Released 30 December 2006 Genre Tropical music Label Warner Music Latina | Recorded 2004-2006 Length 4:33 | |
Format Digital download
CD single | ||
"Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" (English: Thank you, but no) is a song recorded by Alejandro Sanz and Shakira, for the former artist's eighth studio album El Tren de los Momentos (2006). It was released as the second single from the album in December 2006 through Warner Music Latina. It was written by Sanz who also produced it along with Lulo Pérez. "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" is the second duet recorded by the two singers following "La Tortura" for Shakira's album Fijación Oral Vol. 1 (2005). The song came about after Shakira approached Sanz telling him that she wanted to collaborate on something different from her own material.
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Upon its release, "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" was perceived as an album highlight by several music critics. It earned the duo several awards and nominations including Song of the Year at the 2007 Premios Oye!. The single was successful in Venezuela and on the US Latin music charts, where it topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. A music video for the song, directed by Jaume de Laiguana was filmed in Brooklyn and released on 11 January 2007. It is a continuation of the clip for Sanz's "A la Primera Persona" and it features the duo dancing together towards the end. Sanz performed the song live during his El Tren De Los Momentos Tour (2007-08).
Background and release
"Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" was written by Alejandro Sanz for his album El Tren de los Momentos (2006). He also handled the song's production together with Lulo Pérez. Shakira, a close friend of Sanz was the one who approached him in order to sing on his album "sounding nothing like she does on her own". During an interview with Billboard, Sanz talked about the second time he collaborated with Shakira which was on "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No", following the worldwide success of "La Tortura" from the former's album Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005). He stated, "I hadn't dared ask her if she wanted to do something with me, because it was a little like, 'I sing with you, now sing with me'. Plus, we didn't want it to be 'La Tortura 2' because we're very considerate of each other. She's the one who came and said, 'Hey, I want to sing'." He concluded the interview by saying that with the collaborations, he managed to do new things musically. An extended play (EP) of the song featuring several remixes was released on 6 March 2007. Two remixes of the song were featured on the re-release of the album in 2007, El Tren de los Momentos: Edición Especial - one by Luny Tunes and Tainy and the other is dubbed "Benztown Mixdown". "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" was included on Sanz's compilation album Colección Definitiva (2011).
Reception
In a review of El Tren de los Momentos, Jason Birchmeier of the website AllMusic pointed out "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" as a highlight on the album. In another review, he described the song as a "passionate duet". Chuck Arnold, Ralph Novak and Monique Jessen writing for People magazine also highlighted the song as one of the best on the album, adding that the duo managed to "again bring the tropical heat" with the song. A writer of Billboard noted that instead of only trading vocals on the song, the singers delivered "full duet lines". David Saavedra, a critic of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, found elements of Latin flamenco in the song and noted how it was a proof of Sanz's departure from his early-career material. The single won an Oye! award in Mexico for Song of the Year in 2007. It was also nominated in the category The Perfect Combo during the 2007 Premios Juventud. At the 16th Annual ASCAP Latin Music Awards held on 16 May 2008, "Te Lo Agradezco Pero No" was recognized as a Pop/Ballad of the Year. It was nominated in the category for Best Vocal Duet or Collaboration at the 2008 Latin Billboard Music Awards, but lost to "Pegao" (2006) by Wisin & Yandel.
On the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" debuted at number 22 for the chart issue dated 10 February 2007. It entered the top ten of the chart two weeks later and in its fifth charting week, on 10 March 2007, it ascended to the top. The single eventually spent a total of 14 weeks on the Hot Latin Songs chart before dropping out. It further managed to top the Latin Pop Airplay and peak at the fourth position on the Tropical Songs. At the end of 2007, it ranked as the 36th best-selling Latin song in the US. "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" attained similar success on the Record Report charts in Venezuela, where it topped the Top Latino and climbed to the fourth position on the Pop Rock chart. In 2007, the single was certified platinum by Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE) for shipment of 40,000 copies in Spain. Its ringtone was also certified gold.
Music video
A music video for "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" directed by Jaume de Laiguana was filmed in Brooklyn in 2006. It was released on 11 January 2007. The clip for the song is a continuation of the one for Sanz's previous single "A la Primera Persona". However, in "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" the roles of Sanz and his love interest change and he clarifies that "there are no promises that are worthy after everything is finished". By Shakira's request, this was the first video where Alejandro Sanz dances. A making-of clip about the music video was included on the DVD of El Tren de los Momentos: Edición Especial (2007). The music video for "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" was included on Sanz's compilation album Colección Definitiva (2011). The music video for the song received a nomination in the category for Video of the Year at the Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2007 held on 18 October 2007.
Live performances
"Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" was part of the set list during Sanz's seventh El Tren De Los Momentos Tour (2007-08) which visited countries in North and South America and Europe. A live performance of the song, filmed on 23 March 2007 in Argentina, was included on his third live album El Tren de los Momentos: En Vivo Desde Buenos Aires (2007). The video was also uploaded to Sanz's official YouTube account on 15 February 2010. The song was performed live by the duo during the Premios Oye! 2007 held on 24 August in Veracruz, Mexico. They performed it again at a humanitarian concert organized by the ALAS Foundation in May 2008.