Natalia Jiménez is well aware of how far she’s come since her days as a struggling musician when playing on the subway and in the streets of her native Madrid were a daily norm. She considers those days of uncertainty and insecurity fundamental to her musical career. ¿Dónde Irán?, her first album with former pop/rock band La Quinta Estación, introduced the Latin music industry to a Natalia Jiménez with a big voice and even greater ambition.
After a short run, including a Latin Grammy and American Grammy to their name, the band would announce a temporary break where they would explore individual music projects. In the case of Natalia, the opportunity meant time to fulfill a lifelong dream. “I always wanted to have my own album where I would to show a more versatile side of me, and that’s exactly what I did.” Here, she talks to us about Natalia Jiménez (Sony 2011), her debut solo album where ballads, rancheras, boleros and a few English songs accompany her trademarked rock/pop tunes.
NJ: I’m one of those people that get easily influenced by their surroundings. I was living in Mexico for many years and naturally I fell in love with the culture. So on this album the song “Si no está usted” is a ranchera that embraces my love for Mexico and its music. Now I’m living in Miami where I’m exposed to different rhythms and you can hear that in the song “I’ll take it back”, which is a more salsa-ish song. That song and “I’ll do what it takes”, which is the English version of “Por ser tu mujer” the first single from the album, are the first songs I ever record in English. I’ve been singing in English since I was about 14 years old, but I never laid down any English vocals on an album until now, and I can thank Emilio Estefan for that.
Working with the great
There aren’t a lot of people that have the experience that Emilio has. The most important thing he did for me while working on this record was to push my buttons. He pushed me into singing in English, and in the case of “Real”, he encouraged me into doing it in a big, soulful English ballad and not so much in a Latin way, which is what I’m used to. He knows how to take me where I want to go.
It all goes back to LOVE
Even though in this album I was able to tap into different musical genres and sing in English for the first time, I remain true to my lyrical theme of “love”. Love is one of the strongest energies. It rules our lives in so many ways. Going back to “Por ser tu mujer” and “I’ll do what it takes”, they talk about one of the cases of love that you’re not supposed to talk about. It’s about a woman who is in love with a married man and wants to have that title of being his woman and is desperate to be his lover. The lyrics are more dramatic in the Spanish version that in the English, but I suppose I do gravitate to dramatic love themes.
You know what’s funny is that a lot of women tell me that they relate to that song but as they’re telling me this, they’re almost whispering it to me because it’s, you know, not the most proper think to talk about, much less do!
Pivotal moments in time
There are three points in my life that I will never forget: when I first met the members of La Quinta Estación in Madrid, when I moved to live in Mexico, and when we got our first Grammy.
But also, the small concerts that we first played in Madrid are just as memorable as anything else that came after. I remember when I was playing in the subway and in the street, I had a sense of hunger and of wanting to get to where I wanted to be. I really cherish those moments. All the little things you do when you start are the ones that make you bigger at the end of the day.
Moving forward
I don’t know what I’m going to do in the future as far as my music goes. I’ll definitely keep doing more Spanish ballads because that’s my main audience. I’m also happy to be singing in English now, and actually, I’d like to sample some beats and do more modern songs as well. I would also like to do an album of songs from Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and big voices from the past. I want to leave my mark in music as they did.
So many people are going to know me for this record so I really hope they like it. I hope they get to feel it for the versatile album that it is and get many special moments from it. All the things that have happened, the things that I’ve talked about like playing in the subway and living in different places, have led me to this moment of releasing my first solo album. I worked on it for a long time, put my heart into it that I hope people enjoy it. And of course, I still have that feeling of wanting to reach bigger things so I hope that I get many awards for it as well!
Video uploaded by: NataliaJimenezVEVO
—
As part of the promotion for this album Natalia is partnering with Target Corporation to release a deluxe edition, which will include five exclusive tracks. The special edition is only available at Target stores and Target.com beginning June 21.
“Natalia Jiménez” (Sony 2011)
1. Sólo por mí
2. Por ser tu mujer
3. Abrázame así
4. Enciérrame
5. Cállate
6. Hay amor
7. Nuestro amor
8. Reflejo
9. Si no está usted
10 I’ll take it back
11. Real
12. I’ll do what it takes
Bonus Tracks (for Target)
1. Escúchame
2. Agonía
3. Luna
4. Te voy a dar
5. Gone
