Thank the shower.
“Suavemente” singer Elvis Crespo once told Billboard that his hit song was inspired when he was singing in the shower. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the song (April 14), it’s clear the timeless track still gets fans out of their seats and onto the dance floor.
After he left Grupo Manía and become a solo artist, Crespo’s album Suavemente gave way to the high-energy and romantic song of the same name that went on to win two 1999 Billboard Latin Music Awards for new artist and album of the year, in addition to a Grammy nomination for best tropical performance.
The Recording Industry Association of America certified the album platinum with more than 1 million copies sold in the U.S., according to a Crespo spokesperson, who added that a high point in the song’s trajectory is the wake-up call it literally gave one mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2006.
Missions aside, the song has charted many times on Hot Latin Songs, Latin Airplay, Tropical Airplay, Top Latin Albums and Tropical Albums. Some highlights:
-On Hot Latin Songs, there were a total of 27 entries, and out of those, 10 went to the top 10. “Suavemente” peaked to No. 1 on the May 16, 1998, chart, which put the song at the top for a total of six weeks.
-On Tropical Airplay, there were a total of 39 entries, and of those, 14 titles went to No. 1, with “Suavemente” peaking at No. 1 on May 9, 1998, with a total of nine weeks at No. 1.
-On Tropical Albums, a total of 15 entries made the chart, with five of those at No.1. The album peaked at No. 1 on May 16, 1998.
Most recently, Crespo collaborated on Steve Aoki’s track “Azukita” along with Daddy Yankee and Play-N-Skillz. The Ultra Music track is approaching 8 million YouTube views. Check out the video here: