| "No Me Queda Más" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Selena | ||||||||||
| from the album Amor Prohibido | ||||||||||
| Released | November 10, 1994 |
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| Format | CD single, 12" single, Cassette single | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1994 Q-Productions (Corpus Christi, Texas) |
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| Genre | Flamenco, Ballad | |||||||||
| Length | 3:16 (original version) 3:49 (re-release version) |
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| Label | EMI Latin | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Ricky Vela | |||||||||
| Producer | A.B. Quintanilla III, Bebu Silvetti | |||||||||
| Selena singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"No me queda más" (English: There's Nothing Left For Me) is a song recorded by American recording artist Selena from her fifth studio album Amor prohibido (1994). It was released by EMI Latin on November 10, 1994, as the album's third single. Written out of jealously and rage, "No me queda más" was written by the lead keyboardist of Selena y Los Dinos, Ricky Vela; who had fallen in love with Selena's sister and drummer of the band, Suzette Quintanilla. Selena's brother and producer of her music, A.B. Quintanilla III had produced "No me queda más" alongside Argentine arranger and composer Bebu Silvetti.
"No me queda más" is a Spanish-language down-tempo ballad that has influences of flamenco music. The central theme and lyrical content of the song conveys the story of a bewildered fiancée whose ex-lover has left her for another women and keeps an illusion that he will one day go back with her; while her ex-lover denies even loving her, she wishes him happiness. "No me queda más" peaked at number one on the US Hot Latin Tracks for seven non-consecutive weeks and the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay charts, giving Selena her third consecutive number one single off of Amor prohibido. "No me queda más" became the number-one song on the Billboard Top Latin Songs Year-End Chart. It also peaked at number 13 on the Latin Pop Airplay chart. "No me queda más" was praised by contemporary music critics, who highly praised Selena's emotive vocalization she used to record the song.
"No me queda más" was nominated for "Song of the Year" at the 1994 Broadcast Music Latin Awards. The accompanying music video was directed by Sean Davered and features Selena in various locations in Texas, in some scenes Selena is reminiscing of her ex-lover while in others she is distraught and crying. The video was highly anticipated by EMI Latin to have been the "next big move" for Selena, as they believed the video would be immensely popular in South American countries. It won "Video of the Year" at the 1995 Billboard Latin Music Awards and received favorable criticism from music critics. With "No me queda más" and thirteen other of Selena's top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart she was named "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard. "Amor prohibido" and "No me queda más", became the most successful singles of 1994 and 1995. There has been a number of covers ranging from Mexican to Dominican American musicians.
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After Ricky Vela joined Selena y Los Dinos back in 1985 as the lead keyboardist, he quickly had fallen in love with Selena's sister and drummer Suzette Quintanilla.[1] Vela kept his feelings about Suzette to himself until she got married to Billy Arriaga in 1993[2] where Vela wrote vociferously about his frustrations on a piece of paper. Initially, Vela was going to give the paper to Suzette but later changed his mind when Selena's brother and producer of her music A.B. Quintanilla III had went to Vela's house and had asked him if he had any songs he had wrote for Selena to record because he was running out of songs for the next album. Vela then told Quintanilla III about his feelings for his sister and that he wrote his feelings about her getting married to Arriaga on paper. After reading the paper, Quintanilla III believed he and Vela could transform it into into a ballad-type song. Quintanilla III became fond of the idea since he was trying to enhance Selena's following album with new materials that could boost their fan base and fame. Quintanilla III helped Vela with transforming the song into a ballad, it had took them several hours to recreate the song. They also gave the song its title, calling it "No me queda más" which means "There's Nothing Left For Me" on the same day.[3]
"No me queda más" was one of the last songs produced for Amor prohibido (1994). Vela had done sequencing, Quintanilla III and Argentine arranger and composer Bebu Silvetti produced the song. Recording sessions for "No me queda más" took place at Selena's father and manager's recording studio Q-Productions in Corpus Christi, Texas. Brian "Red" Moore, a family friend, mixed the song. Band members Arturo Meza and Jesse "O'Jay" Martinez used their instruments such as the percussion and the congas for "No me queda más". Freddie Corea and Don Shelton used the tambourine. Non-band members Odalis Smith, Helen Stackhouse and Morgan Taylor used the french horn while Gertrude Myers, Ruth Moore, John Foster and Alice Powell used the violin, Lucy Richardson used the cello, Francisca Malorie and James Watson used the flute, Edward Jackson and Jose Deluna used the trumpet for the song.[3]
During an interview for Selena's collection 20 Years of Music, A.B. had told them about how he wanted Selena to record the song multiple times:
"When we were recording for "No me queda más" - I believe she had recorded it in four takes - and I wanted her to do it again, and she got mad at me. She told me that she wasn't going to sing it again. She said "I already had it! As a matter of fact, I've had it with you, and this studio, I'm ready to get out of here" - she kind of threw a fit - well she kind of didn't throw a fit. We wouldn't want to say a fit, but "you know I'm gonna go to the mall, and I'm gonna head out so, what you got there is what you got" - and now looking back at "No me queda más", she really did a beautiful job when recording the track, she had so much passion. The song became a classic. That's what I can remember from one of the beautiful memories I have of the Amor prohibido album.[3]
"No me queda más" is a down-tempo[4] ballad that has influences of flamenco and ranchera music.[4] Written in the key of B minor, the beat is set in double time and moves at a moderate 95 beats per minute.[5] Selena's vocal range in the song spans two octaves.[5] "No me queda más" uses the traditional instruments of violins, trumpets, and guitars as its musical instrument foundation.[4] According to Lori Beth Rodriguez, in "No me queda más" "Selena sings in a low, sober voice of unrequited love".[4] Howard Blumenthal wrote in his book The world music CD listener's guide that "No me queda más" "is sung with an even more desperate, sentimental voice, and an arrangement that wishes for the best".[6] Mark Schone of Newsday wrote that ""No me queda más", "... uses lush string arrangements to mask some very Mexican trumpets that might alienate the East Coast's Caribbean-Latino bedrock."[7] Ramiro Burr of San Antonio Express-News wrote that Selena had "overdubbed vocals" for "No me queda más".[8] Burr also stated that Selena used "powerful emotive vocals to "No me queda más," the bittersweet story about unrequited love."[9] Carlos Meléndez, of El Nuevo Día highly praised the songs "orchestra feels" and its string arrangements.[10] Jose Behar, former president of EMI Latin, asked Silvetti to "sweetened" "No me queda más" so they can boost its chart performance. The mixed version was later added to Amor prohibido and was dubbed on the front cover of the album as "new version".[11]
The song's lyrics are constructed in the verse-pre-chorus-chorus form. It begins with the violins and the trumpets playing in notation before the piano plays its number in a higher note, and Selena sings the intro: No me queda más, que perderme en un abismo de tristeza y lágrimas, no me queda más que aguantar bien mi derrota y brindarte felicidad (English interpretation: There's nothing left for me, for I have been lost in an abyss of sadness and tears, there's nothing left for me although I am defeated I wish you happiness.) She then sings the first verse about how her ex-lover's impossible return is an illusion she shares to herself and that he now no longer remembers that he had even loved her, which she returns to say that their relationship was the most sweetest memories she has ever had. The pre-chorus and chorus follow: Yo tenía una esperanza en el fondo de mi alma que un día te quedaras tú conmigo, y aún guardaba una ilusión que alimentaba al corazón, mi corazón que hoy tiene que verte como sólo amigo. (English interpretation: I had a hope in the depths of my soul that one day you will stay with me, and I kept that illusion that feed my heart, my heart now has to see us as just friends.) Selena sings the bridge, where she realizes that to her ex-lover their relationship was not perfect, however, in contrast she believes it to be so and does not care what others believe, while stating that their relationship was the most sweetest memories of her life. Selena sings the chorus two times before the song concludes.
