Suavemente (Elvis Crespo song)

Background

Elvis Crespo started his singing career as a backup vocalist for merengue singers Willie Berrios, Lenny Perez, and Toño Rosario. In 1995, he joined Puerto-Rican merengue band, Grupo Manía as lead vocalist. He composed "Linda Eh'" for the group which reached number-eight on Hot Latin Tracks in 1996.{{ cite web |url= |title= Grupo Manía|work= Allmusic|access-date=February 7, 2010}} In 1997, he left the band to pursue a solo career and recorded his first album, Suavemente, on the Sony Discos label. Crespo credited his son for the success of the song stating that his son spent the entire afternoon singing it and told his father that the song would be a hit. The Spanglish version was featured in the 1998 film, Dance with Me. Two music videos were made: the original version with various background montages,{{ cite web |url= http://new.music.yahoo.com/elvis-crespo/videos/view/suavemente--217254117|title= Suavemente by Elvis Crespo|work= Yahoo!|access-date=May 16, 2010}} the other one a remix with Spanglish lyrics.{{ cite web |url= http://new.music.yahoo.com/elvis-crespo/videos/view/suavemente-remix--31618451|title= Suavemente Remix by Elvis Crespo|work= Yahoo!|access-date=May 16, 2010}} In 2008, the song served as the intro and outro for the live album, Elvis Crespo Lives: Live at Las Vegas and the title reappeared in the title for his tenth anniversary compilation album, Suavemente... Los Éxitos.{{ cite web |url= http://www.cmtv.com.ar/noticias/show.php?bnid=104&banda=Elvis_Crespo|title= Noticias de Elvis Crespo|work= CMTV.com.ar| language = es|access-date=May 17, 2010}}

Track listings

;CD, maxi

• Side A

1. "Suavemente" [Spanglish Dance Mix] – (4:19)
2. "Suavemente" [Spanglish Edit] – (4:27)

• Side B

1. "Suavemente" [The Factory Dance Mix] – (6:40)
2. "Suavemente" [Dance Radio Edit] – (4:19)

;12"

1. "Suavemente" [Cibola Mix] – (3:30)
2. "Suavemente" [Hot Head Mix] – (3:17)
3. "Suavemente" [Cibola Extended Club] – (5:35)
4. "Suavemente" [Dance Sugar Mix] – (4:19)

Chart performance

"Suavamente" debuted at number 15 on the Hot Latin Tracks in April 1998 and jumped to number six a week later. On May 16, 1998, the song peaked at number one for six consecutive weeks. The song reached number 10 on the Billboard Top Latin Songs year-end chart of 1998. It became the second merengue song to reach number-one on Hot Latin Tracks after Juan Luis Guerra's "El Costo de la Vida".{{ cite web |url= http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-retail-stores-not/4630814-1.html|title= Latin Notas: Elvis Crespo Has His Own Shakin' Goin' On|first = John|last= Lannert|date= May 16, 1998|work= AllBusiness.com|publisher= Billboard|access-date=May 17, 2010}}

Certifications

Reception

"Suavemente" received generally positive reviews from critics. Terry Jenkins of AllMusic notes it as one of the highlights of the album of "wonderfully seductive" songs.{{ cite web |url= |title= Suavemente Review| first= Jenkins| last= Terry|work= AllMusic|access-date=May 16, 2010}} In 1999, "Suavamente" received Lo Nuestro award for "Tropical Song of the Year" and two Billboard Latin Music awards for "Tropical/Salsa Hot Latin Track of the Year" and "Latin Dance Max-Single of the Year". Crespo responded to the success by stating that "It took me by surprise, although I had many years of experience, first in the chorus and then as a singer in Grupomanía. I believe that it's a challenge because I have to take on the responsibility to be consistent in my future projects."

Scooter version

| B-side = Trance-Atlantic (Club Mix)

In 2005, German group Scooter covered the song on their album Mind the Gap. It was released as the fourth and final single from the album. The music video for "Suavemente" features a tropical scene, with the three band members at the time (H. P. Baxxter, Rick J. Jordan, and Jay Frog) celebrating.

Track listings

CD single and digital download

1. "Suavemente" (Radio Edit) – 3:35
2. "Suavemente" (Extended) – 5:42
3. "Suavemente" (Club Mix) – 6:48
4. "Suavemente" (Original Club) – 3:30
5. "Trance-Atlantic" (Club Mix) – 4:05

12"

1. "Suavemente" (Extended) – 5:42
2. "Suavemente" (Club Mix) – 6:48

Chart performance

Other versions

• Brixx's version of the song features German singer Paul Cless reached number 28 the European Hot 100 Singles Chart.
• Angie Martinez's song, "Coast 2 Coast", features Wyclef Jean singing excerpts from "Suavemente".
• It has also been sampled in the 2011 song "Suave (Kiss Me)" by Nayer featuring Pitbull and Mohombi.
• In 2017, American rapper Travis Scott referenced "Suavemente" on the remix of Puerto Rican singer Farruko's "Krippy Kush", which also features American rapper Nicki Minaj and Puerto Rican rappers Rvssian and Bad Bunny.
• Mexican-American rapper Snow Tha Product sampled the song's vocals and instrumental on her song of the same title.
• YouTuber TerminalMontage used a MIDI version of the instrumental track and Loquendo text-to-speech software to create a “Cucuí Ganon” spoken-word cover based on his “Something About The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” web animation. The video was later removed by YouTube citing copyright violation.
• The refrain was used in the song "Suavemente" by Algerian singer Soolking which reached number 1 in the French charts in 2022.
• Bad Bunny paid tribute to the "Suavemente" music video on his song "Neverita" in 2022.

References

References

1. (1998). "Elvis Crespo - Suavmeente (Remixes)". [[Discogs]].
2. (1998). "Elvis Crespo - Suavemente". [[Discogs]].
3. "Suavemente > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". [[Allmusic]].
4. "Suavemente:Scooter". [[Amazon.com.
5. "Scooter - Suavemente". MusicLoad.de.
6. (2 March 2005). "Scooter - Suavemente (12")". [[Discogs.com]].
7. "Brixx Album & Song Chart History".
8. (23 December 2017). "Video: Farruko, Nicki Minaj & Travis Scott feat. Bad Bunny & Rvssian - 'Krippy Kush (Remix)'". Townsquare Music.
9. SNOWTHAPRODUCT. (2015-06-24). "Snow Tha Product - Suavemente (Official Audio)".
10. (15 April 2024). "Video explanation of the video's removal and why it appears as a hidden upload on a playlist".
11. "Soolking - Suavemente".