Mi Chico Latino

"Mi Chico Latino"
Single by Geri Halliwell
from the album Schizophonic
B-side
  • "G.A.Y"
  • "Summertime"
Released 16 August 1999
Format
Recorded 1998
Genre Latin pop
Length 3:15
Label EMI
Writer(s)
  • Geri Halliwell
  • Andy Watkins
  • Paul Wilson
Producer(s) Absolute
Geri Halliwell singles chronology
"Look at Me"
(1999)		 "Mi Chico Latino"
(1999)		 "Lift Me Up"
(1999)
Music video
"Mi Chico Latino" on YouTube

"Mi Chico Latino" (English: "My Latin Boy"), is a song recorded by English singer Geri Halliwell for her debut solo album Schizophonic (1999). It was written by Halliwell, Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson, whilst produced by the latter two, who are known collectively as Absolute. "Mi Chico Latino" was released as the album's second single on 16 August 1999, by EMI. It is a Latin pop song which is centred on a lost love theme. The song was written by Halliwell in order to pay homage to her mother, who has Spanish background, whilst it also has a number of Spanish lyrics.

"Mi Chico Latino" received mixed reviews from music critics, who noted it was a contribution to the Latin pop phenom at the time, while others criticized Halliwell's Spanish pronunciation. The song was a commercial success in the United Kingdom, debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Halliwell's first number-one solo single in the country. The song also attracted moderate success worldwide. "Mi Chico Latino"'s accompanying music video was directed by Doug Nichol and filmed in Sardinia. It depicts the singer wearing a black bikini and dancing with semi-nude male dancers. In order to promote the single, Halliwell performed the song on Top of the Pops and Party in the Park in 1999.

Background and development

"Mi Chico Latino" was written by Halliwell, Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson in the autumn of 1998. The singer wanted to make a song with Spanish influences, in order to pay homage for her Spanish mother. During a day in the studio, they came up with a melody but did not have any words. Then she called her mother for help.[1] Halliwell recalled asking her, "Mum, what do you say to a bloke in Spanish if you fancy him and are being romantic?" Her mother then said she did not remember that. So she asked her look at her library of Spanish language romances, and she read the titles out to Halliwell. Eventually she came out with "¿Dónde está el hombre con fuego en la sangre?" ("Where is the man with fire in his blood?" in English), and she liked the way it sounded, and included the line at the beginning of the song. After "Look at Me" peaked only at number two, her record company wanted her to release "Lift Me Up", while the Absolute team wanted "Bag It Up", but she chose to release "Mi Chico Latino" after receiving good reception from children.[1] She also thought,

"First and foremost I thought it was a good record. It was poppy and catchy and perfect for the summer. I think my core audience is young teenage girls and gay guys. Both of those groups tend to like pure pop music and I think that's what 'Chico' was. It was very different from the slightly leftfield style of 'Look at Me'. [...] The other thing that 'Chico' had going for it was that the music was Latin-based, I had written the song back in 1998 but by the time the summer of 1999 came around Latin-influenced music was ruling the charts. Ricky Martin had recently had a number one and there were others on the way. So it was a strange example of synchronicity that I should be ready to go with a Latin track which I had written almost a year before".[1]

Composition
Mi Chico Latino
A 25-second sample of the song.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Mi Chico Latino" is a Latin pop song which moves at a moderate tempo of 104 beats per minute.[2][3] At the beginning of the song, Halliwell chants the spoken word line "¿Dónde está el hombre con fuego en la sangre?".[4] The lyrics to the song are centred on a lost love theme, with castanets in the background.[3] During the song, the singer also sings in Italian on its chorus, when everything else is Spanish.[3] According to biographer David Sinclair in his book Spice Girls Revisited: How The Spice Girls Reinvented Pop, Halliwell continued to explore the Riviera-pop theme of the Spice Girls' song, "Viva Forever", whilst "murmuring sweet nothings in a peculiar brand of estuary Spanish while castanets and timbales clattered alongside a cod-flamenco guitar".[5]

Controversy

In 1999, Israeli singer Alabina said "Mi Chico Latino" was a plagiarism from her song "Alabina (De La Noche A La Manana)", released the year before. A spokesman for Alabina's French record label Atal said that they were "anxiously contacting" Halliwell's record label about the songs' similarities. However, no legal actions were made.[6]

