Guatemalan recording artist Ricardo Arjona has released 15 studio albums, sixteen compilation albums, two live albums, forty-five singles and two promotional singles. Four of his albums have reached the number-one position on the BillboardTop Latin Albums chart, while four of his singles have topped the BillboardLatin Songs chart. Throughout his career, Arjona has sold approximately 20 million albums worldwide, making him one of the most successful Latin artists in music history.[1][2] Arjona released his debut album, Déjame Decir Que Te Amo, in 1985.[3] However, his experiences while recording the album and its commercial failure led to his decision to abandon the music industry.[4] Despite this decision, Arjona returned and released Jesús, Verbo No Sustantivo in 1988.[5] In 1991, Arjona signed a record deal with Sony Music and released his third studio album, Del Otro Lado del Sol.[3]
His 1992 release, Animal Nocturno, garnered international success and spawned the singles "Mujeres" and "Primera Vez".[6][7] His album Historias was also commercially successful; two million copies were sold and it received twenty-seven platinum and two diamond certifications.[3] The album produced the hits "Te Conozco" and "Señora De Las Cuatro Decadas".[7][8] According to Arjona, Animal Nocturno and Historias are the best-selling albums of his career.[9] The singer's albums Si El Norte Fuera El Sur and Sin Daños a Terceros were released in 1996 and 1998, respectively. In December 1998, Arjona recorded his first live album, Vivo, at the Hippodrome in Guatemala City in front of more than 100,000 people; it was later released in 1999.[10] The song "Desnuda" was released as a single, and became his first to top the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart.[7]
Galería Caribe, Arjona's eighth album, was released in 2000 and peaked at number-one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums chart. It contained the hit single "Cuando", which topped the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart.[7]Santo Pecado, released in 2002, became a commercial success and contained the hit singles "El Problema" – which became his third number-one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart[7] – and "Minutos". In 2005, he released the album Adentro, which sold over one million copies and produced the singles "Pingüinos En La Cama" – which featured Spanish singer Chenoa, "Mojado" – which featured American Tejano/Norteño band Intocable – and the top-ten hit "Acompañame A Estar Solo".
After spending the majority of his career signed to Sony Music, Arjona signed a long-term record deal with Warner Music Latina in September 2008.[11] Arjona then announced he would release his eleventh studio album, 5to Piso, on 18 November 2008. The album was preceded by the first single, "Como Duele", which was released in September 2008 and reached number two on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and number-one on the Latin Pop Songs chart. The album debuted at number-one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, became Arjona's second number-one on that chart, and has sold more than one million copies worldwide.[12] His album Poquita Ropa followed in 2010, the first single from which, "Puente", is an anthem about the relationship between Cuba and the United States.[13][14] In 2011, Arjona released his thirteenth studio album, Independiente, the first under his own record label Metamorfosis.[15]
Albums
Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
A In Mexico, both Hung Medien and AMPROFON websites are used to retrieve chart positions.[58]
B In Argentina, from 1991 to 1998, chart positions shown were published in Billboard's "Hits of the World" section. From 2000 onwards, chart information shown is provided by CAPIF.[59]
C Chilean chart information was published in Billboard's "Hits of the World" section, which was provided by the courtesy of the Asociacion Fonográfica de Chile (IFPI Chile).[60]
E Originally released in 1989, the chart positions for "Por Qué Es Tan Cruel El Amor" belong to the version included in Solo (2004), and released as a single in 2005 to promote the album.[51][52]
FAnimal Nocturno and Historias US sales figures as of November 1994.[62]
GHistorias US sales figures as of January 2011.[63]
HSin Daños a Terceros sales figures as of August 1998.[64]
^Cosme, Hector (2 February 2011). "Arjona: de Guatemala para el mundo". Periodico La Perla (in Spanish). Puerto Rico: Juno Commercial Printing. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
^García, Martha Patricia (4 October 2011). "La metamorfosis de Ricardo Arjona". El Universal (in Spanish). Mexico: Compañia Periodística Nacional. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
^ ab"Top 100 Albums 2005"(PDF). Top 100 Mexico (in Spanish). Mexico: AMPROFON. December 2005. p. 1. Archived from the original(PDF) on 15 February 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
^ abc"Top 100 Albums 2008"(PDF). Top 100 Mexico (in Spanish). Mexico: AMPROFON. December 2008. p. 1. Archived from the original(PDF) on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
^"Top 100 Albums 2010"(PDF). Top 100 Mexico (in Spanish). Mexico: AMPROFON. December 2010. p. 1. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
^"Top 100 Albums 2011"(PDF). Top 100 Mexico (in Spanish). Mexico: AMPROFON. December 2011. p. 1. Archived from the original(PDF) on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
Solo: "Top 100 Albums of 2005"(PDF). Top 100 Mexico. Mexico: AMPROFON. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 15, 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
Quién Dijo Ayer: "Top 100 Albums of 2007"(PDF). Top 100 Mexico. Mexico: AMPROFON. Archived from the original(PDF) on October 1, 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
Hits of the World positions for Animal Nocturno and Historias: "Hits of the World". Billboard. United States: Nielsen Business Media. 30 September 1995. p. 51. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
Independiente: "Ricardo Arjona – Independiente"Archived 2013-03-23 at WebCite. Argentinian Albums. CAPIF. On Fecha, select 09/10/2011 to see the correspondent chart. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
^Chilean chart positions as shown in the Hits of the World section, published by Billboard: "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 13. United States: Nielsen Business Media. 1 April 1995. p. 49. ISSN0006-2510. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
^Lannert, John (26 November 1994). "Pop Rockeros Rules: PolyGram's Pop Rock Rush". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 48. United States: Nielsen Business Media. p. 68. ISSN0006-2510. Retrieved 3 June 2012. The Guatemalan native sold 500,000 units of his 1992 label debut, Animal Nocturno. His 1994 follow-up, Historias, has sold more than 400,000 copies.
^Valdez Durán, Gibrán (12 March 2012). "Arjona en proceso de "Metamorfosis"". El Occidental (in Spanish). Mexico: Organización Editorial Mexicana. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
^Ben-Yehuda, Ayala (30 September 2006). "Ricardo Arjona's Tour Triumph". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 39. United States: Nielsen Business Media. p. 22. ISSN0006-2510. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
^Lannert, John (2 September 1995). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 35. United States: Nielsen Business Media. p. 37. ISSN0006-2510. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
^Lannert, John (4 November 1995). "Latin Notas". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 44. United States: Nielsen Business Media. p. 62. ISSN0006-2510. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
^Cobo, Leila (10 November 2012). "The 'Metamorfosis' of Ricardo Arjona". Billboard. Vol. 124, no. 20. United States: Nielsen Business Media. p. 59. ISSN0006-2510.
^Mercado, Nesy (4 October 2012). "Regresa Arjona". EL Occidental (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
