"Suavemente" (English: "Smoothly") is a song recorded and composed by Puerto Rican merengue singer Elvis Crespo on his first solo album, Suavemente, which followed his departure from Grupo Manía. Released as the lead single, "Suavemente" reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks on May 16, 1998, and remained atop the chart for six weeks. Crespo re-recorded it with Spanglish lyrics.[1] The song also hit the Billboard Hot 100 as well as received a Premios Lo Nuestro award and two Latin Billboard Music Awards the following year.[2][3] "Suavemente" was the tenth best-performing Latin single of 1998. The song has been covered by several artists, some of whom also charted.
| "Suavemente" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Elvis Crespo | ||||
| from the album Suavemente | ||||
| Released | April 4, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | AQ-30 Studio de Ricardo Marty, Bayamon, Puerto Rico | |||
| Genre | Merengue | |||
| Length | 4:27 | |||
| Label | Sony Discos | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Elvis Crespo | |||
| Producer(s) | Roberto Cora | |||
| Elvis Crespo singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editElvis Crespo started his singing career as a backup vocalist for merengue singers Willie Berrios, Lenny Perez, and Toño Rosario. In 1995, he joined Puerto-Rican merengue band, Grupo Manía as lead vocalist. He composed "Linda Eh'" for the group which reached number-eight on Hot Latin Tracks in 1996.[4] In 1997, he left the band to pursue a solo career and recorded his first album, Suavemente, on the Sony Discos label. Crespo credited his son for the success of the song stating that his son spent the entire afternoon singing it and told his father that the song would be a hit. The Spanglish version was featured in the 1998 film, Dance with Me. Two music videos were made: the original version with various background montages,[5] the other one a remix with Spanglish lyrics.[6] In 2008, the song served as the intro and outro for the live album, Elvis Crespo Lives: Live at Las Vegas and the title reappeared in the title for his tenth anniversary compilation album, Suavemente... Los Éxitos.[7]
Track listings
edit- CD, maxi[8]
- Side A
- "Suavemente" [Spanglish Dance Mix] – (4:19)
- "Suavemente" [Spanglish Edit] – (4:27)
- Side B
- "Suavemente" [The Factory Dance Mix] – (6:40)
- "Suavemente" [Dance Radio Edit] – (4:19)
- 12"[9]
- "Suavemente" [Cibola Mix] – (3:30)
- "Suavemente" [Hot Head Mix] – (3:17)
- "Suavemente" [Cibola Extended Club] – (5:35)
- "Suavemente" [Dance Sugar Mix] – (4:19)
Chart performance
edit"Suavamente" debuted at number 15 on the Hot Latin Tracks in April 1998 and jumped to number six a week later. On May 16, 1998, the song peaked at number one for six consecutive weeks.[1] The song reached number 10 on the Billboard Top Latin Songs year-end chart of 1998. It became the second merengue song to reach number-one on Hot Latin Tracks after Juan Luis Guerra's "El Costo de la Vida".[10]
| Chart (1998–1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] | 84 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Tracks[11] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay[11] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[11] | 7 |
| U.S. Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles[11] | 46 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Italy (FIMI)[12] sales since 2009 |
Gold | 50,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Reception
edit"Suavemente" received generally positive reviews from critics. Terry Jenkins of AllMusic notes it as one of the highlights of the album of "wonderfully seductive" songs.[13] In 1999, "Suavamente" received Lo Nuestro award for "Tropical Song of the Year" and two Billboard Latin Music awards for "Tropical/Salsa Hot Latin Track of the Year" and "Latin Dance Max-Single of the Year".[2][3] Crespo responded to the success by stating that "It took me by surprise, although I had many years of experience, first in the chorus and then as a singer in Grupomanía. I believe that it's a challenge because I have to take on the responsibility to be consistent in my future projects."
Scooter version
edit| "Suavemente" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Scooter | ||||
| from the album Mind the Gap | ||||
| B-side | "Trance-Atlantic (Club Mix)" | |||
| Released | 7 March 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Length | 3:35 | |||
| Label | Sheffield Tunes | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Scooter singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In 2005, German group Scooter covered the song on their album Mind the Gap. It was released as the fourth and final single from the album. The music video for "Suavemente" features a tropical scene, with the three band members at the time (H. P. Baxxter, Rick J. Jordan, and Jay Frog) celebrating.
