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Día de Enero

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"Día de Enero"
Artwork used for the Mexican promotional CD single
Single by Shakira
from the album Fijación Oral, Vol. 1
LanguageSpanish
Released19 January 2006
Length2:53
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Shakira
Producer(s)Shakira
Shakira singles chronology
"Don't Bother"
(2005) 		"Día de Enero"
(2006) 		"Hips Don't Lie"
(2006)
Music video
"Día de Enero" on YouTube

"Día de Enero" (English: "Day in January") is a song by the Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira taken from her sixth studio album Fijación Oral Vol. 1. It was released as the third single from the album through Epic Records on 19 January 2006. Written and produced by Shakira, it is a love song about how the protagonist met her lover for the first time on a day in January.

The song was praised by music critics, who commended the song for its clever lyrics and sweetness, comparing her work to those of Alanis Morissette and Natalia Lafourcade. It became a success in Argentina, while also being a radio hit in the United States' Latin Pop Airplay chart, becoming her 20th top-ten hit. The music video for the song was directed by Shakira's longtime collaborator, Jaume de Laiguana, and it was shot in California, United States, portraiting a day in her life.

Background and composition

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After extensive touring to promote the album Laundry Service (2001), the singer took a long hiatus. During this time, she began writing her next project and quickly amassed 60 songs, split between English and Spanish. Out of those songs, 20 tracks were chosen and divided by language to create two separate albums: the Spanish one (Fijación Oral, Vol. 1) and the English one (Oral Fixation, Vol. 2).[1]

The Spanish album was considered a quintessential Latin pop album, adhering to the genre's conventions with a mix of melodramatic ballads and upbeat dance tracks.[2] Shakira wrote all of the tracks on the album, sometimes in collaboration with either Luis Fernando Ochoa or Lester Mendez.[2] After releasing the second part of the album, "Dia de Enero" was selected to be the third single from Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 on 19 January 2006.[3]

Written and composed by Shakira herself, "Día de Enero" is a love song that tells about how she met her former boyfriend, Antonio de la Rúa on a day in January. It was written between 2002-2004.[3] In addition to being a confession of her feelings for him, the song also describes some moments they experienced during their relationship, with Shakira singing "Te conocí un día de enero, con la luna en mi nariz. Y como vi que eras sincero, en tus ojos me perdí" (English: "I met you one day in January, with the moon on my nose. And seeing that you were sincere, I got lost in your eyes").[3] Its lyrics also make reference to two famous comics characters "Mutt and Jeff" known in Spanish as "Eneas and Benitín."[3]

Reception

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Critical

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While praising the album as a whole, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic praised them for combining "commercial savvy and smart writing".[2] For Matt Cibula from PopMatters, the song is a "lovely sly tune that only grab[s] you the third or fourth time through the record," while mentioning the Mexican singer Natalia Lafourcade as an inspiration,[4] while IGN's Spence D. noted an "impressive Alanis Morrissette impersonation."[5] The Houston Chronicle author called it "glittering and a "cute diversion".[6] Hugo Fernández of La Higuera named it one of her sweetest songs."[7] For Mariana Enriquez from La Nación claimed that the song "reaches a very high level: it’s a short love song with an effective and sweet melody," although she criticized the song's muse, Antonio de la Rúa.[8] Raquel Piñeiro of Vanity Fair España ranked it as her 14th best Spanish single, writing:

"Día de Enero is unlike any other Shakira song. It barely includes the signature vocal flourishes of her style and doesn’t showcase vocal acrobatics. Instead, it’s a simple and optimistic composition that, like the memory of past loves, fills us with nostalgia and sweetness."[9]

Commercial

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"Dia de Enero" debuted on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart dated February 18, 2006 at number 32.[10] It peaked at number 29 on the chart dated March 18, 2006. Similarly, the song peaked on the same chart edition on the Latin Pop Airplay, peaking higher at number 7, becoming Shakira's twentieth top-ten hit.[11] It went higher in Argentina, where it peaked at number-one for two weeks on the Top 40 Argentina chart. It eventually ended up becoming the sixth most successful single of that year in the country.[12]

Music video

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The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Shakira's longtime collaborator, Jaume de Laiguana. It was shot at a beach in California, in an attempt to reflect part of the singer's daily life. The video premiered worldwide on 27 February 2006.[13] It shows Shakira walking along a beach at sunset and playing with pigeons. She also draws a heart in the sand with the letters "S y A" symbolising her love for her then-fiancée, Antonio de la Rúa.[9] The video was included on Oral Fixation Volumes 1 & 2 bonus DVD,[14] and the Spanish edition of Oral Fixation Tour.

Charts

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Weekly chart performance for "Las de la Intuición"
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Argentina (Top 40 Argentina)[12] 1
US Hot Latin Songs (Billboard)[15] 29
US Latin Pop Airplay (Billboard)[16] 7

Certifications

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Certifications and sales for "Dia De Enero"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[17] Gold 30,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. "Shakira Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "La historia detrás de 'Día de enero' de Shakira: la cantante se la dedicó a este ex". Nueva Mujer (in Spanish). 8 January 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  4. ^ Matt Cibula (3 August 2005). "Shakira: Fijación Oral, Vol. 1". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Shakira, Fijación Oral". IGN. 8 June 2005. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Shakira, Fijación Oral Vol. 1". The Houston Chronicle. 26 June 2005. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  7. ^ Fernández, Hugo (6 June 2005). "Shakira: Fijación Oral" (in Spanish). La Higuera.net. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Fijación oral". LA NACION (in Spanish). 1 September 2005. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  9. ^ a b Piñeiro, Raquel (17 November 2016). "Todos los singles en español de Shakira, ordenados de peor a mejor". Vanity Fair España (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  10. ^ Hot Latin Songs - March 11, 2006. Billboard. 11 March 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Shakira - Latin Pop Airplay Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Top 40 Argentina". Top 40 Argentina. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Tiene listo su video del tema ´Día de enero´".
  14. ^ Oral Fixation, Vol. 1 & 2 (Media notes). Shakira. Epic Records. 2005.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ "Shakira Chart History (Hot Latin Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  16. ^ "Shakira Chart History (Latin Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  17. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Shakira – Día de Enero". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
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