Si Una Vez

"Si Una Vez"
File:Siunavez.jpg
Single by Selena
from the album Amor Prohibido
B-side	El Chico del Apartamento 512
Released	March 21, 1995 (1995-03-21)
Format	CD single, 12" single, cassette
Recorded	1994-1995 Q-Productions (Corpus Christi, Texas)
Genre	Tejano, Mariachi Cumbia, Progressive Cumbia, Experimental music, Rancheras
Length	2:50
Label	EMI, EMI Latin
Writer(s)	Pete Astudillo, A.B. Quintanilla III
Producer(s)	A.B. Quintanilla III, Bebu Silvetti, Brain "Red" Moore
Selena singles chronology
"Fotos y Recuerdos" (1995) '"Si Una Vez"" (1995) "El Chico del Apartamento 512" (1995) Music sample Si Una Vez noicon

"Si Una Vez" (English: If Once) is a song by American Tejano music singer Selena, released as the fifth single from her album Amor Prohibido (1994). It was written and produced by Pete Astudillo, A.B. Quintanilla III and Bebu Silvetti. The song had first been intended for Astudillo's debut album, but was later given to Selena to record, and released in the United States for Tejano and rhythmic contemporary stations. With progressive cumbia (Colombian music) and experimental music that incorporates both Mariachi and Rancheras, the single quickly climbed to number four on Billboard's Latin Regional Mexican Airplay chart.

According to Billboard, "Si Una Vez" is one of Selena's signature songs. It won the BMI Pop Music Award in 1994 for "Song of The Year", and became the second track, after "No Me Queda Más", to be written out-of-emotions from Selena's band Los Dinos. Selena promoted "Si Una Vez" during her Amor Prohibido Tour, performing it at every venue. It was given mostly positive reviews: Good Housekeeping magazine said, "'Si Una Vez' is an admirable and convincing song you have to listen to when dealing with jerks!", while Texas Public Radio said it "resonates best" with South Texas. The song has been covered by many artists, with the most notable example being by Manny Manuel, whose version peaked at number-one on the US Latin Tropical Airplay on Billboard.

Writing and inspiration

"Si Una Vez" was first written by Pete Astudillo, who was dumped by his girlfriend. Astudillo, out of emotions, began writing down his feelings towards the break-up. The following day, Astudillo began rearranging the letter he had written and instantly was inspired to re-write it into a song, with the help of A.B. Quintanilla, Selena's brother and producer. While the song was written from a man's point-of-view and was initially written for Astudillo's debut album, Quintanilla convinced Astudillo to allow Selena to record the song for her album. Quintanilla III said in an interview that he really liked the song because of its message and different styles of music, which helped the song "fit in" for Selena's album. He also felt that the song would help Amor Prohibido to become a well-known album, for its choice of progressive cumbias. The song was then produced by Bebu Silvetti and remixed by Brain "Red" Moore at Q-Productions in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The song was the second "out of emotions" song from Selena's band Los Dinos, after, "No Me Queda Más" (There's Nothing Left For Me), which was written by Ricky Vela. The song was based on how Vela fell in love with Selena's sister, Suzette Quintanilla, though found out she had a husband.

Composition

A.B. Quintanilla III, while being interviewed for Selena's collection: 20 Years of Music, stated that "Si Una Vez" was an experimental music and helped boost "Amor Prohibido" as a progressive cumbia album, with its Mariachi Cumbia rhythms. Ricky Vela, who also was interviewed, revealed that the band wanted to perform with the Guitarrón guitar, instead of the traditional guitars that they had used for the other songs in the album. Vela also confessed of using a Mariachi trumpet, with a moderate Cumbia-beat, while stating that "Si Una Vez" was one of his favorite songs on the album.

The song starts off with the pitch of La Dièse, which is the eleventh semitone of the solfege, and progress to a B-flat, the eleventh semitone of the Western chromatic scale, before changing back to the pitch of La Dièse. Music notations, Dm, which is a minor chord on D, transfers to Gm. Selena's Mariachi-yells has a basic sequence of C♯-F-B flat in its chord progression. "Si Una Vez" ends with dominant seventh chord simultaneously with minor chord, Dm. Selena's vocal spans two octaves. "Si Una Vez" was composed in a moderate beat tempo with 87 beats per minute.

