No Me Queda Más

"No Me Queda Más" () is a song by American singer Selena. It was written by Ricky Vela. Vela had fallen in love with Selena's sister, Suzette Quintanilla. He then found out she was married. Vela was angry at this and wrote down his feelings. Selena's brother and producer of her music, A.B. Quintanilla III, liked the idea of turning his words into a song. The song was then co-produced by Bebu Silvetti. It was for Selena's fourth album Amor Prohibido (1994). The song's lyrics are a reference to Vela's unreturned love.

"No Me Queda Más" is a Spanish language ballad. It was released as a single in the United States and Mexico. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks for seven weeks. The song became Selena's third number one single from her Amor Prohibido album. In 1995, it became the number-one song on the Billboard Top Latin Songs Year-End Chart. It also became the best-selling Latin single for 1995 in the United States.

The song had positive feedback from music critics. "No Me Queda Más" was nominated for "Song of the Year" at the Broadcast Music Latin Awards. However, the music video of the song won the 1995 Billboard Latin Music Awards. The music video was shot at the Houston, Texas Amtrak station and other locations in San Antonio, Texas. Since the song was released, it has been covered by several artists. It remains one of Selena's most popular songs.

Background and inspiration 
"No Me Queda Más" was written by Ricky Vela. Vela was a keyboardist for Selena y Los Dinos. He had fallen in love with the drummer of the group, Suzette Quintanilla. Suzette is Selena and A.B. Quintanilla III's sister. After finding out she was married, Vela wrote about his feelings on paper. He was going to send it to Suzette. However, Selena needed more songs on what was going to be her next album. Selena's brother and music producer, A.B., decided to ask Vela if he had written anything. Vela had written songs before and some of his works were recorded by Selena. Vela told A.B. about his feelings for her sister Suzette. He showed him the paper where he wrote about how hurt he was. A.B., liked the idea of turning it into a song. They then worked together and turned it into a ballad.

Selena recorded the song at her father and manager's record studio Q-Productions. It was produced by A.B. The song was then co-produced by Bebu Silvetti. It was for Selena's fourth album, Amor Prohibido (1994).

Composition 
"No Me Queda Más" is a down-tempo ballad. It also has flamenco and ranchera music in the song. It is written in key of B minor. The song has 95 beats per minute. Selena's vocal range in the song spans two octaves. "No Me Queda Más" uses traditional musical instruments such as the violin, trumpet and the Spanish guitar. Jose Behar, president of EMI Latin, asked Silvetti to mix the song. Behar believed if the song was "sweeten" it can help it's chart performance. The mixed version was then added to the re-release of Amor Prohibido. It was shown on the cover of the album as a "new version". The song's lyrics explains the pain and sorrow of a woman who was betrayed by her boyfriend. In the song, the boyfriend left her to marry another female he liked. In the end, the woman hopes for the best for them and wishes them happiness while she cries.

The song tells the story of unreturned love. Carlos Meléndez, writer for El Nuevo Dia, gave a positive feedback of the song because it had an orchestra feel to it. Meléndez also enjoyed the use of the string instrument. Ilan Stavans and Harold Augenbraum named the song a "mariachi bolero" in their book. Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News, agreed to this statement and said that it was a "mournful mariachi-style ballad".

Release and reception 
Jorge Velasquez called "No Me Queda Más" a "bonafide hit" in his book. A Polish newspaper described "No Me Queda Más" as one of Selena's biggest hits. Mark Schone of Newsday enjoyed the song's string arrangement and its Mexican trumpets. Ramiro Burr, writer for the San Antonio Express-News, believed Selena had "over-dubbed vocals" for the song. Burr later wrote that Selena used a "powerful" emotional voice when she recorded the song. He then stated that the song is a "bittersweet story". Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News called the song a "heartbreaking mariachi ballad". According to Bob Young of the Boston Globe, "No Me Queda Más" is a "mariachi" song. According to one of the writers of the Lexington Herald-Leader, "No Me Queda Más" is a "bolero-influenced" song. Carmen Lopez of Novedades de México, enjoyed the song's "soulful-rich sounds".

The song started at number 40 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks on 12 November 1994. It reached number one for seven weeks. The recording became Selena's third number-one single off of Amor Prohibido. The song got off the chart on 1 April 1995. It returned two weeks later at number five. This was followed by Selena's death which happened the day before. The song then spent eleven weeks in the top 10. With this single, Selena became the first Latin artist to have four number-one singles on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in a single year. Enrique Iglesias tied this record in 1996. He had four number-ones from his first album Enrique Iglesias.