According to one of the writers of Encyclopedia of recorded sound, Volume 1 "No me queda más" is a "torchy ballad",[12] while according to Ilan Stavans and Harold Augenbraum who wrote in their book Encyclopedia Latina: history, culture, and society in the United States, Volume 1 that "No me queda más" is a "mariachi bolero".[13] Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News wrote that "No me queda más" is a "mournful mariachi-style ballad",[14] a "piercing ballad",[15] and a "heartbreaking mariachi ballad".[16] According to Bob Young of the Boston Globe, "No me queda más" is a "mariachi" song.[17] According to one of the writers of the Lexington Herald-Leader "No me queda más" is a "bolero-influenced" song.[18] Ramiro Burr of San Antonio Express-News wrote that "Amor prohibido" and "No me queda más" are "heartbreaking ballads",[19] and that "No me queda más" is a "... lovely and stoic song facing the end, yet keeping a sense of dignity and self-worth".[20] Raúl Manuel Rodríguez of El Dictamen wrote that "No me queda más" is a "lovely ballad".[21] Carmen Lopez of Novedades de México highly praised the song for its "ballads and soulful-rich sounds".[22]
In the US, "No me queda más" was the third single from Amor prohibido and was released on November 10, 1994. "No me queda más" was the second single released from Amor prohibido in international markets on EMI International.[7] Two versions of the single were released in Mexico on the same day of its US release. A CD single, which featured the album version of "No me queda más". A promotional single, was later released featuring two versions of "No me queda más", the album version and the "new version". A 12" single was released in South American countries the same day.[3]
The track debuted on the US Hot Latin Tracks chart on November 12, 1994, at number 40, and remained at number one on the chart for seven non-consecutive weeks,[23] giving Selena her third number one song off of Amor prohibido.[24] The single fell from the chart on April 1, 1995, but returned two weeks later at number five. Following Selena's death, the song spent another eleven weeks in the top ten, twenty-six weeks overall.[25] With this single, Selena became the first performer to achieve four number-one singles on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in a single year.[23] Enrique Iglesias tied this record in 1996 with four number-ones from his debut album Enrique Iglesias.[26]
Jorge Velasquez wrote in his book Meditaciones Para Lograr Su Primer Millon that "No me queda más" is a "bonafide hit".[27] During the 16th anniversary of Selena's death, Polish newspaper, Onet.pl described "No me queda más" as one of the biggest hits that Selena produced for her fifth studio album, Amor prohibido.[28] Raúl Manuel Rodríguez of El Dictamen wrote that "No me queda más" "was an example of where Selena [was] heading to, and that was crossover super-stardom."[21] Diosdada Sagarra Díaz, of Adelante expressed that "No me queda más" is a "... classic, one of Selena's best songs ever [produced] in her career" she also stated that the song is still being played in radio stations across Cuba.[29] Castro Fernando, of ¡Alarma! highly praised the song's conveying capabilities.[30] Antonio Morales of Gringo Gazette, stated that Selena's voice was very amusing and lovely, which gave him "chills" when he had first heard the song,[31] while Inez Guzman, also from Gringo Gazette, stated that the song helped Selena's acceptance in other Latino communities.[31] Esmeralda Rivera of Nuestro Diario also believed that "No me queda más" helped advanced Selena in other Spanish-speaking countries.[32] Victoria Díaz of Grupo Reforma believed the song was "addicting and beautiful".[33] During a Corpus Christi Hooks games on July 30, 2010, a Selena tribute was sound-off with most of her music playing, including "No me queda más".[34]
With "No me queda más" and thirteen other of Selena's top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart she was named "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard.[35] During the entire month of March in 2010, "No me queda más" and a few other Selena music videos were selected for a Selena tribute for her fifteenth anniversary of her passing to 42 million homes nationwide on Music Choice On Demand.[36] "Amor prohibido" and "No me queda más", became the most successful singles of 1994 and 1995.[37][38] In Orlando Sentinel's "1994 Top 10 Hits", "No me queda más" was placed at number two.[39][40]
"No me queda más" was nominated for "Song of the Year" at the 1994 Broadcast Latin Music Awards[41] while the music video won "Video of the Year" at the 1995 Billboard Latin Music Awards.[42][43]
The music video for "No me queda más" was filmed from June 11– 18, 1994, with Sean Davered serving as the director. During an interview, Selena was asked why she choose to do a music video for "No me queda más". Her response was that EMI Latin decided to choose the song, because they felt that the song would be the "big next move" in Mexico, Central and South America. She also confessed that the company wanted to showcase the video internationally for publicity. The filming for the music video was done at the San Antonio Amtrak station, during the grand staircase scene with Selena wearing a white dress (originally worn at the 35th Grammy Awards in 1994), while being surrounded with an orchestra. On the same day, filming was being done during the intro of the music video at Casa Rio restaurant at the San Antonio River Walk. Production of the music video was erupted and stalled for a week because of Selena's upcoming fashion show, tour in Mexico and the opening of her second boutique, Selena Etc. The "love scenes" were filmed at the Fiesta San Antonio, while the marriage scene was done in Corpus Christi, as well as the horse riding scene.[44][45]
During production, Selena's dress had to be re-sized due to gaining weight. Her response while cameras were still filming:
This is what happens when you gain weight for a music video (laughs). (telling another production manager) I told Toby that the dress is too tight, "I think I gained weight". And he told me, (in a deep voice) no no honey its that the dress is too small, blame it on the damn manufacturer! (laughs)—[Selena[44]
The location of the Amtrak train station for the music video was later adopted in the 1997 film about Selena's life, during the fashion show scene with Jennifer Lopez who took the role as "Selena".[44]
The video opens with a women (Selena) sitting down at an outside-restaurant, accompanied by a live Mariachi band performance. She is then introduced by a waiter who offers her a glass of water. The waiter then comes back to her with her ordered entrée, the women then eats peacefully while enjoying the live entertainment. As she enjoys her dinner the waiter returns to give her a note that her fiancée had left for her. The women was waiting for her fiancée to arrive and to accompanied her but was running late as she thought since she was looking down at her watch frequently. In the note, her fiancée tells her that he can no longer see her and nor does he want to be with her, officially ending the engagement. He tells her that he is in love with another women and they are going to get married. Heartbroken, the women takes a sip of water before exiting the restaurant, crying.
