"El Amor" is a song by Puerto Rican singer Tito El Bambino. It was composed by Tito and Joan Ortiz and released on February 9, 2009 as the second single from his third studio album, El Patrón. The song blends the sounds of Latin pop with cumbia and merengue. A regional Mexican and a salsa version were recorded and included on the special edition of the album. The song became a huge success in the United States reaching number one on both the BillboardTop Latin Songs chart and BillboardTropical Songs chart. It also charted in Mexico and Venezuela. It also received several awards and nominations at various award shows between 2009 and 2010.
Recording and composition
"El Amor" was written by Tito and Joan Ortiz, produced by Nérol, and arranged by Roberto Cora. Lyrically, the song speaks about the appreciation of love even if it blinds a person. Musically, the song combines the sounds of Latin pop and cumbia. In addition to the original track, Tito re-recorded the song with Jenni Rivera, La India, and Yolandita Monge separately. For his recording with La India, the song was recorded in salsa. Tito's duets with India and Rivera were included on the special edition of the album, El Patrón: La Victoría.
Release and chart performance
The song was released on February 9, 2009 on radio stations in the United States and across Latin America by Siente Music, a subdivision of Universal Music Latin Entertainment and Venemusic. A music video was made to promote the single. The salsa version with La India was released digitally on August 31, 2009 as a single. On the BillboardRadio Songs chart, the song debuted at number 73 on the week of May 16, 2009 and peaked at number 72 on the week of June 6, 2009. On the BillboardHot Latin Songs chart, the song debuted at number 49 on the week of February 28, 2009. It reached number one for the week of May 16, 2009, replacing "Tú No Eres Para Mi" by Fanny Lu and later succeeded by Makano for "Te Amo". On the BillboardLatin Pop Songs chart, the song debuted at number 39 on the week of March 14, 2009 and peaked at number three on the week of May 30, 2009. On the Billboard Tropical Songs chart, the song debuted at number 17 on the week of February 28, 2009. It reached number one for the week of April 18, 2009, replacing "Por un Segundo" by Aventura, and later succeeded by Gilberto Santa Rosa for "Llegó El Amor". On the BillboardLatin Rhythm Airplay chart, the song debuted at number 14 on the week of February 28, 2009. It reached number one for the week of April 18, 2009 replacing "Me Estás Tentando" by Wisin & Yandel featuring Nesty "La Mente Maestra" and was later succeeded by Aventura featuring Akon and Wisin & Yandel for "All Up 2 You". "El Amor" ended 2009 as the second-best performingsong of the year. Outside of the United States, the song was successful in Mexico and Venezuela becoming a top-10 hit in both countries.
Critical reception
On the review for the album, Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic considered the song to be the most stylistic experiment and primary highlight. He called it a heart-warming cumbia and said that it showcases Tito's singing ability. Birchmeier went on to say that it was "curious that "El Amor" is sequenced first, given how uncharacteristic it is of both Tito and El Patrón, yet it's the most sure-fire hit and gets the album off to a surprising start". Tijana Ilich of About.com commented that the single is the most popular from his album El Patron seems to be "El Amor" and that the song was a pure, sentimental pop cumbia.