Impact and legacy 

With "No Me Queda Más" and thirteen other of Selena's top 10 singles, she was named "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best Selling Latin Artist of the Decade" by Billboard magazine. In March 2010, "No Me Queda Más" and a few other Selena music videos were selected for a Selena tribute. It was available to watch on Music Choice and was serviced to 42 million people in the United States. "No Me Queda Más" became the most successful Latin single of 1995 in the United States. According to Orlando Sentinel, "No Me Queda Más" was the second "Top 10 Spanish Hits of 1994". The song was nominated for "Song of the Year" at the Broadcast Latin Music Awards. However, the music video won "Video of the Year" at the 1995 Billboard Latin Music Awards.

Kat DeLuna sang the song during a children's singing competition. She won first place. In 1998, Los Tres Reyes recorded the song. They turned the song into a duet with Selena. In 1995, salsa singer Tito Nieves recorded "No Me Queda Más" for his album Un Tipo Comun. His version reached number seven on the Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay chart. Pepe Aguilar sang the song at the Selena ¡VIVE! (2005) tribute concert. Michael Clark of the Houston Chronicle wrote that Aguilar's version reminded him of R&B singer Aaron Neville. In the same year, Mexican group Paloma also covered the song. They included it on their live album En Concierto-en Vivo Desde L.A. (2005). Their version reached number 19 on the Hot Latin Tracks chart and number six on the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay chart. In 2006, Puerto Rican singer José Feliciano recorded the song. It was for his album José Feliciano Y Amigos (2006). Ramiro Burr for the Chicago Tribune called Felicanio's version a "bittersweet ranchera".

Cuban-American singer Toñita also recorded a version of the song. It was for her album Desafiando al Destino (2007). In 2008, Mexican American singer Maria Williams recorded an English language version. It was called "Nothing Left for Me". It was for her first album Hybrid. American singer David Archuleta sang the song several times on his tour. He was asked to perform "No Me Queda Más" at the 2010 Tejano Music Awards. Karen Rodriguez performed the song on the tenth season of American Idol in 2011. Dominican singer Prince Roye has performed "No Me Queda Más" while touring. Mexican singer Graciela Beltran performed the song during one of her concerts in Houston, Texas.

Track listing 

US CD single
 "No Me Queda Más" - 3:16

US cassette single
 "No Me Queda Más" - 3:16

Mexico Promo Single
 "No Me Queda Más" - 3:16

Mexico CD single
 "No Me Queda Más" - 3:16
 "No Me Queda Más" (new version) - 3:49

South America 12" single
 "No Me Queda Más" (new version) - 3:49

Credits 

"No Me Queda Más"
Selena – vocals
Joe Ojeda – backing keyboards
Ricky Vela – writer, electric keyboards
Chris Pérez – guitar
A.B. Quintanilla III – arranger, producer
Bebu Silvetti – arranger, producer
Suzette Quintanilla – drums
Arturo Meza, Jesse "O'Jay" Martinez – percussion/congas
Odalis Smith, Helen Stackhouse, Morgan Taylor – french horn
Gertrude Myers, Ruth Moore, John Foster, Alice Powell – violin
Lucy Richardson – cello
Francisca Malorie, James Watson – flute
Edward Jackson, Jose Deluna – trumpet
Freddie Corea, Don Shelton – tambourine

Music video
Sean Roberts – director
Jose Behar, Diego Aguilar – producer
Jonathan (last name unknown) – writer
Selena, Los Dinos – starring
Selena, Martin Gomez, Rosa Sullivan, Mark Duncan – costume designers
Diego Aguilar – production manager
Jorge Pinto, Alexander Martinez, Juan Felicio, Jorge Fernandez, Sebastian Rodriguez, Maria Lopez, Victor Nunez – mariachi band
Ezequiel Cintron – waiter
Emilio Perez – "Selena's crush"
Sophia Rodriguez – "The bride"
Luis Muñoz – "Bible reader"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Awards and nominations

References

Other websites 
 
 

1994 songs
Latin music
Tejano music
Selena songs
Songs written by A.B. Quintanilla
Spanish-language songs