Diva (Ivy Queen album)

Background

After the failed commercial success of Ivy Queen's first two studio albums, En Mi Imperio (1997) and The Original Rude Girl (1998), she was dropped from the Sony label and took a hiatus from her musical career in 1999. The 1999 single, "In The Zone", a duet with Haitian singer Wyclef Jean, was a moderate success in the United States. The following single "Ritmo Latino" and its parent album, were overlooked by consumers and failed to chart. However, The Original Rude Girl was critically acclaimed by many including an editor for Allmusic who awarded the album four out of five stars and listed it as an selected "Allmusic Pick". This occurred after she left Sony and stepped out of Wyclef Jean's shadow.

In 2001 and 2002, Queen began appearing on reggaetón compilation albums spawning hits like "Quiero Bailar" from The Majestic 2 and "Quiero Saber" from Kilates. In 2003, Queen and her then-husband Gran Omar signed with Real Music, an independent label based in Miami, Florida and established by Jorge Guadalupe and Anthony Pérez. They appeared on the label's first album Jams Vol. 1 which Pérez released after several major record labels turned him down. She benefited from Pérez producing the "important reggaetón television show" The Roof, which aired on Mun2 and detailed urban music and lifestyle by frequently appearing and performing on the show.

Recording and production

Recording sessions for the album began in 2000 and ended in 2003 in various recording studios. Queen recorded at After Dark Studios in Cartersville, Georgia; Boricua Music Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Flow Music Studios in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Imperio Music Studios in the Bronx, New York; Los Angeles Recording in California; The Lab Studios and Mad Jim Studios. Production of the album were handled by a variety of musical producers. Queen's principal songwriter for her previous albums, DJ Nelson, produced the track "Quiero Saber". Luny Tunes, Noriega, Iván Joy, Ecko, DJ Alex, DJ Eric, Rafi Mercenario, Tony "CD" Kelly and Omar Navarro also contribute to musical production while DJ Adam produced eight of the fifteen tracks. Collaborations on the album include "Guillaera", "Money Making", which also features rapper Japanese, the remix of "Babe" and "Quiero Saber" with her then-husband Gran Omar; "Sangre" with Mexicano 777; "Bounce" with Bimbo; and "Dile Que Ya" with K-7.

Release and promotion

The recording was released on August 19, 2003 and independently distributed by Real Music Group. On January 27, 2004, Diva: Platinum Edition was released with remixes to songs on the standard edition. These include "Papi Te Quiero", an English remix of "Papi Te Quiero", a reggaetón remix of "Tu No Puedes", "Quiero Saber" and "Quiero Bailar". It was released in the United Kingdom on February 3, 2004. Queen embarked on a worldwide tour, the Reggaeton Tour 2004 in support for Diva. On one of the legs in Ecuador, she performed "Papi Te Quiero" and "Tu No Puedes", which was her first South American tour. This followed presentations in Atlanta, Brooklyn and New York City where she was "designated as the Puerto Rico Youth God Mother of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade" in June 2004. Often referring to herself as "la perra" (bitch) and "la potra" (female mare), the latter "points to her calls of female sexual agency", as this is similar to the metaphor "black stallion" for phallic potency. Queen desired to name the album La Potra, however, Universal Music Latino would not sign off on the title as they considered it to be too threatening.

Composition

Diva is a mixture of "reggaetón and rap fusion". The musical styles of the recording alternated between reggaetón and hip-hop while Queen experimented with R&B, pop, and tropical music genres. Its lyrics feature "beat-happy female-empowerment anthems". The introductory to the album asserts herself as the "queen", using the metaphor of a boxing match, with phrases like "one more round", in which she uses to "express her role as the queen and diva of reggaetón". Making the connection of the sport of boxing to reggaetón, which are both a male-dominated arena; Queen "alludes to her previous video for "Muchos Quieren Tumbarme" (Many Want To Knock Me Down) in which she takes the role of a female boxer, while also referring to women's power as underestimated.

"Guillaera" (Attitude), a duet with Gran Omar, explains what type of man she does and does not desire. According to Kalefa Sanneh of The New York Times, "Drama" sets her "rapid-fire monologue atop a sublime, head-nodding hip-hop beat." On "Tuya Soy", (I'm Yours) she explains "the story of woman who suspects her husband of infidelity", a controversial theme which has been prominent in Queen's lyrical content. "Bésame", (Kiss Me) is an evocative theme, expressing the need to go to the dance floor with the guy she like. "Me Acostumbré" (I Got Accustomed) and "Dile Que Ya" (Tell Him Okay) are "hip-hop ballads". "Alerta" (Alert) features "choppy rhythms, handclaps, and vaguely nefarious horns, plus an ingratiating synth line played by a one-fingered android".

"Venganza", (Vengeance) speaks up against the mistreatment of women, which embodies what Queen represents within her musical compositions. The mid-tempo, "bubble-gum pop" "Papi Te Quiero" (Daddy I Love You), named one of the album's biggest hits, "pairs a straightforward love song with the well known reggae riddim Buyout." Ramiro Burr of Billboard stated "Papi Te Quiero" showcases how "effortlessly and quickly she alternately sings and raps, claiming that she has a distinct vocal style that evokes Gwen Stefani". Although, the literal translation of "Papi Te Quiero" is "Daddy I Love You", it is not directed towards Queen's father but to her love interest; "Papi" can be translated to "baby". "Quiero Bailar" (I Want To Dance) incorporates the Liquid riddim, a musical riddim produced by the "Jamaican cross-over guru" Jeremy Harding. The song's lyrics "warn her dance partner not to misinterpret her moves." She degrades her partner who thinks that just because she dances with him that she is automatically going to have sexual relations with him.

Critical reception

The album garnered mainly positive reviews from critics. Sarah Bardeen of Rhapsody said the album established Queen as "the voice for women", complimenting her "self-assured delivery". She claimed that the tracks in which featured guest artists "get the sense that the guys she's trading verses with are trying to keep up with her and not the other way around," noting that the platinum edition "launched the monster hit "Quiero Bailar". Rachel Devitt, also writing for Rhapsody, categorized the album as "Urban Latin" music. Michael Endelman of Entertainment Weekly called the album their number one pick for crossover success in the United States while complimenting the "catchy hooks and sticky grooves" found on the album. Kalefa Sanneh of The New York Times said "[Queen] celebrates her hybrid genre by refusing to stay put", while claiming Queen to sometimes depart from "reggaeton's sharp, steady shuffle to explore other rhythms". She later said that the album would make Queen a "likely candidate for crossover success, if only she didn't sing in Spanish". An editor for the Chicago Tribune selected the album as one of three to "add to your reggaetón collection" other than Daddy Yankee's Barrio Fino (2004). The writer noted the included hits ("Quiero Bailar" and "Papi Te Quiero"), along with "[the album's] handful of remixes–and a whole lot of attitude". The album was highly anticipated and acclaimed and widely regarded as a factor in reggaeton's mainstream exposure in 2004 along with her next studio album Real (2004), Daddy Yankee's Barrio Fino and Tego Calderon's El Enemy de los Guasíbiri (2004), after being certified Platinum in the Latin field signifying sales of over 100,000 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Jonathan Widran of Allmusic described "Quiero Bailar" as a song that "gets the party and people moving" and as well as being one of Queen's hits. Kid Curry, of Rhythmic Top 40 WPOW (Power 96) cites Ivy Queen's release of "Yo Quiero Bailar" as "the last reggaetón super-hit". "Papi Te Quiero" was selected as one of the hits from "The Golden Era of Reggaetón" which lasted from 2003 until 2007 by Jesus Trivino of Latina magazine. The album was nominated for "Reggaeton Album of the Year" at the 2005 Billboard Latin Music Awards where she was also nominated for "Tropical Airplay Track of the Year, Female" and "Tropical Airplay Track of the Year, New Artist".

Commercial

Diva was a commercial success, peaking at #24 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. On the Billboard Top Heatseekers (South Atlantic) chart, the recording peaked at number eight. Diva peaked at number four on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. On the Billboard Tropical Albums chart, Diva peaked at number one, spending four nonconsecutive weeks at the top with a total of 86 weeks on the chart, becoming the eighth best-selling Tropical Album of 2004. This also made Queen the eighth best-performing Tropical Artist of 2004 as well.

On the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, "Quiero Bailar" debuted at #35 for the week of September 3, 2005, becoming the "Hot Shot Debut" of that week and peaked at #29 for the week of September 17, 2005. While on the Billboard Latin Rhythm Songs chart, it peaked at number eight for the week of October 29, 2005. It debuted under the name "Yo Quiero Bailar" at #37 on the week of December 20, 2003 and peaked at #24 for the issue dated January 17, 2004 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart. The song re-entered the Billboard Tropical Songs chart under the name "Quiero Bailar" at #36 on the week of March 6, 2004 and peaked at #16 for the week of July 9, 2005. It became the first Spanish-language track to reach #1 on Miami's WPOW Rhythmic Top 40, an American radio station based in Miami, Florida that does not usually play Spanish music. She explained: "I've worked very hard in my career, but I get surprised because I've never expected to get to these places." She added: "When I read Sony's reports and they tell me my albums are being heard in London and my song is number one, I [got] surprised and look[ed] for explanations." The other five singles did not gain significant airplay in the United States, however, they were heard on Miami's WPOW Rhythmic Top 40. Kid Curry, of the station commented that the commercial failure of these songs are the fault of the record label. According to him, labels were not servicing reggaetón singles at the time and that he was receiving them "by word-of-mouth". By March 2004, the original version of the album had sold 10,000 units in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Track listing

Sample credits

Personnel

The credits are taken from the albums' liner notes