Upon its release,Navidades received mostly mixed reviews from music critics. While commending Luis Miguel's vocals and the album's musical styles, reviewers were divided on the adaptations.Navidades was nominated asBest Latin Pop Album at the50th Annual Grammy Awards (2008), and Latin Pop Album of the Year by a Male Artist at the2007 LatinBillboard Music Awards. The album reached number one in Mexico and on theBillboardTop Latin Albums chart in the United States, and the top ten in Argentina and Spain. It was the first Spanish-language album since 1966 to rank on theBillboard Top Holiday Albums. By November 2015, the record had sold over 1.1 million copies.
In 2004, Luis Miguel releasedMéxico en la Piel, a collection ofmariachi standards.[1] He spent two years promoting the album through theMéxico En La Piel Tour (2005–2007).[2] After the finishing the third leg of the tour at theMandalay Bay Events Center inLas Vegas, Nevada, in April 2006, Miguel decided to take a break from performing, announcing he would release a new album and resume touring by the end of the year.[3] On 5 October 2006, it was announced that the album would be aholiday album of 11 traditional Christmas carols sung in Spanish, to be released on 14 November.[4] At a press conference on the eve of the album's release, Miguel said: "The conception of this album,Navidades, I have been maturing for years because I have always felt that at Christmas there are great records in English, but not in Spanish. So it seemed like a good idea to record one."[5]
Navidades was recorded at theOcean Way Recording inHollywood and theRight Track Recording inNew York City, and was produced by Luis Miguel.[6][7] The album features uptempo,big-band numbers andstring-laden ballads.[8] Miguel recruitedJuan Carlos Calderón—who has worked with Miguel since the 1980s—and Édgar Cortázar to write the Spanish-language versions of the songs.[9] While several songs such as "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" were translated, others, including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", were rewritten in Spanish with lyrics unrelated to the original. "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer" was reworked as "Frente a la Chimenea" ("In Front of the Chimney") and makes no mention of the titular character. According to Cortázar, "They wanted lyrics Luis Miguel style".[10]
"Mi Humilde Oración" ("Grown-Up Christmas List") and "Santa Claus Llegó a la Ciudad" ("Santa Claus is Comin' to Town") were simultaneously released as the album'slead singles on 23 October 2006.[11] "Mi Humilde Oración" peaked at number 31 on theBillboardLatin Pop Airplay chart and "Santa Claus Llegó a la Ciudad" peaked at number 26 on the same chart.[12] Themusic video for "Santa Claus Llegó a la Ciudad" was filmed in New York City, and was directed by Rebecca Blake and released on 21 November 2006.[13] To further promoteNavidades, "Santa Claus Llegó a la Ciudad" and "Frente a la Chimenea" were included on theset list for the third leg of the México En La Piel Tour in November and December 2006.[14]
Upon its release, music critics gaveNavidades generally mostly positive reviews.Billboard'sLeila Cobo noted while "hearing these songs in Spanish be disconcerting to some, where the lyrics diverge completely from the originals", and said Miguel's traditional arrangements "work well for the uptempo numbers" and the "string-laden contemplative fare".[8]Reforma critic Beto Castillo praised the arrangements and musicians. Castillo enjoyed Calderón's take on the songs, but criticized those by Cortázar, including "Frente la Chimenea".[18] R. Garza ofVida en el Valle rated the album five stars, complimenting Miguel's voice, the big band arrangements, and "Noche de Paz", his take on "Silent Night". Garza said the album would only be listened to during the holiday season and said Miguel could have recorded more tracks and included a DVD with bonus features.[17] A writer forVista magazine gave the album a positive review, stating: "This collaboration gives the songs a new resonance for the whole family, evoking the happiness and hope of the holidays and the excitement and nostalgia of the season".[19]
Charlie Fidelman of theMontreal Gazette rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, highlighting the artist's ability to stay "romantic in all guises", and complimented his "expressive tenor voice" and the big-band ensemble.[16]AllMusic reviewer Evan C. Gutierrez was more critical of the album, giving it two stars and criticizing the singer for not having "a drop of class or elegance that comes with such commitment" in regards to recording a jazz album. Gutierrez regarded the song choices as "more silly than playful".[15] Writing forEl Sentinel, Eliseo Cardona listedNavidades as one of the worst albums of 2006, stating nobody should have to pay the artist to "hear him sing Christmas songs that ingringo land are already taken forguachafas" (a low class person with poor manners and little education).[20]
In Mexico,Navidades debuted at number one in theTop 100 Mexico chart, where it remained for three weeks.[26]Navidades was certified diamond byAsociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON) almost two months after its launch for sales of 500,000 copies and was the fourth-best-selling album of 2006 in Mexico.[27][28] By October 2008 the album reported 700,000 units sold in Mexico alone.[29] In the US,Navidades debuted and peaked at number 51 in theBillboard 200 on the week of 2 December 2006,[30] and was the first all-Spanish album to appear on Billboard'sholiday chart since 1966, peaking at number seven on this chart.[31][32] The album also debuted at number one on theBillboardTop Latin Albums chart.[33] It sold 145,000 units in the US up to July 2009 and was awarded a double-platinum certification in theLatin field by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 200,000 units.[34][35]
^Olvera, Verónica (14 November 2006)."Ilumina un angelito la vida de 'El Sol'".Mural (in Spanish). p. 1.ProQuest373595541.Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved24 November 2022.La concepción de este disco, Navidades Luis Miguel, lo he venido madurando desde hace años porque siempre he sentido que en Navidad hay grandes discos en inglés, pero no en español. Así que me pareció buena idea grabar uno.
^abcMiguel, Luis (2006).Navidades (Album liner notes). Argentina: Warner Music Latina, a division of Warner Music Group. pp. 14–16. 2564-64038-2.
^abCobo, Leila (9 December 2006)."Reviews".Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 49. p. 87.ISSN0006-2510.Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved24 November 2022.
^Cobo, Leila (2 December 2006)."Mexican Xmas"(PDF).Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 48. p. 18.ISSN0006-2510.Archived(PDF) from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved24 November 2022.
^abFidelman, Charlie (14 December 2006)."New Music".Montreal Gazette. p. D2.Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved6 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^abGarcía, Juan Carlos (27 October 2008)."'Inspiran' a vender talento".Reforma (in Spanish). p. 2.Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved11 February 2022 – via ProQuest.Disco más vendido de la compañía: "Navidades con Luis Miguel", con más de 700 mil copias
