1991 album "Definitivamente."
Pérez stated that Christina didn't know any Spanish while recording the album. He remedied the problem by phonetically writing out lyrics and included a system that allowed her to pronounce the "r's" in the songs.
The album features a cover of César Portillo de la Luz's bolero "Contigo en la Distancia."
Additionally, she made a duet with Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi on the ballad "Si No Te Hubiera Conocido."
Christina wanted Fonsi to perform a duet with her because she felt that she could relate to him as they "grew up listening to the same things."
The song "Cuando No es Contigo" is an uptempo salsa song which was arranged by Sergio George.
"Falsas Esperanzas" is another uptempo song in the album which features Cuban musician Paquito Hechevarria performing the piano.
Tracklisting[]
- Genio Atrapado
- Falsas Esperanzas
- El Beso del Final
- Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti
- Ven Conmigo (Solamente Tú)
- Si No Te Hubiera Conocido (featuring Luis Fonsi)
- Contigo en la Distancia
- Cuando No es Contigo
- Por Siempre Tú
- Una Mujer
- Mi Reflejo
Album Promotion[]
To promote the album, Christina extended her tour Christina Aguilera: In Concert into 2001 for eight more dates, visiting Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama and Japan.
She also gave a performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards, performing "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti" and "Falsas Esperanzas."
Chart Performance[]
"Mi Reflejo" debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200 on the week of September 30, 2000.
During that the same week, the album debuted at number-one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and replaced Son by Four's eponymous album.
It spent nineteen weeks on top of the chart until was it replaced by Vicente Fernández for his greatest hits album "Historia de un Idolo, Vol. 1."
It was best fifth best-selling Latin album of 2000 and became the second best-selling Latin album of the year later after "Paulina" by Paulina Rubio.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, it has sold 487,000 copies in the United States as of 2014.
Likewise, the album debuted at number-one on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart where it debuted on top of the chart succeeding Galería Caribe by Ricardo Arjona.
It spent also spent nineteen on top of this chart until it was replaced by Abrázame Muy Fuerte by Juan Gabriel.
"Mi Reflejo" was the best-selling Latin pop album of 2000.
On September 10, 2001, it was certified 6× Platinum in the Latin field for shipping 600,000 copies by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Internationally, the album peaked at number two on the Argentine albums chart and was certified platinum by the Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (CAPIF).
It also peaked at fifty-four in Switzerland and certified platinum in Mexico by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON).
In Spain, the album peaked at number twelve on the Spanish Albums Charts and was certified Platinum in the country for shipping 100,000 copies.
It has sold over 300,000 copies in Panama. The album has sold around 3 million copies worldwide as of 2007.
Singles[]
The lead single of album was "Ven Conmigo (Solamente Tú)" (the Spanish version of "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)") which was released on September 2, 2000. to Latin radio stations.
The song reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and number two on the Billboard Latin Pop Songs charts. It also peaked at number eight in Spain.
The second single, "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti" was released in September 19, 2000. The song reached number eight on the Hot Latin Songs and number five on Latin Pop Songs charts.
In Spain, it reached number three on the chart. The music video was directed by Kevin G. Bray.
The third single "Falsas Esperanzas" was released on May 4, 2001. The song reached number fifteen in Spain.
The music video (taken from her DVD "My Reflection") was directed by Lawrence Jordan.
"Genio Atrapado" and "Por Siempre Tu" were previously released as singles along with their original versions.
The former single peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart while the latter single peaked at number six on the Hot Latin Songs and number two on the Billboard Latin Pop Songs chart.
Critical Reception[]
At Metacritic, "Mi Reflejo" received an average score of 56, based on seven reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."
Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic described the album as a mirror image of Christina's debut album.
He felt that it was a "little too familiar" although he praised recordings as "well-produced," however, he concluded that the album "doesn't add anything new to her music, since it's just the old music in new clothing."
An editor for Billboard wrote that Christina has yielded a mostly mainstream pop album with Latin inflections.
Eliseo Cardona of CDNow gave the album a mixed review.
While he enjoyed Christina's vocal performance which he described as "precisely, gracefully, forcefully," he criticized the literal Spanish translation of the lyrics from English which he said made a "good laugh and a better yawn."