Background and lyric content

"Si Una Vez", one of the first songs composed for Selena's fifth studio album Amor Prohibido (1994), it incorporates Mariachi and Ranchera music. Selena promoted the song during her Amor Prohibido Tour, she included the song in every venue. The first performance of the song was during Selena's half-hour spot on the Johnny Canales Show in mid-1994. Her final performance was on March 14, 1995 during the Calle Ocho Festival in Miami, Florida, which attracted over 100,000 fans. During the February 26, 1995 Houston Astrodome concert, Selena danced with her hands to the solo melody notes of "Si Una Vez", which became one of her signature dance moves. The concert was Selena's final televised concert. In 1997, Jennifer Lopez played the role as "Selena" in the biopic film Selena. Lopez mimic Selena's dance moves and hand gestures, during the near-end of the film. The single was released several days before the murder of Selena, which jeopardized any further development of a music video.

"Si Una Vez" is a mid-tempo cumbia song mixed with ranchera and Mexican cumbia. It drew influences from progressive rock and experimental. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, the song is composed in the key of D minor with a time signature in common time, and with a moderate groove of 91 beats per minute. The music is largely based on instrumentations such as the violin and guitar.

The lyrics describes a woman feeling regretful of loving a man who does not know what love is. She tells him that she regrets ever being with him and that she will never fall for him again. "Si Una Vez", became a dominate-female favorite song, which helped boost women empowerment, self-pride, and dignity towards a recent break-up.

Critical reception and chart performance

According to Billboard, "Si Una Vez", "Amor Prohibido" and "Como la Flor", are Selena's signature songs. Nathan Cone, from the Texas Public Radio, said "the song "resonates best" with South Texas". Entertainment Weekly editor David Browne stated, "At least half of Amor Prohibido showcases her conjunto side: "Si Una Vez", which, with its mariachi horns and Selena's own full-throated warbling, recalls Lydia Mendoza, conjunto's leading lady." Good Housekeeping told subscribers that "Si Una Vez is an admirable and convincing song you have to listen to when dealing with jerks!". Terra named "Si Una Vez" as one of Selena's "most famous works" along with her other singles "El Chico Del Apartamento 512", "Amor Prohibido" and "Fotos y Recuerdos".

Peaking at number-four on Billboard Regional Mexican Songs chart in 1994, the single stood in the music chart for nearly twenty-three weeks. After Selena's death, the song took in more extensive airplay throughout the United States, in Spanish-speaking radio stations.

Track listing

U.S. Promo Single (1995)

1. "Si Una Vez" – 2:50

U.S. Promo Single (1996)

1. "Si Una Vez" – 2:50
2. "El Chico Del Apartamento 512" – 3:28

Mexico Promo Single (1995)

1. "Si Una Vez" – 2:50

Credits and personnel

• Selena – vocals
• Joe Ojeda – keyboards
• Ricky Vela – keyboards
• Chris Pérez – guitar
• Suzette Quintanilla – drums
• Los Dinos – bajo sexto
• A.B. Quintanilla III – writer
• Pete Astudillo – writer
• Lisette Lorenzo – art direction

Source:

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
U.S. Latin Regional Mexican Airplay (Billboard)	4

Awards

Year	Awards ceremony	Award	Results
1994	BMI Pop Music Awards	Song of The Year	Won

Release history

Country	Date	Format
United States	March 21, 1995	Latin Pop, Tejano and rhythmic radios
Mexico		CD single
	September 24, 2002	CD single
France
Japan	March 14, 1995
Germany
United Kingdom

