This feeling may be familiar to you: the music on your iPod is getting annoying and you’re in desperate need of new stuff. But hits these days aren’t killing it. That’s why it’s the right time to remember the good old fashioned wording: “Everything new is well-forgotten old”. We’re talking about songs we’ve all heard many times and that became such big hits, that they became crossover smashes in other languages.
Of course, not all crossover songs are good, sometimes we wish they had never happened. It’s not that simple to find appropriate words that fit the meaning of the song and follow the rhythm and rhyme as well (and all this at the same time). But what if we tell you: it is possible! Or even more: this playlist of English songs crossed to Spanish soundtracks even better than the original songs.
So get ready and set your volume higher because you are about to feel a total eargasm from this interesting and sometimes unexpected list.
Enrique Iglesias – Hero
Enrique Iglesias has it all: gorgeous appearance, sexy voice, hot moves and appealing performance manner. Could his works be any better? Yes, if you haven’t checked out his Spanish “Hero” version!
Toni Braxton – Un-Break My Heart
There are some songs we’ve know for decades and they still sound heartbreaking to us. Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak my heart” which sounds “Regresa a mí” in Spanish didn’t lose its melancholy manner in the revised performance. It was included to the album “Secrets” in 1996 and considered as an easy listening piece, keeping the style and meaning of the original one but reaching the wider audience.
Bon Jovi – Bed Of Roses
“Cama De Rosas” – The Spanish name for the song. The original song, recorded in 1993 became a successful single. It is no surprise: Jon Bon Jovi wrote it in his hotel room while suffering from a hangover so the lyrics of the song tell his feelings and emotions he experienced at that time.
Mariah Carey – My All
“Mi Todo”, the Spanish version of the song (from the album “Butterfly”) was recorded in a different key from the original. The song was translated incorrectly and included grammar mistakes in the first line of it. After this incident, Mariah mentioned on her website that she would no longer record Spanish versions of her songs until translation versions were carefully checked.
Sting – Fragile
“Fragile” is a song written and performed by Sting in his 1988 album. He performed the song in both Spanish and Portuguese (Fragilidad and Fragil accordingly). The song is really nice to the ears in Spanish, though it is unusual to hear Sting singing in another language besides English. What more can we say? Listen and enjoy!
Beyonce – Irreplaceable
Another two songs to add to your Spanish playlist. “Reemplazable“ is a Spanish version of Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” recorded by queen Bey in 2007 and it sounds amazing!
Beyonce – If I were a boy
And a Spanish version of the song If I were a boy, translated as “Si Yo Fuera un Chico”, was digitally released in Mexico and Spain. The song sounds sexy in Spanish, and even if you’re not a Beyonce’s fan, you will love this one.
Celine Dion – All By Myself
The original “All by Myself” song was recorded by Celine Dion in 1996 (can’t believe we’re so old) and became a hit single of her album “Falling into You”. The Spanish version of the song called “Sola Otra Vez” was released and added to the Latin American/Spanish “Falling into You” album edition.
Robbie Williams – Angels
The English version of “Angels” is the biggest selling single by Robbie Williams. It was covered by plenty of singers: Jessica Simpson, Beverley Knight, All Angel, Moon Dust and more. At first, the Spanish version, called “Ángel” was performed by Mexican singers Yuridia and Marco Moré, later, Williams himself recorded a Spanish version.
Jennifer Lopez – On The Floor
The Spanish version of JLo’s “On the Floor” named “Ven A Bailar” (which translates as “Come to Dance”) features additional lyrics written by Julio Reyes Copello (a Colombian music producer) and Jimena Romero (a professional scriptwriter from Colombia), received two nominations at Latin Billboard Music Awards (2012) and became extremely popular.
Michael Jackson – I Just Can’t Stop Loving You
The original English version of the song appeared in 1987 as a duet featuring Seda Garrett. Later Jackson and Garrett recorded the Spanish version named “Todo Mi Amor Eres Tú”. It appeared in the album “Bad” that was re-released in 2012. Along with English and Spanish-language variants you can also find French version of the hit.
Selena Gomez & The Scene – A Year Without Rain
The dance ballad named “Un Año Sin Lluvia” in Spanish was released in 2010, and all we can say, it sounds completely charming.
Madonna – You’ll see
We all know this popular song. Despite all the criticism, the original version of the song became super successful reaching Billboard Hot 100. And the Spanish version of the song, named “Verás” was recorded in Miami and was featured in Latin American editions of Madonna’s Something to Remember album. Did it become popular as well? For sure: “Verás” appeared #21 on the Hot Latin Songs component chart, and #10 on the Latin Pop Airplay.
Shakira – Whenever, Wherever
The last one, but totally worth adding to your playlist – Shakira’s Spanish Whenever, Wherever named “Suerte” (which is “Luck” in English). It was released in September 2001 and got tons of positive reviews. The success of the Spanish version may be explained by the way it was performed, which differs from the original. Some say, in in Shakira’s native tongue the song sounds more flexible and expressive at the same time.