Critical reception

"Mi Chico Latino" received mixed reviews from music critics. Jon Perks, whilst reviewing Schizophonic for Sunday Mercury, gave a positive review, stating, "Okay, so it sounds like a hybrid of La Vida Loca and Madonna's La Isla Bonita, but with a swimming-costumed Geri on the cover and a summery tune, it's a winning combination".[7] Chris Charles from BBC News commented that "Mi Chico Latino" could be mistaken with "Spice Up Your Life", Halliwell's previous hit with the Spice Girls.[8] For Russell Baillie from The New Zealand Herald, Halliwell spends time on the album "flashing her eyelashes at [menfolk], especially if they're foreign", calling the song "glutinous".[9] According to Rolling Stone, "Mi Chico Latino" was her "impeccably timed contribution to the Latin-pop phenom, complete with awkwardly pronounced Spanglish".[10] Jonathan O'Brien from Hot Press magazine was negative, stating that "Mi Chico Latino" was "a dreadful pastiche of Madonna's 'La Isla Bonita'".[11]

Chart performance

"Mi Chico Latino" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 22 August 1999, becoming Halliwell's first number-one solo single in the country.[12] It also was the beginning of a sequence of four consecutive Halliwell singles reaching number one in the United Kingdom.[4] It spent fifteen weeks in the charts,[13] and went on to sell almost 380,000 copies in the UK and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[14] "Mi Chico Latino" experienced moderate success in other European markets. In Austria, it entered the singles chart at number 34, eventually peaking at number 27 and spending a total of eight weeks on the chart.[15] In France, the song peaked at number 40, remaining on the chart for ten weeks in total.[16] On the Swiss Singles Chart dated 19 September 1999, it peaked at number 26.[17] In Australia, "Mi Chico Latino" debuted at its peak of number 43 on the issue dated 5 September 1999.[18] The song also experienced success in the United States, peaking at number 19 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart.[19]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Mi Chico Latino" was directed by Doug Nichol and filmed in Sardinia from 5-8 July 1999.[1][20] Halliwell wanted the video for the song to be very different in style to her previous single "Look At Me", as that one was filmed in Prague in the freezing cold, and she wanted something to connect with her fans. According to her, the video was also pretty easy to get: "a yacht, a girl in a bikini and some sexy boy dancers to keep both sets of fans [gay guys and teenage girls] happy". After the video was released, the singer got a huge amount of attention from it. "People came up to me and told me how great and how sexy it was. They also told me I looked really healthy, but how wrong they were. I wasn't healthy because I wasn't eating properly and although I was slim at the time, that was a mirage too because the tough regime of the diet was always going to lead me to binge and put the weight back on", and later, she began taking recovery meetings for bulimia.[1]

Live performances

Halliwell first performed "Mi Chico Latino" as the opening number at her show held at G-A-Y nightclub. According to Brian Logan from The Guardian, the performance "served only to stress" her certain brand of pop, referring to it as "Madonna-lite."[21] Halliwell also performed the single in front of 100,000 fans at Party in the Park event in early July 1999.[6] On 26 August 1999, the singer performed the song on Top of the Pops.[22]

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel adapted from Schizophonic album liner notes.[23]

Formats and track listings

UK CD1/European CD Maxi-single[24]
  1. "Mi Chico Latino" - 3:16
  2. "G.A.Y." - 3:22
  3. "Summertime" - 3:35
  4. "Mi Chico Latino" (Enhanced Video) - 3:10
UK CD2 single[25]
  1. "Mi Chico Latino" - 3:16
  2. "Mi Chico Latino" (Junior Vasquez Main Pass Edit) - 6:00
  3. "Mi Chico Latino" (Charlie Rapino and Merv de Peyer 12" Version) - 5:14
  4. "Mi Chico Latino" (Claudio Coccoluto The Coco Club Mix) - 5:22
European CD single[26]
  1. "Mi Chico Latino" - 3:16
  2. "G.A.Y." - 3:22
  3. "Mi Chico Latino" (Enhanced Video) - 3:10
Australian CD Maxi-single[27]
  1. "Mi Chico Latino" - 3:16
  2. "G.A.Y." - 3:22
  3. "Summertime" - 3:35
French CD single[28]
  1. "Mi Chico Latino" (JB Saudray Mix) - 3:28
  2. "Mi Chico Latino" - 3:16
  3. "Summertime" - 3:35
Italian 12" single[29]
  1. "Mi Chico Latino" - 3:16
  2. "Mi Chico Latino" (The Coco Club - Claudio Coccoluto) - 5:22
  3. "Mi Chico Latino" (The DubDuo Dub - Claudio Coccoluto) - 7:24

