Para Ti

Para Ti
Studio album by Juan Luis Guerra
Released	August 31, 2004
Recorded	2003–2004
Studio	Hit Factory Criteria (Miami) JLG Estudio "En Kiu" (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
Genre	Merengue, Christian, salsa
Length	42:19
Label	Vene Music
Juan Luis Guerra chronology
Colección Romantica (2001) Para Ti (2004) La Llave de mi Corazón (2007)
Singles from Para Ti
"Para Ti" Released: 2004 "Las Avispas" Released: 2004 "Los Dinteles" Released: 2005

Para Ti (transl. For You) is the ninth studio album by singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra and his band 4.40. It was released on August 31, 2004, by Vene Music and distributed by Universal Latin Music. It was his first studio album in six years since Ni es lo mismo ni es igual (1998) and is his first Christian-gospel inspired album. The lyrics are inspired by his conversion to Christianity and his experience of being a born again Christian.^[1] The album explores music genres from gospel and ballads to the salsa and merengue. The album was supported by the release of three official singles: "Para Ti", "Las Avispas" and "Dinteles".

Para Ti received positive reviews from both critics and fans and won two awards at the 6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) and Best Tropical Song for "Las Avispas".^[2] It was awarded Tropical Album Of The Year, Male, and Latin Christian/Gospel Album Of The Year at the 2005 Latin Billboard Music Awards. Guerra was awarded the Spirit Of Hope for his philanthropic work in the Dominican Republic.^[3][4]

Para Ti was a commercial success in Latin America and was certified gold and platinum in Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela and Central America. In the United States, it debuted at number 2 on Billboard Top Latin Album and was his first album to debut inside the Billboard 200 at number 110. It remained the top-selling album on the US tropical album charts for seven weeks and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA (Latin Field) for 300,000 shipments in the United States. It sold 98,000 copies worldwide within two days of release and sold half a million copies worldwide.To promote the Album, Guerra embarked on Tour 20 años, his first tour since Areito Tour in 1993. The tour visited many countries including the United States, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Holland and closed with a concert in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.^[5][6][7]

Background

Following the release of Guerra's seventh studio album, Fogarate (1994), Guerra decided to retire because of stress and personal issues.^{[citation needed]} In 1996, he converted to Christianity.^[8] In 1998, on the track "Testimonio", included on the tracklist of the album Ni es lo mismo ni es igual, Guerra described how his life changed since his conversion. In 2003, he performed at the closing ceremony at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, his first performance in the country since his show in 1999 at Altos de Chavon.^[9] In February 2004, it was confirmed by the press that Guerra was going to release an album called Para Ti and it was a Christian-inspired album.^[10] On July 15, 2004, Guerra signed a one-off contract with Vene Music to release the album. He remained signed to his long time indie-label Karen Records.^[11][12]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[13]

Para Ti received positive reviews from critics. Jenny Gage from Allmusic gave the album three and half stars out of five. She said "Para Ti is bound to make all but the most stalwartly areligious feel a whole lot better. Aside from a couple of isolated missteps involving a culturally displaced gospel choir and what sounds suspiciously like a wind machine, these are great songs, as danceable as they are devotional".^[14] The album received two awards at the 6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, for Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) and Best Tropical Song for "Las Avispas".^[15] In 2005 Guerra was the most nominated artist for the 2005 Casandra Awards.^[16] He was awarded Best International Artist and Merengue of the Year for "Las Avispas".^[17]

Commercial reception

In the United States, the album debuted at number 110 at the Billboard 200, Guerra's first album to debut inside the chart, and sold 10,000 copies in the first week.^[18] Its debut at number 2 of US Billboard Latin Albums was the highest debut for a Christian album on that chart.^{[citation needed]} Four weeks later, Para Ti remained at the top five, an anomaly for an album whose content - a mix of praise and worship, gospel and inspirational music - is profoundly devotional. It topped the Tropical Albums charts for seven consecutive weeks and was the sixth best-selling tropical album of 2004.^[19][20] It was certified platinum three times (Latin field) by the RIAA for shipping 300,000 copies in the United States. In Latin America, the album reached the Top 10 in Argentina and was certified gold for selling over 20,000 copies. In Dominican Republic, it topped the charts and was the best-selling album of 2004 despite piracy.^[21] It was certified platinum in Venezuela and Gold in Central America and Colombia. In Spain, the album peaked at number 41 and sold over 20,000 copies. Worldwide, Para Ti sold more copies than Bachata Rosa in the first week.^[22] In total it sold half a million copies worldwide.^[23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Juan Luis Guerra

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Soldado"	3:55
2.	"Eres"	3:26
3.	"Los Dinteles"	3:38
4.	"Gloria"	4:50
5.	"Mi Padre Me Ama"	4:09
6.	"Las Avispas"	3:18
7.	"Tan Solo He Venido"	4:10
8.	"Para Ti"	3:43
9.	"Extiende Tu Mano"	4:13
10.	"Aleluya"	2:26
11.	"Canción de Sanidad"	4:38
Total length:		42:19

