Wikipedia / Mi Reflejo
Wikipedia / Mi Reflejo
Mi Reflejo () is American singer Christina Aguilera's second studio album and first Spanish-language album. It was released on September 12, 2000, as a co-production between RCA Records and BMG U.S. Latin. After the commercial success of her first album, Christina Aguilera (1999), Aguilera recorded her follow-up project during 2000. Mi Reflejo includes five Spanish-language versions of tracks from Christina Aguilera, as well as four original compositions and two cover songs. The tracks were adapted and composed by Rudy Pérez who also produced the album.
In the US, Mi Reflejo peaked at number-one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts, on both of which it spent 19 weeks, becoming one of the longest albums to chart at number one. Mi Reflejo was the best-selling Latin pop album of 2000 and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it 6× Platinum (Latin field). It reached number two in Argentina and Uruguay, and at number five in Mexico, and had sold 2.2 million copies worldwide by 2006.
Upon its release, Mi Reflejo received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who were divided on the album's musical style and criticized Aguilera's Spanish-language adaptations. The album received several accolades, including the Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album and a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album in 2001. Three of the album's songs were released as singles: "Ven Conmigo (Solamente Tú)", "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti" and "Falsas Esperanzas". To promote Mi Reflejo, Aguilera added eight dates to her tour, continuing it into 2001, and performed at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Background and recording
In 1999, American singer Christina Aguilera released her debut self-titled album, which sold over 14 million copies and earned her the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2000. Following its release, she expressed in recording an album to acknowledge her Latina heritage (she is of Ecuadorian descent on her father's side). By October 1999, Billboard editor John Lannert reported she had begun recording an album in Spanish with Cuban American musician Rudy Pérez as producer. According to her manager Steve Kurtz, Aguilera expressed interest in recording a Spanish-language album before she recorded her debut album. This resulted in "Genie in a Bottle" being released in Spanish as a single titled "Genio Atrapado", which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. According to Ramiro Burr of the San Antonio Express-News, the new work would contain several of her songs adapted in Spanish, as well as original songs in that language. Talking about embracing her Ecuadorian roots with Mi Reflejo, Aguilera said:
Recording for the album primarily took place at Pérez's home studio in Miami Beach, Florida. Additional recording took place at Royaltone Studios and Cocoa-Butt in California, House of Sound Recording Studios in Florida, The War Room in New Jersey and LA East in Utah. Because Aguilera was touring with American group TLC at the time, she visited Pérez's home studio "only a few days at a time". Aguilera was simultaneously touring to promote her debut album and recording a Christmas album, My Kind of Christmas (2000). Mi Reflejo was intended to be titled Latin Lover Girl. Recording for Mi Reflejo began in April 2000 and production concluded three months later. Pérez stated Aguilera's lack of fluency in Spanish hindered recording; he phonetically wrote lyrics and developed a system to allow Aguilera to pronounce the "r's" in the songs. The album's title, Mi Reflejo, was announced on August 8, 2000, and is taken from the Spanish version of "Reflection", which Aguilera recorded for the soundtrack to Mulan. Her record label, RCA, said the title also reflects Aguilera's Latina heritage.
Musical style and compositions
Musically, "Mi Reflejo" is a Latin pop album that is according to Burr, "equally balanced between bouncy dance tunes and melodramatic balladss". The album is composed of 11 tracks; five of which are songs from Aguilera's debut album adapted in Spanish, while six are new.
Pėrez reworked Spanish versions of "Genie in a Bottle" ("Genio Atrapado"), "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" ("Ven Conmigo (Solamente Tú)"), "I Turn to You" ("Por Siempre Tú"), "What a Girl Wants" ("Una Mujer"), and "Reflection" ("Mi Reflejo"). He also composed three original tracks for the album: "El Beso del Final", "Si No Te Hubiera Conocido", and "Cuando No es Contigo", while Cuban musician Jorge Luis Piloto penned "Falsas Esperanzas". The record also includes two covers: "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti", which Pérez originally composed for Mexican singer Gibrann on his album Escapate Conmigo (1990), and "Contigo en la Distancia", a bolero written by César Portillo de la Luz in the 1950s.
"Falsas Esperanzas" is an uptempo track with tropical elements and includes a piano solo by Cuban pianist Paquito Hechavarría. In the song, Aguilera chants about "not being led on, and being treated right". On the ballad, "El Beso del Final", the singer asks if "did we just kiss goodnight, or did we just say goodbye?". The album's second ballad, "Pero Me Acuerdo", is about "someone who finally gets their life together after a bad break up, finally feels right about themselves. But then, 'I Remember You' and it all melts, the world falls apart, and the confidence goes out the window". "Si No Te Hubiera Conocido" is a duet ballad with Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi. According to Aguilera, she wanted Fonsi to perform a duet with her because she felt that she could relate to him as they "grew up listening to the same things". "Cuando No es Contigo" is an uptempo salsa song which was arranged and produced by American musician Sergio George.
