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Y Hubo Alguien

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"Y Hubo Alguien"
Promotional single by Marc Anthony
from the album Contra la Corriente
Released1997
StudioAltamar Music Studios, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Unique Recording Studio, New York City[1]
GenreSalsa
Length
  • 6:30 (album version)
  • 4:12 (radio edit)
LabelRMM
Songwriter(s)Omar Alfanno
Producer(s)Angel "Cuco" Peña
Marc Anthony singles chronology
"Vieja Mesa"
(1997) 		"Y Hubo Alguien"
(1997) 		"Me Voy a Regalar"
(1997)

"Y Hubo Alguien" (English: "And There Was Someone") is a song by American singer Marc Anthony from his third studio album, Contra la Corriente (1997). The song was written by Omar Alfanno, with record production being handled by Ángel "Cucco" Peña. It was released as the first promotional single from the album in 1997. A salsa song which combines elements of R&B, it describes a man who has found love again after his former lover left him. The song was inspired by a fight Alfanno had with his partner and pitched the song to RMM, but was turned down. Anthony offered to record the track after Alfanno presented it to him.

"Y Hubo Alguien" won the Billboard Latin Music Award for "Tropical/Salsa Hot Latin Track of the Year" in 1998 and the Lo Nuestro Award for Tropical Song of the Year in the same year. Its music video was directed by Benny Corral and was nominated in the category of Video of the Year at the 1998 Lo Nuestro Awards. Commercially, it topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the United States, becoming the first salsa track accomplish this achievement. It also reached the top of the Tropical Airplay chart where it spent eight weeks at this position. The song was covered by Puerto Rican singer Ángel López as a ballad on his studio album Historias de Amor (2010).

Background and composition

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By 1996, Anthony's albums, Otra Nota and Todo a Su Tiempo (released by RMM) had sold over 600,000 copies combined.[2] Sergio George, who produced both albums, had established his own record label and was working with his own artists.[3] As George was unable to produce Anthony's next record,[4] Anthony got together with Puerto Rican musician Angel "Cucco" Peña, having previously worked with other artists such as Gilberto Santa Rosa and Willie Colón,[5] to produce his third studio album Contra la Corriente (1997).[1][4] Omar Alfanno, who composed three tracks on the last album,[6] wrote five tracks for Contra la Corriente including "Y Hubo Alguien".[1]

Alfanno was commissioned by Ralph Mercado, the executive producer of RMM, to write a song for an artist under his label and proposed "Y Hubo Alguien, which was inspired by a fight he had with his partner.[7] Alfanno composed the song with the intention of it being performed by a female singer.[8] However, it was denied by the label because Alfanno himself was not a woman.[7] Disappointed with the rejection, he arrived at Anthony's apartment to showcase the artist the track that his label dismissed.[7] After listening to the demo, Anthony recalled "I cried. I knew that would be the first song for the album" and promised Alfanno he would record it the following day.[4][9] A salsa song combined with R&B elements,[10] it describes an anguished man in solitude who was abandoned by his former lover and is "conquered" by another woman. Later, his ex-lover returns only to learn he has found love with a new woman.[11]

Promotion and reception

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"Y Hubo Alguien" was released as the first promotional single from the album in 1997.[10][12] A truncated version of the song was added to Anthony's greatest hits album Desde un Principio: From the Beginning (1999), while the original recording was included on the compilation album Éxitos Eternos (2003).[13][14] Anthony delivered a performance the song in prior to the album's release at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.[15] Three years later, he performed the song live at the same venue which was later released on his live video album The Concert from Madison Square Garden (2001).[16] A music video for the song was filmed and directed by Benny Corral; it was nominated in the category of Video of the Year at the 1998 Lo Nuestro Awards,[17][18] but lost to "Ella y Él" by Ricardo Arjona.[19] In 2010, Puerto Rican singer Ángel López covered the song as a ballad on his studio album Historias de Amor, a collection of songs Alfanno had previously composed.[20] The song, along with the rest of the album, was arranged and produced by Alfanno.[21][22]

On the review of Contra la Corriente, the Newsday editor Richard Torres commented: "Few vocalists can go from a whisper to a scream as beautifully as Anthony. He always makes apparent the heartbreak in his voice even when singing in unison with a blaring background trumpet" and praised the trumpet arrangement by Peña.[23] A writer for the New York Daily News noted that the song "reflects the fusion of R&B and Latin rhythms so characteristic of his music".[24] "Y Hubo Alguien" placed seventh AOL Radio's 10 Best Salsa Songs list,[25] while La Prensa listed it as one of Marc Anthony's best 15 songs.[26] At the 1998 Latin Billboard Music Awards, "Y Hubo Alguien" won the award for "Tropical/Salsa Hot Track of the Year".[27] It also received the Lo Nuestro Award for Tropical Song of the Year in the same year.[19] In the US, "Y Hubo Alguien" became the first salsa track to top the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart;[28] it spent three weeks on this position.[29] It also topped the Tropical Airplay chart, becoming his eighth number one on the chart and remained on the spot for eight weeks.[30][31] It ranked number nine on the 1998 Tropical Airplay year-end chart.[32]

Track listing

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Spain promotional CD single[12]

