El Concierto

Background and release

In 1994 Miguel released his tenth studio album, Segundo Romance. It is follow-up to his 1991 album Romance where Miguel records a collection of classic boleros and Latin American standards. It sold over one million copies within two days of its release, and was certified platinum in the United States for shipping one million copies, making Miguel the first Latin artist with two platinum discs in the U.S. (the other is Romance). To further promote the album Miguel began his Segundo Romance Tour with 16 shows at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, which drew an audience of over 155,000. The singer performed throughout Mexico, the United States, Peru and Argentina until 31 December 1994, when the tour concluded in Acapulco. His sixteen performances at the National Auditorium in Mexico City and two concerts at the Estadio Vélez in Buenos Aires were filmed for inclusion in a live album.

It was made available in four formats: a double live audio CD, cassette, Laserdisc and video. The formats included the full performances of 28 songs from the concerts. The album was released on 17 October 1995. El Concierto includes three live renditions of José Alfredo Jiménez's songs: "Si Nos Dejan", "Amanecí en Tus Brazos", and "El Rey". During these performances, Miguel was accompanied by Mariachi 2000 led by Cutberto Pérez. "Si Nos Dejan" was released as a single for the album on 30 August. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, becoming his twelfth number one song on the chart. "Amanecí en Tus Brazos" was released as the second single and peaked at number three on the Hot Latin Songs charts. The live version of "Hasta Que Me Olvides" was released as a promotional single in Spain.

To further promote the album, Miguel launched the El Concierto Tour which began on 15 September 1995 at the Circus Maxim in Las Vegas, Nevada and performed across several cities in the United States. The setlist consists of previously-recorded pop tracks and ballads, boleros from his Romance albums, and the mariachi songs from El Concierto. The tour concluded on 23 December at the National Auditorium in Mexico City.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave El Concierto 4.5 out of 5 stars, praising the inclusion of the mariachi performances calling it a "good introduction to the singer, since it features his biggest hits and he gives a flashy, impassioned performance". An editor for Billboard magazine called the album a "predictable, albeit fan-pleasing, double CD live set" and referred to his mariachi performances as "classics done up mariachi style". Chito de la Torre wrote for La Prensa de San Antonio praised the album, stating that Miguel "stands among the few that are genuinely good both on disc and live" and complimented its "energetic feel and live audience reactions". Rene Carbrera of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times said the album's productions "essentially takes listeners through one of Miguel's dynamic performances" and praised the bolero performances as "superbly executed as pop ballads by Miguel". Regarding the mariachi songs, Cabrera stated " If there's anything that stands out about the Jimenez creations, it is that the tunes are as indestructible as the emotions described in them. Add to that quality the musicianship that Miguel brings to bear and you have some excellent music".The San Diego Union-Tribune editor Ernesto Portillo Jr. gave the album four out of four stars, complimenting Miguel's vocals, his pop tunes as "sizzling", and remarked that Miguel "shows his musical prowess with convincing mariachi-backed renditions of four ranchera classics written by the late Mexican singer-composer Jose Alfredo Jimenez".

At the 1996 Eres award ceremony, El Concierto won award for Album of the Year and Miguel was the Artist of the Year. In the same year, the record received a nomination for Pop Album of the Year at the 8th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards but lost Enrique Iglesias's self-titled album. "Si Nos Dejan" was also nominated Pop Song of the Year, again losing to Iglesias for his song "Si Tu Te Vas". Miguel won the award for Pop Male Artist of the Year.

Commercial performance

In the United States, El Concierto debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with the number one position being held off by Selena's album Dreaming of You. It held this position for only two weeks before being replaced by Abriendo Puertas by Gloria Estefan. The record also peaked at number 45 on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Latin Pop Albums chart. Both the album and the video were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); the former for shipping 500,000 and the latter for shipping 50,000 copies. In Argentina, El Concierto debuted at number one on the Argentine albums chart and the album was certified 4× platinum by CAPIF for sales of 240,000 copies while the video received a platinum certification for sales of 8,000 copies. The album reached number two on the Chilean albums and was certified platinum in the country. It also achieved platinum status in Mexico, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Elsewhere, it was certified gold in Bolivia and Spain, double platinum in Venezuela, and triple platinum in Central America. El Concierto sold over two million copies within a year of its release.

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.