Critical reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Mi Reflejo received an average score of 56, based on seven reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Stephen Erlewine of AllMusic described the album as a mirror image of Christina Aguilera. He said it is a "little too familiar" and praised recordings as "well-produced". Erlewine concluded the album "doesn't add anything new to her music, since it's just the old music in new clothing". An editor for Billboard wrote that Aguilera has yielded a mostly mainstream pop album with Latin inflections. Eliseo Cardona of CDNow gave the album a mixed review. While he enjoyed Aguilera's vocal performance, which he said "not only sways and grooves– precisely, gracefully, forcefully– but also sounds lived-in and real", he criticized the literal Spanish translation of the lyrics, which he said make a "good laugh and a better yawn". He commended "Cuando No es Contigo" as making Aguilera a "credible, expressive salsera" and her cover of "Contigo en la Distancia" as the album's finest moment.
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote his review as a parody memo from Aguilera's point of view. He mocked Aguilera's attempt at making a Spanish-language album because of her Ecuadorian heritage, criticized her "unnecessary high notes", ballads that "old Latin ladies'll like" and the photographs used in the album's booklet. Mike Magnuson of HOB.com wrote a critical review of the album, admonishing the artwork images for attempting to make Aguilera look Latino, which he called a bad influence for the younger audience. Though he said "you can count on her agreeable voice", and lauded the use of Latin percussion and horns, he stated the album is "purely a marketing scam gone too far". Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel stated "Mi Reflejo lacks emotional depth, and [Aguilera's] decision to record in Spanish seems more a bid to conquer new chart territory than anything else".
Sonicnet called the album's production "superslick" and compared Aguilera's vocals to that of Mariah Carey, saying Mi Reflejo "almost guarantees that the diminutive diva will expand her colonial powers south of the border. In other words, she's planning to do a reverse Ricky Martin on us". In a negative review of the album, Ernesto Lechner of Los Angeles Times compared Aguilera's vocals on her debut album and in Mi Reflejo, describing her performance in the latter as "ridiculous" and her cover of "Contigo en la Distancia" as a "bloated confection". Kurt B. Reighley from Wall of Sound wrote that the album is "an impressive addition to young Christina's limited canon". Sean Piccoli, writing for Sun-Sentinel, said Mi Reflejo is mostly a "hash of power balladry, dance pop and adult contemporary schlock rush-recorded for Latin radio", and concluded it "sounds more like a marketing opportunity than an expression of Aguilera's Latin soul".
A reviewer for Zero magazine found the album to be a "decent effort", praising the songs re-recorded in Spanish as "excellent" but called songs such as "Falsas Esperanzas" a "third-rate Gloria Estefan". According to the reviewer, Aguilera did not seem to be aware of what of she was singing and criticized her interpretation of "Contigo en la Distancia". Writing for El Norte, Deborah Davis reviewed Mi Reflejo unfavorably, saying Aguilera should not have recorded an album in Spanish before mastering it, and that the elements of salsa and guitars are stereotypical of Latinos.
Release and promotion
Mi Reflejo was released on September 12, 2000, as a joint venture between RCA and BMG US Latin. To promote the album, Aguilera extended her tour, Christina Aguilera in Concert into 2001 with eight more dates, visiting Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama and Japan. Aguilera also performed "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti" and "Falsas Esperanzas" at the 2001 Grammy Awards.
Singles
The lead single of Mi Reflejo was "Ven Conmigo (Solamente Tú)", the Spanish version of "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", which was released on August 8, 2000, to Latin radio stations. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and number two on the Billboard Latin Pop Airplay charts. It peaked at number eight in Spain. The second single, "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti", was released in December 2000. The song reached number eight on the Hot Latin Songs and number five on Latin Pop Songs charts. In Spain, it reached number three on the chart. Kevin G. Bray directed the song's music video.