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[18] 43
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 27
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[30] 25
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[31] 6
France (SNEP)[16] 40
Germany (Official German Charts)[32] 28
Ireland (IRMA)[33] 9
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[34] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[35] 27
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[36] 7
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 29
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 26
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[38] 1
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[19] 19

Year-end charts

Chart (1999) Position
Italy (FIMI)[39] 43
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[40] 46

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Gold 400,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Halliwell 2003, p. 85
  2. ↑ "Mi Chico Latino Sheet Music by Geri Halliwell". Online Sheet Music. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "GERI HALLIWELL – "Mi Chico Latino"". FreakyTigger. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Number 1 today in 1999: Geri Halliwell – Mi Chico Latino". Official Charts Company. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Sinclair 2009, p. 167
  6. 1 2 Harpin, Lee (11 June 2015). "Hot people: GERI'S NICKED MY No1 SINGLE; Chico a cheeko, says Israel star". The People. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Perks, Jon (22 August 1999). "Believe your radio - Stereophonics on course for another smash hit; NEW RELEASES.". Sunday Mercury. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Charles, Chris (6 June 1999). "Entertainment: New Music Releases - CD Review: Geri Halliwell". BBC. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Baillie, Russell (30 June 2000). "Geri Halliwell - Schizophonic". The New Zealand Herald. New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Schizophonic - Geri Halliwell". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. 8 July 1999. Archived from the original on 8 May 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  11. ↑ O'Brien, Jonathan (7 July 1999). "Schizophonic". Hot Press. Niall Stokes. Retrieved 5 April 2015.(subscription required)
  12. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 637. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  13. ↑ "Mi Chico Latino". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  14. 1 2 "British single certifications – Geri Halliwell – Mi Chico Latino". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 April 2015. Enter Mi Chico Latino in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  15. 1 2 "Austriancharts.at – Geri Halliwell – Mi chico latino" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  16. 1 2 "Lescharts.com – Geri Halliwell – Mi chico latino" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Swisscharts.com – Geri Halliwell – Mi chico latino". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  18. 1 2 "Australian-charts.com – Geri Halliwell – Mi chico latino". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  19. 1 2 "Geri Halliwell – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Geri Halliwell. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  20. ↑ ""Mi Chico Latino" by Geri Halliwell". VH1. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  21. ↑ Logan, Brian (7 June 1999). "Geri for queen". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  22. ↑ "Top of the Pops, 26/08/1999". BBC One. 26 August 1999. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  23. ↑ Schizophonic (album liner notes). Geri Halliwell. EMI. 1999. 7243 5 21009 2 7.
  24. ↑ Mi Chico Latino (UK CD1/European CD Maxi-single liner notes). Geri Halliwell. EMI. 1999. 7243 8 87558 0 1.
  25. ↑ Mi Chico Latino (UK CD2 single liner notes). Geri Halliwell. EMI. 1999. 7243 8 87559 2 4.
  26. ↑ Mi Chico Latino (European CD single liner notes). Geri Halliwell. EMI. 1999. 7243 8 87595 0 2.
  27. ↑ Mi Chico Latino (Australian CD Maxi-single liner notes). Geri Halliwell. EMI. 1999. 7243 8 87576 2 1.
  28. ↑ Mi Chico Latino (French CD single liner notes). Geri Halliwell. EMI. 1999. 7243887633 2 5.
  29. ↑ Mi Chico Latino (Italian 12-inch single liner notes). Geri Halliwell. EMI. 1999.
  30. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Geri Halliwell – Mi chico latino" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  31. ↑ "Geri Halliwell: Mi chico latino" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  32. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Geri Halliwell – Mi chico latino". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  33. ↑ "Mi chico latino by Geri Halliwell in Irish Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  34. ↑ "Geri Halliwell - Mi Chico Latino". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  35. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Geri Halliwell – Mi chico latino" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  36. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Geri Halliwell – Mi chico latino" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  37. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Geri Halliwell – Mi chico latino". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  38. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1999-08-22" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  39. ↑ "I singoli più venduti del 2000" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  40. ↑ "Top 100 1999". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

References

  • Halliwell, Geri (2003). Just For the Record. Ebury Press. ISBN 0091888042. 
  • Sinclair, David (2007). Spice Girls Revisited: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1846090687. 
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