Misplaced Pages

Thalía
Studio album by Thalía
Released	July 8, 2003
Recorded	2002–2003
Genre	Latin pop R&B dance-pop
Length	56:59
Language	English Spanish
Label	Virgin EMI Latin
Producer	Davy Deluge Estéfano Martin Harrington Steve Morales Cory Rooney Ric Wake
Thalía chronology
Hits Remixed (2003) Thalía (2003) Greatest Hits (2004)
Singles from Thalia (English album)
"I Want You/Me Pones Sexy" Released: May 5, 2003 "Baby, I'm in Love/Alguien Real" Released: November 2, 2003 "Don't Look Back/Toda La Felicidad" Released: 2004 "Closer to You/Cerca de Ti" Released: Fall 2003 "Dance Dance (The Mexican)" Released: 2003

Thalía is the ninth studio album and third eponymous album by Mexican recording artist Thalía, released on July 8, 2003, by Virgin Records and EMI Latin. It is her first English-language album, and shares a title with Thalía's 1990 and 2002 Spanish-language albums. The album had a moderate success selling 750,000 in three months of release.

Background and production

Since leaving the label Melody / Fonovisa for the label EMI in 1995, Thalía and her label have sought to reach a larger audience than what she achieved with her first three releases. Thalía's first English recordings would come in 1997 on an album titled Nandito Ako which was released exclusively in the Philippines and later certified 3× platinum there.

After the successes of the albums En éxtasis and Amor a la Mexicana the EMI label planned a major investment in Thalía's career with her follow-up album Arrasando. In 2000, Los Angeles-based Jose Behar, president/CEO of EMI-Latin, told to Billboard that Thalía was "completely committed reaching the largest possible audience " and that "a pop crossover is part of the "ultimate plan" for Thalia, but "we're not rushing anything. Our intention is for things to evolve naturally."

Some of Arrasando's songs were recorded in English and were listed on the singer's official website but they were not released commercially except for "It's My Party" (version of the song "Arrasando") which was released as a single and later added to the remix album Thalía's Hits Remixed and "Don't Close the Door" English version of "Regresa a mí".

After English versions for her 2002's album Thalía, EMI finally decided to release an album completely in English which was seen at the time as a Thalía's crossover. The Latinity of her previous albums was left out and songs in the style of R&B and pop were selected. The album was finally released in 2003 and a CD+DVD special was also released.

Singles

Four singles were released from the album: "I Want You" was the first one and also the album's most popular song, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number seven in the Mainstream chart. It is her only song to date that has charted within the Billboard Hot 100. In Greece, the song peaked number twenty-five in Top 50 singles sales. The Spanish version of the song, "Me Pones Sexy" was released for the Spanish-languaged audience and also perform quite well on the Latin Charts, peaking within the top ten of the Hot Latin Tracks at number nine.

"Baby, I'm in Love" was the second single, but performed poorly peaking only #46 in Greece. In Romania the song peaked at #77. The remixed version "The Boris & Beck, Norty Cotto Mixes" peaked at #12 in the Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart and #51 Billboard Hot Singles Sales. "Alguien Real", the Spanish version of the song, did not appear on any of the Latin Charts. The music video (of both English and Spanish version) was directed by Antti Jokinen, and it was shot at CBGB's on the Bowery on July 23, being published on September 20, 2003. In it, Thalía has fun with her friends, going out at night and playing the song in a club, representing the spirit of punk.

"Don't Look Back" was released as a remixed single and the "N. Cotto & J. Nevins Mixes" version, did well on Billboard Dance Charts, peaking at #9.

"Cerca de Ti" wa the fourth single of the album, peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Tracks. "Closer to You", the English version of the song, was eventually cancelled, however it peaked at #4 on Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	C
Rolling Stone
Vibe

Thalía received mixed reviews from music critics. Johnny Loftus from AllMusic website wrote that the album "stylization in both sound and sight -- is more marketable than breaking new ground" and that it "is doubly disappointing, since its second half consists mostly of Spanish-language versions of the singles in its first half." Barry Walters from Rolling Stone magazine gave the album three out of five stars and claimed that "unfortunately, Thalia's efforts to break the language barrier, make her meek and mute her charms". Neil Drumming from Entertainment Weekly website gave the album a C and called it "unoriginal." He also criticized the fact that half of the songs are in Spanish. Joey Guerra from Vibe magazine noted that the singer's English-language debut shifts away from her usual vibrant style, offering R&B-influenced tracks like "I Want You" with Fat Joe. However, according to him the album relies on clichéd songwriting and lacks the confident, fiery energy of her Spanish hits. Guerra affirmed that the only standout moments come from reworked older material, making it feel like something was lost in translation.