The third single, "Falsas Esperanzas", was released on July 3, 2001. "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti" reached number fifteen in Spain. Its music video, taken from her DVD My Reflection, was directed by Lawrence Jordan. "Por Siempre Tú" was previously released as a single, along with its original version. "Por Siempre Tú" was released as a promotional single for the album in 2000 and peaked at number six on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
Legacy and achievements
In September 2018, Mi Reflejo was ranked number 10 on the Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums of All Time, and in 2020, the same media brand included it at number 12 on its list of the longest-leading albums of all time on the Top Latin Albums chart. The album spent 19 weeks at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums, ranking at number 13 with the most weeks at number one. Mi Reflejo was best fifth-best-selling Latin album of 2000 and became the second-best-selling Latin album of the year after Paulina by Paulina Rubio. The album was also the best-selling Latin pop album of 2000.
In a 2020 statement for Billboard, Aguilera said she "was excited to bring a new life to [the] songs and reinvent [them]". She added that she "was allowed to create and express new ad libs and vocal runs that I wasn’t given the freedom to do on [her debut album]". New York Daily News writer Muri Assuncão noted that after the release of Mi Reflejo, Aguilera went on to use "her Latin charm and sultry persona– not to mention her jaw-dropping four-octave vocal range– to become one of pop music's most beloved icons". According to a 2021 article for POPline, Mi Reflejo introduced Aguilera to the general public as a "fearless" and "versatile" artist, and also "played a pivotal role in the expansion of Spanish-language music within today's American pop scene". In 2025, Billboard included Mi Reflejo on its list of the Top Latin Albums of the 21st Century.
Accolades
Commercial performance
Mi Reflejo debuted at number 27 on the US Billboard 200, selling nearly 43,000 copies in its first week. The same week, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, replacing Son by Four's eponymous album. Mi Reflejo spent 19 weeks at number one until was it replaced by Vicente Fernández's compilation album Historia de un Idolo, Vol. 1. Mi Reflejo debuted at number one on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart, where it succeeded Galería Caribe by Ricardo Arjona. It also spent 19 weeks on top of this chart until it was replaced by Abrázame Muy Fuerte by Juan Gabriel. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it had sold 487,000 copies in the US by 2014. On September 10, 2001, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album 6× Platinum in the Latin field for shipping 600,000 copies.
Internationally, Mi Reflejo peaked at number two on the Argentine albums chart and the Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (CAPIF) certified it platinum. Mi Reflejo also reached number two in Uruguay, as reported by Cámara Uruguaya del Disco (CUD) in late 2000. It peaked at number 54 in Switzerland and was certified platinum in Mexico by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON). It reached number five on the official Mexican Albums Chart. In Spain, Mi Reflejo peaked at number 12 on the Spanish Albums Chart and was certified Platinum in the country for shipping 100,000 copies. It had sold 300,000 copies in Costa Rica by 2004, and it was also a commercial success in Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. By 2006, Mi Reflejo had sold 2.2 million copies worldwide. According to Perez: "I think the mainstream market only knows about us when there's a major success like [Mi Reflejo]. But we just did the same thing we always do".
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the liner notes of AllMusic.
Musicians
Christina Aguilera – vocals
Richard Bravo – percussion
Tony Concepcion – trumpet
Geannie Cruz – background vocals
Luis Fonsi – performer
Jerry Goldsmith – conductor
John Goux – guitar
Julio Hernandez – bass
Steve Kipner – drums, keyboard
Matt Laug – tambourine
Lee Levin – drums
Manny Lopez – acoustic guitar
Raúl Midón – background vocals
Rafael Padilla – percussion
Agustin Pantoja – palmadas
Wendy Pederson – vocals
Rudy Pérez – producer, arranger, songwriter, keyboards, Spanish guitar
Clay Perry – keyboard, programming
Tim Pierce – guitar
Rubén Rodríguez – electric bass
Michael C. Ross – keyboard
Dana Teboe – trombone
Michael Thompson – guitar
Dan Warner – guitar
Matthew Wilder – orchestration
Aaron Zigman – orchestration
Production
Producer: Rudy Pérez
Executive producers: Ron Fair, Diane Warren
Engineers: Paul Arnold, Bob Brockman, Mario DeJesús, Mike Greene, Mario Lucy, Joel Numa, Paul Rein, Michael C. Ross, Bruce Weeden
Assistant engineers: Tom Bender, Michael Huff
Mixing: Mike Couzzi, Mick Guzauski, Peter Mokran, Dave Way, Bruce Weeden
Programming: Rudy Perez, Guy Roche, Michael C. Ross
Drum programming: Rudy Perez
Percussion programming: Rudy Pérez
Arrangers: Rudy Perez, Ed Calle, David Frank, Sergio George, Ron Harris
vocal arrangement: Ron Fair
String arrangements: Gary Lindsay, Rudy Pérez
Vocal arrangement: Rudy Pérez
Orchestration: Matthew Wilder, Aaron Zigman
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications and sales