Mi Reflejo

Mi Reflejo (or "My Reflection" in English) is Christina Aguilera's second studio and first Spanish-language album which was released on September 12, 2000 by BMG U.S. Latin.
The album topped Billboard's Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums chart where it spent 19 weeks on both charts. It was certified 6x platinum by the RIAA.
==Tracklisting==
#Genio Atrapado	3:38
#Falsas Esperanzas	2:57
#El Beso Del Final	4:42
#Pero Me Acuerdo De Tí	4:27
#Ven Conmigo (Solamente Tú)	3:11
#Si No Te Hubiera Conocido	4:51
#Contigo En La Distancia	3:45
#Cuando No Es Contigo	4:10
#Por Siempre Tú	4:06
#Una Mujer	3:15
#Mi Reflejo	3:35
==Album Background==
According to her manager Steve Kurtz, Aguilera expressed interest in recording a Spanish-language album before she recorded her self-titled debut studio album. At the time, she was simultaneously touring to promote her debut album and recording a Christmas album, "My Kind of Christmas" (which was released later in 2000).
"Mi Reflejo" was intended to be titled "Latin Lover Girl"; the title's origin came from the Spanish version of the song "Reflection", which Aguilera recorded for the soundtrack to the Disney film, "Mulan."
In 1999, Aguilera began recording in Miami with Cuban-American producer Rudy Pérez. He co-wrote the songs "Si No Te Hubiera Conocido", "Cuando No es Contigo", and "El Beso Del Final".
He also composed the Spanish versions of "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" ("Ven Conmigo (Solamente Tú)"), "Genie in a Bottle" ("Genio Atrapado"), "I Turn to You" ("Por Siempre Tú"), "What a Girl Wants" ("Una Mujer"), and "Reflection" ("Mi Reflejo"). Aguilera covers Perez's song "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti", which was originally performed by Puerto Rican singer Lourdes Robles on her 1991 album, "Definitivamente."
Pérez stated that Aguilera did not know any Spanish while recording; he remedied the problem by phonetically writing out lyrics and included a system that allowed Aguilera to pronounce the "r's" in the songs.
The album features a cover of César Portillo de la Luz's bolero "Contigo En La Distancia"
Additionally, Aguilera made a duet with Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi on the ballad "Si No Te Hubiera Conocido." 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 by Sergio George.
"Falsas Esperanzas" is another uptempo song in the album which features Cuban musician Paquito Hechevarria performing the piano.
==Chart Performance==
"Mi Reflejo" debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200 on the week of September 30, 2000. On the same week, the album debuted at number-one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and replaced Son by Four's eponymous album.
It spent nineteen weeks on top of the chart until was it replaced by Vicente Fernández for his greatest hits album, "Historia de un Idolo, Vol. 1."
"Mi Reflejo" was best fifth best-selling Latin album of 2000 and became the second best-selling Latin album of the year later after Paulina Rubio's album, "Paulina." According to Nielsen SoundScan, it has sold 487,000 copies in the United States as of 2014.
Likewise, the album debuted at number-one on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart where it debuted on top of the chart succeeding Ricardo Arjona's album, "Galería Caribe."
It also spent nineteen weeks on top of this chart until it was replaced by Juan Gabriel's album, "Abrázame Muy Fuerte."
The album was the best-selling Latin pop album of 2000. On September 10, 2001, it was certified 6× Platinum in the Latin field for shipping 600,000 copies by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Internationally, the album peaked at number two on the Argentine albums chart and was certified platinum by the Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (CAPIF).
It also peaked at #54 in Switzerland and certified platinum in Mexico by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON).
In Spain, the album peaked at #12 on the Spanish Albums Charts and was certified Platinum in the country for shipping 100,000 copies. It has sold around 3 million copies worldwide as of 2007.
==Critical Reception==
At Metacritic, "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 Aguilera's debut album. He felt that it was a "little too familiar" although he praised recordings as "well-produced"; however, he concluded that 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 described as " precisely, gracefully, forcefully ", he criticized the literal Spanish translation of the lyrics from English which he said made 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, who gave the album a C rating, wrote the review in a parody memo from Aguilera's point of view.
He mocked at Aguilera's attempt at making Spanish-language album simply because of her Ecuadorian heritage, criticized her "unnecessary" high note", ballads that "old Latin ladies'll like", and the photos used in the album's booklet.
Mike Magnuson of HOB.com wrote a critical review of the album admonishing the photos in the record for attempting to make Aguilera look Latino which he insisted was a bad influence for the younger audience.
Even though he mentions that "you can count on her agreeable voice" and lauded the use of Latin percussion and horns, he asserted that the record was "purely a marketing scam gone too far."
Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel stated that "Mi Reflejo lacks emotional depth, and her decision to record in Spanish seems more a bid to conquer new chart territory than anything else".
Sonicnet called its production "superslick" and compared Aguilera's vocals to that of Mariah Carey, completing that the album "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".
Ernesto Lechner of the Los Angeles Times rated the album two out of four stars comparing her vocals in her debut album and in "Mi Reflejo", describing her performance in the latter as "ridiculous". He complained about Aguilera's cover of "Contigo en la Distancia" which he described 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".
==Promotion==
To promote "Mi Reflejo", Aguilera extended her tour, "Christina Aguilera: In Concert" into 2001 for eight more dates, visiting Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama and Japan.
Aguilera also gave a performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards, performing the songs "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti" and "Falsas Esperanzas."
Category:2000s albums
Category:Latin Pop
Category:Pop