Covers

In 2005, Ivy Queen covered "Si Una Vez" for her fifth studio album Flashback. "I feel honored to be able to cover one of Selena's songs," declares Ivy humbly. "She was the first artist to make a successful crossover before Jennifer Lopez and all the rest." In 2010, Girl in a Coma, a rock band that covered "Si Una Vez" were interviewed by Brown Paper Tickets about their choice to cover Selena's "Si Una Vez" song. They stated "Si Una Vez is one of our favorite Selena songs, her music was on constantly in our household. She was doing something very important for our culture and something new. We felt the original version song already had a hidden punk quality." The band were later asked to perform their version of the song during the Tejano Music Awards in July 2010, as being part of the Selena homage. They also performed the song during their tour in Texas. In early 2010, Selena's brother, A.B. Quintanilla III's band Kumbia All-Starz covered "Si Una Vez" during their live tour for La Vida De Un Genio (2010) in Bolivia. The song was sung by J.R. Gómez, the lead vocalist of the group. Colombian singer Kali Uchis performed the recording at the 2015 SXSW festival.

Artist	Album	Year
Leila Lissette	Para Nosotros Dos	1995
Angelica Y La Tribu	Selena vs. Bukis	1995
Richard Clay	Balada Para Selena	1995
Grupo Tijuana	Canta Como: Selena	2002
Emerson Ensemble	Latin Dancing	2002
Angel Meléndez	Angel Meléndez & the 911 Mambo	2004
Alicia Villarreal	Selena ¡VIVE!	2005
Zurisaddai Juarbe	Nuevas Voces De América	2005
Myriam	Una Mujer	2005
Banda El Grullo	Lo Mejor De Selena Con Banda	2005
Rocío Banquells	N/A	2006
Ivy Queen	Flashback	2005
Jorge Rodriguez Lopez	La Camisa Negra	2006
Karina	Perfume de Mujer	2006
Lopez	Latino Latin Fiesta	2006
Celeste	Dibujarte Una Sonrisa	2006
Jacqueline Grace	Jacqueline Grace	2007
Dareyes De La Sierra	En La Mira	2007
Mld	Latino Mega Hits Vol. 2	2007
Mauricio Morais	Inspiracoes	2008
Nuevas Voces	Latinas Exitos	2008
The Latin Music All Stars	Latin Moods	2008
Johnny Quintina y Grupo Superbailongo	12 Best of Latin Hits	2008
Manny Manuel	RMM 20th Anniversary Collection	2008
Carolina Molina	La Princesa Mexicana	2009
Los Pakines	Si Una Vez	2009
Marcel Rinde	N/A	2009
Reynaldo	Me Falta Todo	2010
Talina	Eres Todo Para Mi	2010
Girl in a Coma	Adventures In Coverland	2010
Reyes De Cancion	Remembering Selena: Un Homenaje	2011
The Latin Salsa Boys	Latinos Con Sabor Vol.7	2011
Kumbia All-Starz	N/A	2011

Manny Manuel version

"Si Una Vez"
Single by Manny Manuel
from the album El Rey de Corazones
Released	September 3, 1995
Recorded	1994
Genre	Merengue
Label	RMM
Writer(s)	Pete Astudillo / A.B. Quintanilla III
Producer(s)	Luisin Marti, Jamie Querol
Manny Manuel singles chronology
"Pero Que Necesidad" (1994) "Si Una Vez" (1995) "Distanciado (La Foto)" (1996)

In 1994, Puerto Rican merengue musician Manny Manuel covered the song on his debut album, El Rey de Corazones. The cover was the second single released from the album in 1995. Manuel's version was his first song to reach number-one on the Latin Tropical Airplay charts. The song was later included as part of RMM Record's tribute to Selena, RMM Familia Recordando a Selena in 2008.

Chart performance

Chart (1995)	Peak position
U.S. Hot Latin Tracks (Billboard)	18
U.S. Latin Tropical Airplay (Billboard)	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
U.S. Latin Tropical Airplay (Billboard)	14

The track peaked at No. 18 on Hot Latin Tracks and No. 1 on the Latin Tropical Airplay.

See also

• List of Selena songs
• List of number-one Billboard Hot Tropical Songs from the 1990s

External links

• Official Selena Website
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics