Gloria (Gloria Trevi album)

Background

In 2007, Trevi released her seventh studio album Una Rosa Blu, which became very successful, spending 121 weeks inside the Mexican Album Chart. Una Rosa Blu yielded five number-one singles in Mexico and earned recognition, such as a Lo Nuestro and Billboard awards. Since the album sold half a million units throughout Latin America, Trevi realized that her next release had to be better than the previous one, so she took the time to choose and write about many issues. Gloria was recorded in London, Los Angeles, New York City, Miami and Mexico under the guidance of Armando Avila and Sebastián Jácome. The singer declared that the album is dedicated to women, since "the girls are the ones who buy albums. If there comes a handsome guy and sings to us something that touches our heart is cool, but it is harder for a woman to understand another woman". The album title was chosen after Trevi's mother, who also is named Gloria: "It is a tribute to my mother and to my grandmother, my mother named me Gloria after them, but especially I did it for my mom, who was going through a very intense situation at the time I was working on the album."

Music and lyrics

Gloria includes 10 songs covering various musical genres such as pop, disco and rock. Trevi said: "We chose 10 songs, but the rest will be released on a deluxe edition." The lyrics, as usual for previous albums by the singer, are based on passages of her life. "I have always been an open book. I started singing about 'old shoes' and 'psychiatrists', but invariably honest, even when the hypocritical society hits me." "Fuego con Fuego" (Fire with Fire) and "Me Río de Ti" (I Laugh at You) are musicalized with synthesizers, drums and guitar riffs. About the "Fuego" lyrics, Trevi imagined herself glowing and her hair on fire, after being applied "a lot of peroxide" to clarify her usual brown hair. Trevi said about "Me Río de Ti": "I loved the melody, I loved the concept of the song, but it was a little short so I wrote a little part of it." Trevi met songwriter Mariana De La Garza, and she had "a face of someone who has a broken heart", so the success of the song was a very good revenge for both, "Now she is going to laugh at him and he will mourn without her." The lyrics of the track "No al Alguacil" deal with control and monitored loving relationships and features guest vocals by Mexican singer Paulina Rubio.

Two tracks are written by singer-songwriter Leonel García, of the Sin Bandera fame, "Vestida de Azúcar" (Dress with Sugar) and "Y Ahora Te Sorprendes" (And Now You Are Surprised) which are named Trevi's favorite songs from the album. "Vestida de Azúcar" is a song about regret, when a person prefers to have a good memory, even when it hurts; the latter represents the union of women with nature. "Recostada en la Cama" (Lying in Bed) is a cover version of a song previously recorded by Banda performer El Chapo de Sinaloa.

On the deluxe edition, the album includes "Esa Hembra es Mala" (This Female Is Bad), the main theme for the Mexican telenovela Teresa, written and performed by Trevi and produced by Sebastian Jacome and Rayito. The song received a TVyNovelas award nomination for Best Telenovela Song, which it lost to "Cuando Me Enamoro", by Spanish singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias featuring Juan Luis Guerra. Another song from the deluxe edition is "Fan", a song dedicated to Trevi's longtime musical idols The Rolling Stones. Previous to this song, Trevi recorded a Spanish-language version of the track "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, on her debut album ¿Qué Hago Aquí? (1989).

With Gloria, Trevi wanted to have another kind of relation with her audience and follow the story that began with her "painful" songs, such as "El Recuento de los Daños" (The Recount of the Damages), evolving in "En Medio de la Tempestad" (The Midst of The Storm), watching her in "Todos Me Miran" (Everybody Looks at Me), having "Cinco Minutos" (Five Minutes), and reaching the "glory".

Track listing

This track listing adapted from Allmusic.

Singles

The album lead single, "Me Río de Ti" was released on January 11, 2011. The music video for the song was directed by Argentine film-maker Gustavo Garzón, who worked with Trevi for the first time. The track peaked at 19 in the Billboard Latin Songs chart and at number-one, for 9 consecutive weeks in the Mexican Airplay chart. "Vestida de Azúcar" was selected as the second single and released in May, 2011. The album's third single, "La Noche", peaked at the top of the airplay charts in Mexico.

Reception

The album received mixed reviews. Juan Mesa of About.com said that Gloria has a "higher volume" from Trevi's previous albums, in order to keep pace with Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Shakira; with the duet with fellow Mexican singer Paulina Rubio, "No al Alguacil", being the highest point of the album. AllMusic's Jon O'Brien referred to the album as "far from her best work", being a "a solid, if slightly derivative, record which should further re-establish her legendary Latin pop status". O'Brien also stated that Trevi was more convincing on tracks such as "La Noche", "Pudo Ser Amor", and "Recostada en la Cama", all of which reminds "her late-'80s and early-'90s heyday". At the Mexican Premios Oye! of 2012, Gloria received a nomination for Best Female Pop Album. Gloria was also nominated for a Lo Nuestro Award for Pop Album of the Year.

The album debuted at the top of the charts in Mexico and the United States. Gloria entered the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart at number-one, surpassing her highest placement in the chart, Cómo Nace el Universo (2005), which peaked at number four. The following week the album dropped to number four. Gloria peaked at number 71 in the Billboard 200, the main album chart in the United States, 98 places higher than Una Rosa Blu, which reached 169. In Mexico, the album also debuted at number-one and received a gold certification by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas three days after its release.

Personnel

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