Quién Dijo Ayer (English: Who Said Yesterday) is a compilation album released by Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona on 21 August 2007. Dan Warner and Lee Levin co-produced the album with Arjona and Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Tommy Torres. It was recorded in the United States, Mexico, Italy and Argentina, and is the last album Arjona released under the Sony Music Entertainment label before signing with Warner Music Group. It is Arjona's first compilation to include new material in the form of re-recorded versions of past hits in different musical genres from the original recordings, featuring guest artists such as Marc Anthony, Marta Sánchez and Mexican ska band Panteón Rococó, among others.
Critically and commercially successful, Quién Dijo Ayer topped the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and reached number two on the Top Latin Albums chart. The album became a hit in Latin America, topping the Mexican albums chart and receiving gold and Platinum certifications in several countries including the United States. The album spawned two commercially successful singles, "Quién", which reached number four on the Billboard Latin Pop Songs chart, and "Quiero", which reached number eight. Quién Dijo Ayer received in 2008 a nomination for the Latin Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Album and the Best Male Pop Vocal Album award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards.
Background In a press conference, Arjona stated that "yesterday is the cumulus of this that put us here, which raised us and made us what we are, for good or bad."Cruz Bárcenas, Arturo (22 November 2007). "Quién dijo ayer, un disco difícil sobre el pasado". La Jornada (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico). Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. Retrieved on 12 May 2012. He also said that Quién Dijo Ayer was more than a compilation, and that "it's an album with all the features of the typical greatest hits disc. Several songs are the most popular, but others are the most important on other topics. We've dressed them different. "Se Nos Muere El Amor" is now with piano and flauta, as an example." He further stated that it was "an album that begun as an experiment, with a dose of informality, and suddenly, when I realized of what the producers were achieving with the songs I worked many years ago, the album finished as being very complicated."
After spending the majority of his career signed to Sony, and later, Sony BMG, Arjona signed a long-term recording deal with Warner Music Latina in September 2008.Cobo, Leila (22 September 2008). "Ricardo Arjona Signs With Warner Music Latina". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved on 23 March 2012. Iñigo Zabala, chairman of Warner Music Latin America commented that "He's an artist that fits perfectly with our company," and that "We are a label that has a major catalog of songwriters and quality pop and rock from the likes of Maná, Alejandro Sanz, Laura Pausini, and now, Arjona." This departure made Quien Dijo Ayer the last album the artist directly released on his former label, although Sony later released another album named Simplemente Lo Mejor.Later in 2008, Sony released a greatest-hits compilation named Simplemente Lo Mejor, but Arjona had already released 5to Piso on Warner Music.
Composition
For this compilation album, Arjona re-recorded some of his older songs in a different style from the original versions, and remastered others. "Si El Norte Fuera El Sur" was transformed into a ska-style song, which he performed with Panteón Rococó.Birchmeier, Jason. "Quién Dijo Ayer > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved on 28 March 2012. Argentinian jazz musician Fernando Otero was featured on the new version of "Jesús, Verbo No Sustantivo"."Festeja Arjona con sus fans en NY" . Periodico A.M. Retrieved on 5 May 2012. "Historia De Taxi" was transformed into a salsa song, which Arjona performed with American singer Marc Anthony and pianist Sergio George;"Ricardo Arjona: cuenta regresiva para la salida de ¿Quién dijo ayer?" . ADN Mundo. Retrieved on 28 March 2012. George said, "It's been interesting to work with two figures from different music worlds on the interest of making good music.", and that "every time a reunion of this kind happens, it [is] a reason to celebrate."
Arjona also re-recorded "Realmente No Estoy Tan Solo"with singer Sandro; it was last song recorded by Sandro, who died on 4 January 2010."Hoy respira mejor que nunca". La Gaceta. Retrieved on 28 March 2012. Arjona's manager told Argentinian newspaper Clarín that "[the singer] had the idea of inviting Roberto [Sandro] for his album, he [Sandro] showed enthusiasm and manifested the same degree of appreciation to Arjona. It seemed to him that he [Arjona] was an artist who proclaims the same values he proclaimed.""Ricardo Arjona: se confirma que grabó un tema junto a Sandro" . ADN Mundo. Retrieved on 5 May 2012.
This album included three new songs. "Quién" was written by Arjona, who co-produced it with Tommy Torres."Ricardo Arjona habla de su nueva canción" . ADN Mundo. Retrieved on 28 March 2012. It was released as the lead single from the album on 19 June 2007."Quién – Single by Ricardo Arjona" . iTunes (US). Apple, Inc. Retrieved on 2 May 2012. Arjona commented that "'Quién' is the world out of the window and the prison built by ourselves. It's the freedom to choose the path or to prefer loneliness as an argument of nostalgia. 'Quién' is a story with the hurry of the desperate, is the flashback of those who end up loving alone.""Escucha el nuevo tema de Ricardo Arjona: "Quién"". People en Español. Retrieved on 2 May 2012."Arjona lanza canción con más poesía romántica". El Mercurio Online. Retrieved on 2 May 2012. "Quiero", also written by Arjona, was released as the second single in November 2007. Website ADN Mundo called the song bohemian and hippie, and that it was "a love story that doesn't speak about love, but instead about the recent events on the world we live [in] and finally comes to the search of an individual who challenges nostalgia finding entertainment on the impossible.""Ricardo Arjona volvió con disco nuevo, y viejos temas" . ADN Mundo. Retrieved on 2 May 2012. In 2009, "Quiero" was awarded the Pop/Ballad Songs of the Year award by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers."17th Annual El Premio ASCAP 2009 – Pop/Ballad". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved on 24 March 2012. The third new song on the album was "Espantapájaros", which was written by Arjona and Miguel Luna."ACE Title Search". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved on 8 May 2012.
