Viva el Príncipe

Background

The project for Viva el Príncipe began in 2008 after Castro, who was one of the selected artists, interpreted one of José's songs during a tribute concert. José believed that it was the right time for Castro to record a cover album with his songs and recommended that he seek the help of Rafael Pérez-Botija and Chucho Ferrer, who were responsible for producing José's albums. Castro recalled growing up in the same neighborhood with José, who often invited him over for parties and studied with his children in the same college. When he heard José's song "La Navel del Olvideo" for first time, Castro said: "I promised to be a singer someday and to sing ballads. José José is my musical father and biggest inspiration". Castro expressed hope that the album would allow José's songs to be heard by a newer generation. The album was officially revealed by Castro alongside José after his concert in Argentina. The title of the recording is a reference to José's honorary title "The Prince of Song" ("El Príncipe de la Canción").

Recording and production

The album was recorded on August 2010 at The Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, Florida, produced by Botija. Along with Botija, the album includes arrangers Angel "Cucco" Peña and Jorge Calandrelli. The album covers ten of José's most recognized works such as "La Navel del Olvido", "El Triste", and "Gavilan o Paloma". "Lo Pasado, Pasado" features a duet with José José using the original recording. The album contains "Poema al Cantante" recited by José. In the poem, José conveys that the singer cannot live if he cannot sing ("Ya no podrá vivir, si ya no canta"); an allusion to losing his singing voice from the effects of alcoholism.

Castro was initially disappointed with the project as he did not want to solely imitate José's vocals, Ferrer's absence and his desire to record Jose's lesser known songs. According to Castro, it was the decisions of the executive producers of his record label, Universal Music Latino, to only have Botija produce the album and to record José José's more recognized songs. He later retracted his statement, commending Botija and referred to the disc as his best, only lamenting he could not record José's lesser known songs. José expressed satisfaction with the result.

Promotion

To promote the album, "La Nave del Olvido" was selected as the lead single from the album and was released on 28 September 2010. It peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and No. 22 on the Billboard Latin Pop Songs chart. The music video was directed by Ricardo Moreno and filmed in Los Angeles. Three promotional singles were released on iTunes: Amor, Amor, Volcán, and Mi Niña. The standard track listing contains contain ten tracks and the poem. The deluxe edition contains two additional songs, a cover of "Gracias" and "Mi Niña" and a DVD which includes Castro performing each song at The Hit Factory Criteria and the music video for "La Nave del Olvido".

Tour

On 2 June 2011, Castro announced the "Viva el Príncipe Tour" consisting of 121 shows including the United States and twelve countries in Latin America. The tour began in Mexico where he performed in Guadalajara on 24 June 2011,and sang in Tabasco, Jalisco, and Puebla. During the concert in the National Auditorium he was accompanied by José José and his parents Manuel Valdés and Verónica Castro. On 28 July 2011, Castro began the tour's US leg in Chicago, Illinois, performing in Texas, California, Florida and Puerto Rico. The tour continued on to South America where Castro performed in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Castro also performed in Spain and mentioned the difficulty of promoting in the country, as ballads are generally not well-received on radio stations.

In the first part of the show, Castro performed songs from the disc sporting a white tuxedo. In the second he performed hits from his earlier career.

Commercial reception

The album was released on 30 November 2010 worldwide. In Mexico, the album spent fifteen weeks on top of the Top 100 Mexico chart. It was ranked as 2011's third best-selling album in Mexico and was certified diamond by AMPROFON for shipping 300,000 copies.

In the United States, it debuted at No. 157 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on both the Billboard Top Latin Albums and Billboard Latin Pop Albums charts selling over 7,000 copies its first week. The album reached No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts in the week of 29 January 2011 succeeding Shakira's album Sale el Sol where it spent seven weeks on top of Latin Albums and ten weeks on top of Latin Pop Albums. It peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard 200 on the week of 21 March 2011.

On the Billboard year-end charts of 2011, the album ranked as the second-best selling Latin album of the year after Prince Royce's eponymous album and the best-selling Latin pop album of the year. It was certified double platinum (Latin field) by the RIAA for shipments of 200,000 copies in United States. In Spain, it peaked at No. 44 on the Productores de Música de España album chart. In South America, Viva el Príncipe peaked at No. 5 on the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers pop charts and received gold certifications in Colombia by the Asociación Colombiana de Productores de Fonogramas and in Venezuela by the Association of Venezuelan Phonograph Producers. As of November 2011, the album had sold over 800,000 copies worldwide.

Critical reception and accolades

David Jeffries of Allmusic gave the album a positive review believing that José José's "spirit fills the album" and commended Botija for his role in the production and Castro for bringing "the sense of tradition as he delivers this material with respect". He observed that it doesn't stop Castro from "pouring his heart into the songs" and perceived mimicry as a non-issue. Jeffries closed the review affirming that the album "winds up a tribute that will please fans of either artist". An editor of Terra Networks gave the album a negative review. Although the editor complimented Castro's ability to imitate José José's music, he felt that the audience were better off listening to the original recordings as Castro did not take the risk of adapting the tunes to his own style.

At the 12th Latin Grammy Awards, Castro received a nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Album, which went to Franco De Vita for En Primera Fila. At the 2012 Latin Billboard Music Awards, the album received two nominations for Latin Album of the Year and Latin Pop Album of the Year losing the first award to Prince Royce's eponymous album and the second award to Drama y Luz by Maná. At the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, it was nominated Latin Album of the Year but lost to Formula, Vol. 1 by Romeo Santos. At the 2012 Mexican Oye! Awards, it received an award for Male Pop Album of the Year and a nomination for Album of the Year.

Legacy

A follow-up to Viva el Príncipe was announced by Castro on 13 September 2011 titled Mi Amigo El Príncipe. As with its predecessor, Mi Amigo El Príncipe was produced by Botija. The disc was released on 1 November 2011. A two-disc compilation titled Viva El Príncipe: Edición Especial, Vol. 1 & 2 was released on 7 February 2012 with the tracks from both albums. Another compilation album featuring covers of José's songs was released in 2012 titled Celebrando Al Príncipe which contains thirteen previously recorded songs and two covers of "Mi Vida" and "Pero Me Hiciste Tuyo". Sony Music Latin released a greatest hits albums featuring José's and Castro's songs titled El Romántico & El Príncipe in 2012.

Credits and personnel

The following credits are adapted from Allmusic and the album liner notes.