90 Millas

Recording and development

The album, with 14 brand new tracks, is a tribute to the music of Estefan's native Cuba, following on from her previous Cuban-influenced album, 1993's multi-platinum Mi Tierra. 90 Millas has been described as Estefan's love letter to the people of Cuba, and her beloved country.

Carlos Santana made a guest appearance on the album, which also included several other legends of traditional Latin music such as: Andy García, Jose Feliciano, Cachao, La India, Candido Camero, Sheila E., Johnny Pacheco, Papo Lucca, Sal Cuevas, Giovanni Hidalgo, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D'Rivera, Nelson Gonzalez, Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, Generoso Jimenez, Luis Enrique, and Orestes Vilato.

The album was released worldwide in September 2007 and the track listing was different in certain countries, the European version and the Limited Edition Package (which was released exclusively in United States and United Kingdom) have two bonus tracks; "Vueltas Da La Vida" and "No Llores" (featuring Wisin & Yandel). The Japanese edition also features "Vueltas Da la Vida" as well as "Al Verte Partir", a track exclusive to this version.

The inclusion of Carlos Santana on the album stirred a controversy among certain Cuban exiles in the U.S. who alleged Santana was sympathetic to the Fidel Castro regime and Che Guevara because he had worn a t-shirt featuring Guevara's image created by Jim Fitzpatrick. Emilio and Gloria Estefan issued a joint statement in March 2007, addressing the controversy:

90 Millas made it to the 2007 Billboard Year-End Charts", and ranked #28 at the Billboard Top Latin Albums, and #4 at the Top Tropical Albums. In April 2008, Estefan was the winner of two Billboard Latin Music Awards beating other artists such as Olga Tañon and Fanny Lú in the race for the "Tropical Album of the Year — Female" and "Tropical Airplay Song of the Year" for "No Llores".

Estefan also received three nominations at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008, and won for "Best Traditional Tropical Album" and "Best Tropical Song" for "Píntame De Colores" (she was also nominated for "Best Music Video – Long Form", but she lost out to Julieta Venegas's MTV Unplugged video concert). Estefan was also selected as the "Persona Del Año" ("Person of the Year"), the first time this award was given to a female artist.

For the 2008 Billboard Year-End charts, the album ranked at #7 in the Top Tropical Albums, and #59 in the Top Latin Albums. Estefan also ranked seventh as the Top Tropical Albums Artist.

Media and promotional tour

Estefan embarked on a short international promotional tour in September 2007. She performed first in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on September 8, 2007. Her performance included new songs, along with a collection of old hits. The performance was free and open to members of the public, and was part of the "Wereld Havens Dagen" (World Harbour Days), commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Port of Rotterdam. She also performed a free show at the Las Ventas bullring in Madrid, Spain on September 15, 2007.

A point of promotion for the album was a special album signing date at a Starbucks in the Bronx, New York. Another venue of the promo-tour was a special concert at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan. She was also set to appear on the show Dancing With the Stars, performing some songs from her new album, but canceled the performance due her mother's critical health status. A week later, she performed at the show singing "A Bailar" and her 1985 hit "Conga".

Tour

On May 1, 2008, Estefan announced that she would begin a tour in September 2008 in Spain to promote her latest effort. The "90 Millas World Tour" was made to promote the album only on the European continent, but before she started the European tour, Estefan made an appearance in the United States at the opening of the MGM Grand's new venue, the Foxwoods Resort Casino, for three sold-out dates including Memorial Day. She then performed at the Casino Rama, in Canada before beginning the European dates.

Singles

"No Llores" was released as the lead single on June 18, 2007. The song received some praise by Leila Cobo of Billboard who called it "a standout for impeccable production and enviable mix that allows every instrumental line (and there are many) to resonate with bell-like clarity. This is real music, to be danced to as much as cherished for its adept skill". The song was a success on the Latin charts, becoming Estefan's fourteenth number-one on the "Hot Latin Songs" chart and was also another number-one on the Tropical Airplay charts. It was also a Top 20 hit in other Latin major charts such as Latin Pop Airplay, Latin Regional Mexican Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. However, the song didn't make it onto the Billboard Hot 100 charting outside it at #117. To promote the song further in different formats, some remixes were made for the single, Cuban rapper Pitbull performed on a Hip-Hop version of the song, and a Reggae mix featuring Puerto-Rican Wisin & Yandel was also released. A Salsa remix was also made.

"Me Odio" was released as the second single from the album in November 2007 as a radio-only single. The song was less successful in comparison to its predecessor, peaking at #37 on the "Hot Latin Songs", though it made the Top 40 on various other Airplay charts such as the Tropical Airplay and the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay. Remixes made again included a Hip-Hop version (this time featuring rapper Fat Joe) and a Salsa version.

"Píntame De Colores" was released as the third and final single from this album in February 2008, again as a U.S. radio promo single. Though the song was a hit in the Tropical Airplay charts, it failed to enter the major Latin charts, becoming Estefan's first single released solely to Latin music stations not to make the Hot Latin Songs chart. Despite this, the song won a Latin Grammy for "Best Tropical Song", and was also nominated for a Billboard Latin Music Award (though lost to Ivy Queen and "Dime").

"Bésame" was released exclusively to Honduras, where due excellent digital sales, the song was able to peak number two on the singles chart, becoming the only country where the song gained that position, and also being the only song to chart from the album at the country.

Critical reception

Jason Birchmeier from Billboard commented that "ever since Gloria Estefan split from Miami Sound Machine in 1989 to go solo, her best efforts tended to be her Spanish-language ones, and her fourth such album, 90 Millas, is no exception. In fact, it might be her best overall effort—regardless of language—since Mi Tierra (1993), which was her first to be sung entirely in Spanish and an instant, best-selling classic. In a couple ways, 90 Millas is a follow-up to Mi Tierra".

Tijana Illich from about.com said "Gloria Estefan's fourth Spanish-language album is her best, not surprising when you consider the spectacular cast of musicians that join her on this homage to her native Cuba. 90 Millas takes Estefan back to her roots with lots of varied Afro-Cuban rhythms and genres, some pure in form, others mixed with her trademark pop sound. A must have for any fan of modern, Afro-Cuban music".

Commercial performance

In the United States, 90 Millas debuted at #25 on the Billboard 200, selling approximately 23,000 copies in its first week. In comparison, Estefan's previous English-language album, Unwrapped (2003), only made it to #39. 90 Millas also became Estefan's third number-one album on Billboard Top Latin Albums and her fourth number-one on the Billboard Top Tropical Albums. It also went into the Top 20 on Billboard's Top Digital Albums.

The album enjoyed some success in other countries, charting at #1 in The Netherlands (becoming the first number-one album for Estefan since 1988's Anything For You and also the first Spanish language album to reach number-one on the Dutch charts). The album was also a Top 10 hit in Spain and Switzerland, and Top 20 in Italy and Europe overall.

Standard edition

United States & Europe Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks

iTunes Bonus Tracks

Japan Bonus Tracks

Bonus DVD

Additional notes:

Formats

Design