Release and promotion Quién Dijo Ayer was released in most markets as a two-disc compilation album. The first disc contains sixteen songs, of which thirteen are new versions of Arjona's past hits. On this disc appears the duets with Panteón Rococó on "Si El Norte Fuera El Sur"; Marc Anthony on "Historia de Taxi"; Marta Sanchez on "Tarde (Sin Daños A Terceros)"; Eros Ramazzoti on "A Ti" and Sandro de América on "Realmente No Estoy Tan Solo".Taken from the album's two-disc edition booklet.Quién Dijo Ayer [two-disc edition] (booklet). Ricardo Arjona. Norte, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. 8869 711335 2. 2007. This disc also contains the new songs "Quién", "Quiero" and "Espantapájaros". The second disc contains the same songs as the first disc but in their original versions, remastered. In Canada, Germany, Brazil and Mexico, a digital special edition was released that features only six songs on the second digital disc instead of 13. The songs included on the second disc on this version were "Se Nos Muere El Amor", "Dime Que No", "Si El Norte Fuera El Sur", "A Ti", "Tu Reputación" and "Cuando". This Brazilian version featured a different cover art. The album was also released as a single disc version with only the new versions and songs. Also, in Mexico, two physical single-disc versions of the album were released. The first includes the first single from Quinto Piso, "Como Duele" as a bonus track.Quién Dijo Ayer – Ricardo Arjona. Allmusic. Retrieved 19-09-2011. This version was also released in Spain."Quien Dijo Ayer de Ricardo Arjona". iTunes. Apple, inc. Retrieved on 4 May 2012. The second version does not include "Espantapájaros" or "Realmente No Estoy Tan Solo"; it also includes "Como Duele" as a bonus track.Quién Dijo Ayer – Ricardo Arjona. Allmusic. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
Singles The first single released from the album was "Quién", a Latin pop song written by Arjona and produced by Tommy Torres and Los Gringos. The song charted on the Billboard Latin Songs at number twenty-one, and reached its peak the week ending 25 August 2007.[ "Ricardo Arjona Album & Song Chart History"]. Billboard. Retrieved on 2 May 2012. The song was more successful on the Latin Pop Songs chart, where it reached number four. The music video for "Quién" was filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada. The second single released was "Quiero", which reached number twelve on the Billboard Latin Songs chart, and number eight on the Latin Pop Songs component chart. "Quiero" was very popular in Central American countries like Honduras, Nicaragua and Panamá."Ricardo Arjona dice "Quiero" en la cima diez primeros de Ritmoson Latino". RPP. Retrieved on 2 May 2012. The music video for "Quiero" was filmed in the Dominican Republic and premiered in November 2007."Arjona ya tiene listo su nuevo video" . ADN Mundo. Retrieved on 2 May 2012.
Reception
Jason Birchmeier from Allmusic gave a positive review of the album, and commented that, "while only a couple of the new versions depart stylistically from the originals, the contemporary productions breathe new life into these songs, which should be well known by longtime fans." Quién Dijo Ayer was Arjona's second album after Galería Caribe to reach number one on the Latin Pop Albums chart; it reached its peak in the week ending 8 September 2007.Latin Pop Albums. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved on 5 May 2012. On the Latin Albums chart, Quién Dijo Ayer debuted at number two.Latin Pop Albums. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved on 5 May 2012.Latin Pop Albums. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved on 5 May 2012.Latin Pop Albums. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved on 5 May 2012. The album was commercially successful in Latin America, and was certified Gold in Venezuela, Uruguay, Colombia, Chile, and Peru;"Ricardo Arjona presenta `¿Quién dijo ayer?' en Colombia y Venezuela" . ADN Mundo. Retrieved 3 October 2011. and Platinum in Argentina, Mexico and the United States."¿Quién dijo ayer? De Ricardo Arjona ya es disco de Oro y Platino". SomosFans.com. Retrieved 3 October 2011.The US certification for Platinum is for Latin albums, which means 100,000 copies.
Track listing
Digital edition
Standard edition The standard physical release of the album contains 2 discs with the following track list.
Special edition The special edition does not include "La Novia Que Nunca Tuve", which is at No.9 on the digital edition.
Personnel
Pedro Alfonso – engineer, string quartet, violin Carlos Alvares – engineer Ricardo Arjona – lead vocalist, arranger, producer Isaias G. Asbun – Engineer, mixing Pablo Aslan – double bass Paco Barajas – trombone Alberto Barros – trombone Tom Bender – assistant Robbie Buchanan – piano Felipe Bustamante – keyboards Miguel Bustamante – production assistant Ricardo Calderon – graphic design, photography Rodrigo Cardenas – bajo sexto Aaron Cruz – double bass Sal Cuevas – bajo sexto Hector del Curto – bandoneon Octavio DeMoraes – bajo sexto, choir arrangement Rodrigo Duarte – chelo Doug Emery – choir arrangement, keyboards, piano Dario Espinosa – bajo sexto Benny Faccone – engineer John Falcone – bajo sexto Ernesto Franco – photo assistance Isaias García – engineer Sergio George – arranger, keyboards, piano, producer Chris Glandsdorp – chelo Jose Gomez – programming Mick Guzauski – mixing