Amor Prohibido

Infobox Album | Name = Amor Prohibido
Type = Album
Artist = Selena


Released = March 22, 1994 (US)
Recorded = 1993/1994
Genre = Tejano/Latin Pop
Length = 32:37
Label = EMI
Producer = Abraham Quintanilla III
Certification = Platinum
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ct9hs32ya3rg~T00 link]
*Rolling Stone Rating|5|5
Last album = "17 Super Exitos"
(1993)
This album = "Amor Prohibido"
(1994)
Next album = "12 Super Exitos"
(1994) | |

"Amor Prohibido" is the name of a hit single and album by Latin superstar Selena. In the single, the singer sings of a man and a woman who fall in love, but it is forbidden. The piece is a real life story, written about Selena's grandparents. The album still remains one of the biggest selling Spanish language albums of all time. Amor Prohibido is certified 22x Platinum by the RIAA and has sold 22 million copies worldwide as reported by People En Espanol Magazine. The album produced five #1 singles and is the only Spanish album by a female to do so.

Album History

Continuing the formula of previous albums, A.B. Quintanilla III teamed up with Pete Astudillo and Ricky Vela to come up with what they hoped would be a successful Selena album. Its singles ("Amor Prohibido", "No Me Queda Mas", "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom", and "Fotos y Recuerdos") became hits at radio stations in the U.S. and Mexico.

Selena recorded a song with Latin pop group Barrio Boyz, titled "Dondequiera Que Estes," prior to recording "Amor Prohibido". The duet was another number one hit for Selena. This track originally appeared on the Barrio Boyz album and is included on the reissued version of this album as a bonus track.

The album made the top 200 Billboard's Pop Charts and replaced Gloria Estefan's "Mi Tierra" at #1 on the Billboard Latin Tracks Charts. It was number 1 for 78 weeks. It also led to six awards at the Tejano Music Awards and another Grammy nomination in 1995. The unexpected success of this album led to extensive touring and promotion that is much to blame for the stalled efforts of recording Selena's English language album, "Dreaming of You", which was posthumously released incomplete in 1995. More than 400,000 copies of "Amor Prohibido" had sold by the time of Selena's death.

Track listing

#"Amor Prohibido "Forbidden Love" (A.B. Quintanilla III and Pete Astudillo) – 2:49
#"No Me Queda Mas" "I Don't Have Anymore" (Ricky Vela) – 3:17
#"Cobarde" "Coward" (Borrego) – 2:50
#"Fotos y Recuerdos" "Photographs and Memories" (Chrissie Hynde and Ricky Vela) – 2:33
#"El Chico Del Apartamento 512" "The Boy from Apartment 512" (Quintanilla and Ricky Vela) – 3:28
#"Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" (Selena and Pete Astudillo) – 3:25
#"Techno Cumbia" (Quintanilla and Pete Astudillo) – 3:43
#"Tus Desprecios" "Your Scorns" (Quintanilla and Ricky Vela) – 3:24
#"Si Una Vez" "If Once" (Quintanilla and Pete Astudillo) – 2:42
#"Ya No" "No Longer" (Quintanilla and Ricky Vela) – 3:56

Personnel

*Chris Perez, Henry Gomez - Guitar
*Rafael Garza, Rene Gasca - Trumphet
*Gilbert Garza- Trombone
*Johnny Saenz- Accordion
*Selena - Vocals
*Ricky Vela, Joe Ojeda - Keyboards
*A.B. Quintanilla III - Bass
*Suzette Quintanilla - Drums
*Stephanie Lynn- Background Vocals
*Rick Alvarez - Background Vocals
*Rock 'N' Roll James - Background Vocals

ingles Released

#"Amor Prohibido" #1 Billboard Hot Latin Tracks
#"Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" #1 Billboard Hot Latin Tracks
#"No Me Queda Mas" #1 Billboard Hot Latin Tracks
#"Fotos y Recuerdos" # 1 Billboard Hot Latin Tracks

Miscellaneous

*"Amor Prohibido" has sold over 22,000,000 copies worldwide and remains the biggest selling Latin album of all time.
*Selena has spent more weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Top 50 Latin charts than any other artist.
*The music video for the song, "Amor Prohibido", was shot in Joshua Tree, California, in 1994.
*Mexican superstar Thalía covered "Amor Prohibido" for her album, "El Sexto Sentido".
*Only Latin album by a female to have four number-one songs.

Certifications

Note: Certifications are based on the number of shipped copies and not the number of copies sold. The album is under certified and has sold over 5 million copies in the U.S. alone and approx. 22 million worldwide.