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Argentina Albums Chart[24]	9
Dominican Republic Albums Chart[25]	1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[26]	41
US Billboard 200[27]	110
US Top Latin Albums (Billboard)[28]	2
US Tropical Albums (Billboard)[29]	1
US Top Heatseekers (Billboard)[30]	3
Venezuela Albums Chart	7

Sales and certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[31]	Gold	20,000^^
Central America (CFC)[32]	Gold
Colombia[33]	Gold
Dominican Republic	—	4,192[34]
Spain	—	20,000[35]
United States (RIAA)[36]	3× Platinum (Latin)	300,000^^
Venezuela[37]	Platinum
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one Billboard Top Latin Albums of 2004
• List of number-one Billboard Tropical Albums from the 2000s

References

1. Cabral, Euri (2008). Juan Luis Guerra y 4-40: merengue y bachata a ritmo de poesía y compromiso (in Spanish). Editora Búho. ISBN 978-9945-408-17-1.
2. Campo, Iban (2004-10-10). ""He encontrado la paz que necesitaba"". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
3. Billboard Staff (2005-04-29). "2005 Billboard Latin Music Awards Winners". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
4. Billboard Staff (2005-03-11). "Billboard To Fete Solís, Guerra". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
5. "Europa recibe Tours 20 Años de JLG". www.diariolibre.com (in European Spanish). July 2005. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
6. Cubeiro, Juan Carlos (2009-04-05). "El Talento de Juan Luis Guerra". HABLEMOS DE TECNO TALENTO (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-11-15. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
7. https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/2005/2005-05-28-Billboard-Page-0034.pdf#search=%22juan%20luis%20guerra%20copies%20sold%22 ^{[bare URL PDF]}
8. Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (1996-02-27). "JUAN LUIS GUERRA SE VOLVIÓ PROTESTANTE". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-07-26.
9. Gonzales, Oscar (August 23, 2003). "LOS PANAMERICANOS TERMINARON CON FIESTAEL MERENGUE DE JUAN LUIS GUERRA FUE UN EXQUISITO COLOFON". El Sentinel. p. 3. ProQuest 431589861 – via Proquest.
10. "Juan Luis Guerra, miembro de una secta evangélica, dedica un disco a Jesucristo". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 2004-02-02. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
11. Cobo, Leila (2004-07-15). "Juan Luis Guerra Inks One-Off Deal". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
12. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (2004-07-24). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
13. Para Ti at AllMusic
14. Juan Luis Guerra - Para Ti Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 2022-07-26
15. "Juan Luis Guerra gana dos Grammy Latinos". Hoy Digital. 2005-11-04. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
16. "Juan Luis Guerra, el más nominado en los premios Casandra". Hoy Digital. 2005-01-10. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
17. de 2005, 22 de Febrero (12 October 2017). "Juan Luis Guerra y Aventura, premiados con premios Casandra". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-07-26.
18. "US Album Sales Charts 2000-2004". UKMIX Forums. 13 July 2019. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
19. Cobo, Leila (October 9, 2004). "Guerra Gets Religion". BIllboard. ProQuest 227227905.
20. "TOP 10 LISTS FOR 2004: [FINAL Edition]". Orlando Sentinel. December 31, 2004. p. 9. ProQuest 280231504.
21. "Piratería vende nuevo disco de Juan Luis Guerra a RD$50". Hoy Digital. 2004-09-13. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
22. "Juan Luis Guerra en Venezuela". La Nación (in Spanish). 31 October 2004. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
23. Cabral, Euri (2008). Juan Luis Guerra y 4-40: merengue y bachata a ritmo de poesía y compromiso (in Spanish). Editora Búho. ISBN 978-9945-408-17-1.
24. "CAPIF - Representando a la Industria Argentina de la Música". archive.vn. 2008-07-09. Archived from the original on 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
25. "Musicalia". 2004-10-28. Archived from the original on 2004-10-28. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
26. http://www.promusicae.es/listas/semana/46-%C3%81lbumes-semana-46-2004.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
27. "Juan Luis Guerra 440 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
28. "Juan Luis Guerra 440 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
29. "Juan Luis Guerra 440 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
30. "Juan Luis Guerra 440 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
31. "Argentinian album certifications – Juan Luis Guerra – Para Ti". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
32. "Noticias de deportes en Costa Rica". 7 July 2023.
33. "Noticias de deportes en Costa Rica". 7 July 2023.
34. ""Para tí" de Juan Luis Guerra es aún más vendido del 2005". November 2005.
35. "Juan Luis Guerra sorprende con un disco cristiano" (in Spanish). ABC. 21 April 2005. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
36. "American album certifications – Juan Luis Guerra – Para Ti". Recording Industry Association of America.
37. "Noticias de deportes en Costa Rica". 7 July 2023.

External links

• Juan Luis Guerra Discography