  1. "Y Hubo Alguien" – 3:44
  2. "Y Hubo Alguien" (radio edit) – 4:12

Charts

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Jenkins, Terry F. "Contra la Corriente – Marc Anthony". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  2. ^ Lopetegui, Enrique (May 1, 1996). "Marc Anthony's Putting a Real Kick in His Salsa". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  3. ^ "Marc Anthony: A Portrait of the Salsero As a Young Man". Saludos Hispanos. 15: 35. 1998. ...but when it came time to do the third album, he dropped off the face of the earth. He simply didn't want to produce my record. He was into other things, his new label with his own artists.
  4. ^ a b c Camarena, Ricardo (June 22, 1998). "Marc Anthony a contracorriente: El salsero dice traer 'todos los hierros' para su presentacion del viernes en el Teatro Griego". La Opinión (in Spanish). p. 1D – via ImpreMedia.
  5. ^ "Artists – Peña, Angel "Cucco"". Music of Puerto Rico. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  6. ^ "Sony/ATV Publishing: Omar Alfanno" (in Spanish). Sony Music Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c Ortiz Sanjuanelo, Romario J. (January 17, 2021). "Y hubo alguien, la canción que impulsó la carrera de Marc Anthony" (in Spanish). Actualidad Caribe. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021. Cuando yo llego a la cita, esta persona me dice que no me puede grabar la canción porque yo no era mujer. Porque no tenía senos.
  8. ^ TVN Noticias [@tvnnoticias] (December 29, 2019). "Omar Alfano cuenta que la canción 'Y hubo alguien' la compuso para que fuera cantada por una mujer, sin embargo, fue rechazado y al mostrársela a Marc Antony, él decidió cantarla: Marc cambió la temática de la canción y fue uno de los éxitos más grandes #UnaVueltaCon" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved September 6, 2021 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Salvatierra, José Luis (July 16, 2015). "¿Sabía que las salsas que usted cantó cuentan la vida de Omar Alfanno?" (in Spanish). Mega Latina. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Raquel, Diana (December 4, 1997). "Aqui y alla: Marc Anthony...Contra la corriente". La Prensa de San Antonio (in Spanish). p. 24.
  11. ^ Tablante, Leopoldo (2005). Los sabores de la salsa : de la rumba brava a la fiestra mansa de Héctor Lavoe a Jennifer López (in Spanish). Catia [Caracas, Venezuela]: Museo Jacobo Borges. p. 245. ISBN 9789806467064. El protagonista de « Y hubo alguien » se encuentra absorbido por su vida personal . Llegado a la tercera estrofa, este amante aturdido, conquistado por una mujer que se « Ocupaba de él todas las tardes con coraje » admite su ocio . Solo, abandonado, confundido, angustiado y obligado a vivir la tortura de su dolce far niente, este titubeante latin lover tiene, ciertamente, suerte : otra mujer lo saca de su marasmo .
  12. ^ a b Y Hubo Alguien (CD Single) (Media notes). Marc Anthony. Spain: RMM. 1997. BT122CDS.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Promis, Jose. "Desde un Principio: From the Beginning – Marc Anthony | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  14. ^ "Éxitos Eternos – Marc Anthony | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  15. ^ Watrous, Peter (October 20, 1997). "Pop Review; Hard-Driving Salsa, With a Sense of Humor Added". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  16. ^ LeVasseur, Andrea. "The Concert from Madison Square Garden (Video/DVD) – Marc Anthony | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  17. ^ Lannert, John (December 20, 1997). "RMM Salsa Star Marc Anthony Builds Int'l Career". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 51. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 108. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
  18. ^ "Lo Nuestro: lo mejor de la música latina". El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). The McClatchy Company. May 10, 1998. p. 84. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Lo Nuestro – Historia". Univision (in Spanish). Univision Communications. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  20. ^ "Historias de Amor – Angel Lopez | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  21. ^ Cobo, Leila (April 16, 2010). "Songwriter Omar Alfanno launches hits project". Reuters. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  22. ^ Barraza, Yanina (December 4, 2009). "Inicia su gira en Panamá". Crítica (in Spanish). Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  23. ^ Torres, Richard (December 21, 1997). "Latin Sounds: Heartbreaking in Whispers or Screams". Newsday. p. D35.
  24. ^ "Anthony Hits the Marc With 'Contra la Corriente'". New York Daily News. Tribune Publishing. November 23, 1997. p. 22. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  25. ^ "10 Best Salsa Songs". AOL Radio. June 25, 2010. Archived from the original on July 8, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  26. ^ "Marc Anthony: Recordemos 15 de sus mejores canciones en el día de su cumpleaños". La Prensa (in Spanish). September 19, 2019. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  27. ^ Lannert, John (April 18, 1998). "Latino Artists Honored With Billboard Awards". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 16. Nielsen Business Media. p. 77. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  28. ^ Lannert, John (November 29, 1997). "Planet Hemp Feels Heat in Brazil". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 48. Nielsen Business Media. p. 31. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  29. ^ "Hot Latin Songs – 1997 Archive". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  30. ^ a b "Marc Anthony Chart History (Tropical Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  31. ^ "Tropical Airplay: Week of December 27, 1997". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  32. ^ a b c "1998: The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 52. Prometheus Global Media. December 26, 1998. p. YE-70, 75. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  33. ^ "Marc Anthony Chart History (Hot Latin Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
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