Track listings
editCD single[14] and digital download[15]
- "Suavemente" (Radio Edit) – 3:35
- "Suavemente" (Extended) – 5:42
- "Suavemente" (Club Mix) – 6:48
- "Suavemente" (Original Club) – 3:30
- "Trance-Atlantic" (Club Mix) – 4:05
12"[16]
- "Suavemente" (Extended) – 5:42
- "Suavemente" (Club Mix) – 6:48
Chart performance
edit| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] | 27 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] | 25 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[19] | 7 |
| Denmark (Tracklisten)[20] | 10 |
| European Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[21] | 79 |
| Germany (GfK)[22] | 22 |
| Hungary (Single Top 40)[23] | 4 |
| Hungary (Dance Top 40)[24] | 9 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[25] | 18 |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26] | 17 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[27] | 58 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] | 39 |
Other covers
edit- Brixx's version of the song features German singer Paul Cless reached number 28 the European Hot 100 Singles Chart.[29]
- Angie Martinez's song, "Coast 2 Coast", features Wyclef Jean singing excerpts from "Suavemente".
- It has also been sampled in the 2011 song "Suave (Kiss Me)" by Nayer featuring Pitbull and Mohombi.
- In 2017, American rapper Travis Scott referenced "Suavemente" on the remix of Puerto Rican singer Farruko's "Krippy Kush", which also features American rapper Nicki Minaj and Puerto Rican rappers Rvssian and Bad Bunny.[30]
- Mexican-American rapper Snow Tha Product sampled the song's vocals and instrumental on her song of the same title.[31]
- YouTuber TerminalMontage used a MIDI version of the instrumental track and Loquendo text-to-speech software to create a “Cucuí Ganon” spoken-word cover based on his “Something About The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” web animation. The video was later removed by YouTube citing copyright violation.[32]
- The refrain was used in the song "Suavemente" by Algerian singer Soolking which reached number 1 in the French charts in 2022.[33]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Suavemente - Elvis Crespo". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
- ^ a b "Lo Nuestro - 1999 - Univision". Univision (in Spanish). Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- ^ a b "Billboard Salutes 1998 Latin Music Artists". PR Newswire. Cengage Learning. April 23, 1999. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- ^ "Grupo Manía". Allmusic. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
- ^ "Suavemente by Elvis Crespo". Yahoo!. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
- ^ "Suavemente Remix by Elvis Crespo". Yahoo!. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
- ^ "Noticias de Elvis Crespo". CMTV.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved May 17, 2010.
- ^ "Elvis Crespo - Suavmeente (Remixes)". Discogs. 1998. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ^ "Elvis Crespo - Suavemente". Discogs. 1998. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ^ Lannert, John (May 16, 1998). "Latin Notas: Elvis Crespo Has His Own Shakin' Goin' On". AllBusiness.com. Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Suavemente > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- ^ "Italian single certifications – Elvis Crespo – Suavemente" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved November 25, 2024. Select "2024" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Suavemente" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
- ^ Terry, Jenkins. "Suavemente > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
- ^ "Suavemente:Scooter". Amazon.de. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- ^ "Scooter - Suavemente". MusicLoad.de. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
- ^ "Scooter - Suavemente (12")". Discogs.com. 2 March 2005. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
- ^ "Scooter – Suavemente" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "Scooter – Suavemente" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Scooter – Suavemente" (in French). Ultratip.
- ^ "Scooter – Suavemente". Tracklisten.
- ^ "Scooter – Chart Search" Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for Scooter. [dead link]
- ^ "Scooter – Suavemente" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
- ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
- ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
- ^ "Scooter – Suavemente" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Scooter – Suavemente" Canciones Top 50.
- ^ "Scooter – Suavemente". Singles Top 100.
- ^ "Scooter – Suavemente". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ "Brixx Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- ^ "Video: Farruko, Nicki Minaj & Travis Scott feat. Bad Bunny & Rvssian - 'Krippy Kush (Remix)'". Rap Up. Townsquare Music. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ^ SNOWTHAPRODUCT (2015-06-24), Snow Tha Product - Suavemente (Official Audio), archived from the original on 2015-06-24, retrieved 2018-03-07
- ^ "Video explanation of the video's removal and why it appears as a hidden upload on a playlist". YouTube. 15 April 2024.
- ^ "Soolking - Suavemente". Les classement single.