The song then plays slowly as Selena is seen in the dark, behind a busy high-way, pealing off a white rose, indicating "he loves me...he loves me not...", while crying. While doing so, a collage of memorable pictures and videos of Selena and her now ex-fiancée are seen throughout the video. Now the video shines on Selena wearing her white dress that she had picked out for her wedding day, singing on a staircase with an orchestra playing their instruments, below the staircase. Selena is then seen at the wedding of her ex-fiancée, she tries to enter the outside-wedding near the beach, but she is pulled away by her emotions and instead cries running. She then crouch down to the floor and cries. After this, Selena's ex-fiancée and his newly fiancée acknowledge their marriage and share a kiss. After the wedding, the final video of Selena and her ex-fiancée is played, where he had given a kiss to Selena on her hands. The video then ends with him hugging his now wife, and Selena crying, looking down.
The music video was welcomed with positive reception from music critics. Raúl Manuel Rodríguez of El Dictamen believed that the "No me queda más" music video was one of the best Selena music videos. He also stated that "it really captures the audiences attention, and thirst for what's going to come next."[21] Victoria Díaz of Grupo Reforma highly praised Selena's "refreshing and exotic" clothing styles and noted that they were originally from her boutiques.[33] Antonio Morales of Gringo Gazette, believed the video was "exquisite" and that it had almost made him cry: "I felt bad for Selena, I wanted to go inside the video and just hug her. I feel in love with [the] video. Selena had touch many hearts with ["No me queda más"], something you don't see a lot in [other] Hispanic videos, nowadays."[31] Javier Lopez, of TV Notas commented that "No me queda más" is one of his favorite music videos and believed the video was "beautiful" and noted that the dress Selena worn was from the same dress she had worn at the Grammy Awards in 1994.[46] The video was named 12 on his "Top 100 Spanish-language music videos of all time".[46]
Kat DeLuna sung the song during a children's singing competition and won first place.[47] In 1998, Los Tres Reyes, a mariachi group that Selena's father and manager Abraham Quintanilla Jr., was producing, had recorded a duet-version of "No me queda más".[48] In 2002, Puerto Rican salsa singer Tito Nieves recorded his version of "No me queda más" for his album Un tipo común.[49] As part of the tenth anniversary of Selena's death, Pepe Aguilar sung his version of "No me queda más" at the Selena ¡VIVE! concert on April 5, 2005. Michael Clark of the Houston Chronicle wrote that "[Aguilar's] vocal on "No me queda más" was reminiscent of Aaron Neville."[50] Puerto Rican singer José Feliciano recorded his version of the song for his album Jose Feliciano y amigos in 2006.[51] Ramiro Burr of Chicago Tribune wrote that Feliciano's version was a "bittersweet ranchera".[52] Cuban-American singer Toñita recorded her version of the song for her album Desafiando al destino in 2007.[53] A year later, Mexican American singer Maria Williams recorded the song in English entitled "Nothing Left For Me" for her debut album Hybrid.[54] American singer David Archuleta sung the song several times on tour, starting in 2010, he also sang the song in homage for Selena at the 2010 Tejano Music Awards.[55] Karen Rodriguez sung the song live during the tenth season of American Idol.[56][57] Dominican singer Prince Royce sung "No me queda más" during a number of concerts on his tour.[58] Norma Eliza Quintero covered the song during a live concert.[59] Marcel Rinde recorded the song as a tribute to Selena.[60] Graciela Beltran sung the song live during a memorial for Selena in Houston, Texas.[61]
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Awards and nominations
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| Book: Amor Prohibido | |
| Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. | |
| Preceded by "La Media Vuelta" by Luis Miguel |
Billboard Hot Latin Tracks number-one single December 17, 1994 - January 14, 1995 January 28, 1995 - February 4, 1995 |
Succeeded by "Me Duele Estar Solo" by La Mafia |