Thursday, June 8, 2023

"Here We Are" by Gloria Estefan

Top 10 Alert!
Song#:  4143
Date:  12/16/1989
Debut:  68
Peak:  6
Weeks:  21
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary


Pop Bits:  Estefan's first official solo billed album Cuts Both Ways quickly went platinum thanks in part to the #1 gold selling lead single "Don't Wanna to Lose You." The second single, "Get on Your Feet," did well, but stalled at #11 Pop. Estefan would return to the Top 10 with this third single. The ballad would make it to #6 while becoming her first solo #1 at AC. The hit would help sales of the album, which would go double platinum in the summer of '90. Eventually it would go triple platinum. Two further singles from the album would miss out on the Pop Top 40, but the album's title track would become another #1 AC hit for Estefan.

ReduxReview:  While the Miami Sound Machine had success with upbeat tracks, when Estefan started to branch out on her own, it was her ballads that turned into hits for her. That was not a bad thing, but it may have started to put her in a more AC light with the kids moving on to newer, hipper artists. Estefan would score one more major hit (a ballad, natch), but then besides a #13 remake of "Turn the Beat Around" in '94, her Pop chart singles were middling affairs. However, she'd score fourteen solo Top 10 hits at AC, so really that format kept her going (and helped album sales). This track was the first of three #1s at AC and it was just right for that format. It was a pretty ballad that was well written and performed by Estefan. It wasn't quite as memorable as her other ballad hits, but it was a quality tune.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  In March of '90 while on tour supporting the album, Estefan's tour bus was involved in a crash with a semi during a snowstorm near Scranton, PA. The accident left Estefan with a fractured spine. She would go through months of recovery and therapy. Along the way she would still find a way to write and record and in January of '91 she would release her second solo effort Into the Light. It was preceded by the single "Coming Out of the Dark" along with a triumphant return to the stage performing the song on the American Music Awards. The single would reach #1 Pop/#1 AC/#60 R&B. It would end up being Estefan's last Pop Top 10 hit. The album topped out at #5 and would be a double platinum seller. Estefan would continue to have a successful recording career scoring platinum and gold selling LPs, which included Spanish language albums that would earn her three Grammy awards and five Latin Grammys.

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