Commercial performance

Thalía achieved a moderate commercial performance. It sold 750,000 copies worldwide in its first three months, according to EMI Brasil. In Mexico, the album was certified Gold on November 17, 2003, by AMPROFON, denoting sales of over 50,000 units. As of August 2003, Thalía sold 70,000 copies in the territory. Elsewhere, the album peaked at number 3 in both Argentina and Greece, and number 27 in Czech Republic. The album debuted at the number 11 on the US Billboard 200 chart with 50,000 units sold on its first week, becoming the highest charting album by any Latin act since Paulina Rubio's Border Girl (2002), which similarly debuted at number 11 with 56,000 copies on July 6, 2002. Initially, 400,000 units of the album were shipped, and sold 196,000 copies in the US until July 2005, according to Nielsen Soundscan. The Japanese release, titled I Want You, was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), denoting shipments of 100,000 units. After ten weeks at the Oricon charts, in early 2004, actual sales of the album in Japan stand at 200,000 copies. The album entered at the number 17 at the South Korean international album charts, with over 3,000 copies sold in its first-week.

Track listing

Notes

• denotes co-producer(s)
• denotes additional producer(s)

Sample credits

• "I Want You" contains excperts and elements from the composition "A Little Bit of Love" by Brenda Russell.

Charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

1. "Thalía-Official Site". www.thalia.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
2. Aguilera, Teresa (29 November 1997). "Latin Music Quarterly: Thalía: Latin America's Reigning Music Queen". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 33–. ISSN 0006-2510.
3. "Hay una canción en mi disco" (in Spanish). Epoca: semanario de México. 1997. p. 67. Retrieved June 22, 2020. Su éxito le ha permitido grabar un compacto en la len - gua Tagalo, de Filipinas, con el que ha obtenido tres discos de platino
4. Flick, Larry (10 June 2000). "Billboard: Rising star Thalía aims to widen fan base with EMI-Latin set". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 11–. ISSN 0006-2510.
5. ^ Cobo, Leila (19 July 2003). "Billboard: Thalía!". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 14–. ISSN 0006-2510.
6. "Greek Charts - 2003". MAD TV (Greece). 2003. Retrieved 2003-11-03.
7. "Billboard:Thalía Biography". www.billboard.com. 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
8. "Greek Charts (21/7/03)". MAD TV (Greece). Retrieved 2 February 2016.
9. Romanian Top 100 singles charts Romanian music charts. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
10. ^ "Thalia - US Charts (AllMusic)". All Media Network. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
11. ^ Johnny Loftus (July 2003). "Allmusic Review: Thalía (2003)". Allmusic. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
12. ^ Neil Drumming (Aug 1, 2003). "Music Review: Thalía (2003)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
13. ^ Barry Walters (July 8, 2003). "Rollin Stone Review-Thalia (2002 album)". www.rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
14. ^ Guerra, Joey (September 24, 2003). "Thalia – Thalia (Virgin)". Vibe. Archived from the original on March 6, 2005. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
15. "Música de Thalia será tema de Malhação" (in Portuguese). EMI Music. 16 October 2003. Archived from the original on 18 November 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2003.
16. "AMPOFRON (Thalia's Certifications)". AMPOFRON. 2003. Archived from the original on July 10, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
17. ^ Rangel, Ivett (August 3, 2003). "Venden mas los alumnos que los maestros". Palabra (in Spanish). Retrieved January 2, 2022 – via ProQuest.
18. ^ Herald, Brownsville (8 August 2003). "Las Diez Canciones Mas Populares". The Brownsville Herald. Vol. 112, no. 36. pp. 42–. ISSN 0894-2064.
19. ^ "Greek Charts (Από 18/08/2003 έως 24/08/2003)". MAD TV. Archived from the original on 28 December 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
20. ^ Tuháček, Michal (29 August 2003). "Oficiální česká hitparáda IFPI ČR - 35. týden 2003". Ifpicr.cz. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
21. ^ Mayfield, Geoff (26 July 2003). "Little Latin Lupe Lu". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 75–. ISSN 0006-2510.
22. Cobo, Leila (19 July 2003). "Billboard – Thalía! Latin star is shooting for mainstream success in U.S." Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 14–. ISSN 0006-2510.
23. ^ "Thalía's 'Sixth Sense'". Billboard. July 9, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
24. "ゴールド等認定作品認定 2003年9月". Archived from the original on December 9, 2004. Retrieved 2010-11-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Riaj.or.jp.
25. ^ "Disco recopilatorio de Thalía contendrá dos temas inéditos" (in Spanish). Radio Cooperativa. January 5, 2004. Archived from the original on 2020-10-01. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
26. ^ "자료제공:(사)한국음반산업협회/이 자료는당협회와 상의없이 가공,편집을금합니다: 2003.08월 - POP 음반 판매량" (in Korean). MIAK. Archived from the original on 23 June 2004.
27. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
28. "자료제공:(사)한국음반산업협회/이 자료는당협회와 상의없이 가공,편집을금합니다: 2003.08월 - POP 음반 판매량" (in Korean). MIAK. Archived from the original on 23 June 2004.
29. "Japanese album certifications – Thalia – アイ・ウォント・ユー" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 27, 2016. Select 2003年9月 on the drop-down menu
30. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type Thalia in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Thalia in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
31. "Veja 45 curiosidades de Thalía no aniversário da artista mexicana". Quem (in Portuguese). Grupo Globo. 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2019.

• Thalía albums
• 2003 debut albums
• Albums produced by Ric Wake
• Albums produced by Cory Rooney