He commended "Cuando No es Contigo" as making Christina a "credible, expressive salsera" and her cover of "Contigo en la Distancia" as the album's finest moment.
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly (who gave the album a "C" rating) wrote the review in a parody memo from Christina's point of view.
He mocked at her attempt at making Spanish-language album simply because of her Ecuadorian heritage, criticized her "unnecessary" high note," ballads that "old Latin ladies'll like" and the photos used in the album's booklet.
Mike Magnuson of HOB.com wrote a critical review of the album admonishing the photos in the record for attempting to make Christina look Latino which he insisted was a bad influence for the younger audience.
Though he mentions that "you can count on her agreeable voice" and lauded the use of Latin percussion and horns, he asserted that the record was "purely a marketing scam gone too far."
Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel stated that "Mi Reflejo lacks emotional depth, and her decision to record in Spanish seems more a bid to conquer new chart territory than anything else."
Sonicnet called its production "superslick" and compared Christina's vocals to that of Mariah Carey, completing that the album "almost guarantees that the diminutive diva will expand her colonial powers south of the border. In other words, she's planning to do a reverse Ricky Martin on us."
Ernesto Lechner of the Los Angeles Times rated the album two out of four stars comparing her vocals in her debut album and in Mi Reflejo, describing her performance in the latter as "ridiculous."
He complained about Christina's cover of "Contigo en la Distancia" which he described as a "bloated confection."
Kurt B. Reighley from Wall of Sound wrote that the album is "an impressive addition to young Christina's limited canon."
Accolades[]
At the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards, the album received the award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Album."
At the 2001 Grammy Awards, the album received a nomination for "Best Latin Pop Album" which was awarded to Shakira for "MTV Unplugged."
The album also received a nomination at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards for "Pop Album of the Year," but she lost to "Paulina" by Paulina Rubio.
Christina herself received two Lo Nuestro awards including "Pop Female Artist of the Year" and "Pop New Artist of the Year."
At the 2001 Billboard Latin Music Awards, the album received two awards for Pop Album of the Year by a Female Artist and Pop Album of the Year by a New Artist.
At the 2001 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, Christina received an award for "Favorite Artist, Latino" due to the success of the album in the United States.
Album Personnel[]
Musicians
- Christina Aguilera – vocals
- Richard Bravo – percussion
- Ed Calle – saxophone
- Tony Concepcion – trumpet
- Geannie Cruz – background vocals
- Luis Fonsi – performer
- David Frank – drums, keyboard
- Jerry Goldsmith – conductor
- John Goux – guitar
- Paquito Hechavarria – piano
- Julio Hernandez – bass
- Steve Kipner – drums, keyboard
- Matt Laug – tambourine
- Lee Levin – drums
- Manny Lopez – acoustic guitar
- Raúl Midón – background vocals
- Rafael Padilla – percussion
- Agustin Pantoja – palmadas
- Wendy Pederson – vocals
- Rudy Pérez – producer, arranger, songwriter, keyboards, Spanish guitar
- Clay Perry – keyboard, programming
- Tim Pierce – guitar
- Rubén Rodríguez – electric bass
- Michael C. Ross – keyboard
- Dana Teboe – trombone
- Michael Thompson – guitar
- Dan Warner – guitar
- Matthew Wilder – orchestration
- Aaron Zigman – orchestration
Production
- Producer: Rudy Pérez
- Executive producers: Ron Fair, Diane Warren
- Engineers: Paul Arnold, Bob Brockman, Mario DeJesús, Mike Greene, Mario Lucy, Joel Numa, Paul Rein, Michael C. Ross, Bruce Weeden
- Assistant engineers: Tom Bender, Michael Huff
- Mixing: Mike Couzzi, Mick Guzauski, Peter Mokran, Dave Way, Bruce Weeden
- Programming: Rudy Perez, Guy Roche, Michael C. Ross
- Drum programming: Rudy Perez
- Percussion programming: Rudy Pérez
- Arrangers: Rudy Perez, Ed Calle, David Frank, Sergio George, Ron Harris
- Vocal arrangement: Ron Fair
- String arrangements: Gary Lindsay, Rudy Pérez
- Vocal arrangement: Rudy Pérez
- Orchestration: Matthew Wilder, Aaron Zigman