Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)
2020 studio album by Kali Uchis
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Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) â[b] is the second studio album and first Spanish album by American singer Kali Uchis, released on November 18, 2020, through EMI Records and Interscope Records.[5] The album, which is Uchis' first record predominantly sung in Spanish, was supported by three singles, "Aquà Yo Mando" with Rico Nasty, "La Luz" with Jhay Cortez, and "TelepatÃa". The album was also preceded by the promotional single "Te Pongo Mal (Préndelo)" with Jowell & Randy.[5] The album features guest appearances from PartyNextDoor, Rico Nasty, Cortez, and Jowell & Randy.[6] The album peaked at number 52 on the Billboard 200.
| Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard digital cover[a] | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 18, 2020 | |||
| Recorded | 2018â2019 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 34:41 | |||
| Language |
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| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Kali Uchis chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) | ||||
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| Deluxe edition cover | ||||
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| Singles from Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) [Deluxe Edition] | ||||
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The album was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Música Urbana Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, as well as Favorite Latin Album at the American Music Awards of 2021.
An acoustic EP of Sin Miedo was released on June 4, 2021.[7][8]
Background
In December 2019, Uchis released the intended lead single from the album, "Solita", which would later be demoted to a stand-alone single. In April 2020, the EP, To Feel Alive, was released as Uchis was not able to issue her second studio album. The EP was recorded entirely in isolation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Uchis announced the album through her social media, alongside its cover art, title, and guest appearances on November 5, 2020.[6]
Uchis compared the creation of Sin Miedo to that of her previous album. "I traveled the world to make both [...] I started production in Miami, then I came to Los Angeles, and then I refined most of the finishes in London."[9] She also had to convince her label about the album, since her contract only allowed her to release music in English.[10]
The title of the album is a reference to the 1994 novel Of Love and Other Demons by the Colombian author Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez.[11]
Singles
"Aquà Yo Mando" with Rico Nasty was released on August 7, 2020, with a music video following on August 10. "La Luz" with Jhay Cortez was released on October 1, 2020.[12] A music video was released on October 27.[13] Following viral success on the social media platform TikTok, "TelepatÃa" was released as the third single from the album. The song impacted Italian and American contemporary hit radio on February 26, 2021, and April 6, 2021, respectively. A music video was released on March 18, 2021, directed by Uchis herself and taking place in Colombia.[14] In promotion for the song, Uchis performed "TelepatÃa" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on April 8, 2021.[15] The song later peaked at number one on the US Hot Latin Songs Chart and number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.[16] On September 29, 2021, a remix of "Fue Mejor" featuring SZA instead of PartyNextDoor was released as a single, alongside its music video.[17][18]
Promotional singles
"Te Pongo Mal (Préndelo)" with Jowell & Randy was released on November 17, 2020, as the album's sole promotional single.[19]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.7/10[20] |
| Metacritic | 78/100[21] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [22] |
| Evening Standard | [23] |
| Gigwise | [1] |
| Loud and Quiet | 7/10[24] |
| NME | [25] |
| The Observer | [26] |
| Pitchfork | 7.8/10[2] |
Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) received generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78, based on four reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21]
Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Thom Jurek declared that, "Uchis is fearless in stretching her sound past funky breaks, slippery R&B, and spaced-out jazz tropes to offer bracing evolutionary conceptions of reggaeton, cumbia, and boleros, seamlessly juxtaposing them with her own brand of Latin pop, jazz, and soul."[22] Rhian Daly of NME wrote that Uchis "oozes effortless confidence as she follows her songs down an eclectic map of trails. Language barrier or not, itâs a divine second album".[25] Jenzia Burgos of Pitchfork wrote that the album "instead of only containing the funky breaks and trippy jazz stylings that Anglo-market listeners have come to recognize her music for, Uchis sharpens the spotlight on her bilingual, binational Latinx repertoire".[2]
Oliver Corrigan of Gigwise said that "Whilst many patches of Uchis' romantic garden fail to blossom, moments of musical experimentation prove greater than the sum of their parts. Uchis' affirmation against predictability certainly rings true here, even against the lauded impressions on her debut LP of 2018."[1] Rachel Aroesti of The Observer was a bit more reserved in her praise, adding that the album "doesn't feel much like Uchis's artistic step-up, her Norman Fucking Rockwell or El Mal Querer, but more like a suck-it-and-see step on â a hastily released album that suggests her best is yet to come."[26] David Smyth was also ambivilent with regards to the album, declaring "It sends a beautiful atmosphere out into a room, her voice breathy and unshowy, the bass an appealing throb, ticking Latin beats causing heads to nod without moving the feet excessively," and concluded that, "Overall this is a pleasant place to be. That breakout moment will come another time."[23]
The album placed on Los Angeles Times and Variety's lists of the best albums of 2020, at number nine and number seven respectively.[27][3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "La Luna Enamorada" (transl.â"The Moon in Love") | Luis Chanivecky | Kali Uchis | Josh Crocker | 1:50 |
| 2. | "Fue Mejor" (transl.â"It Was Better") (with PartyNextDoor) |
|
|
| 3:48 |
| 3. | "Aguardiente y Limón" (transl.â"Brandy and Lime") | Uchis |
| 2:41 | |
| 4. | "Vaya con Dios" (transl.â"Go with God") | Uchis | Crocker | Crocker | 2:55 |
| 5. | "Que Te PedÃ" (transl.â"What I Asked You") |
| Uchis | Crocker | 1:44 |
| 6. | "Quiero Sentirme Bien" (transl.â"I Want to Feel Good") | Uchis |
| 3:42 | |
| 7. | "TelepatÃa" (transl.â"Telepathy") |
|
|
| 2:40 |
| 8. | "De Nadie" (transl.â"Of No One") |
|
| 2:59 | |
| 9. | "No Eres Tú (Soy Yo)" (transl.â"It's Not You (It's Me)") |
|
|
| 2:01 |
| 10. | "Aquà Yo Mando" (transl.â"Here I Command") (with Rico Nasty) |
|
|
| 2:21 |
| 11. | "Te Pongo Mal (Préndelo)" (transl.â"I Make You Ill (Turn It On)") (with Jowell & Randy) |
|
|
| 2:52 |
| 12. | "La Luz (FÃn)" (transl.â"The Light (End)") (with Jhay Cortez)) |
| Masis | Tainy | 2:59 |
| 13. | "Ãngel sin Cielo" (transl.â"Heavenless Angel") | Uchis | Uchis | Uchis | 2:03 |
| Total length: | 34:36 | ||||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Solita" (transl.â"Alone") |
|
|
| 2:58 |
| Total length: | 37:34 | ||||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Fue Mejor" (with SZA) |
|
|
| 3:51 |
| Total length: | 41:25 | ||||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "TelepatÃa" (acoustic) |
| Uchis | 2:58 |
| 2. | "Fue Mejor" (acoustic) |
| Uchis | 3:09 |
| 3. | "Vaya con Dios" (acoustic) |
| Uchis | 2:41 |
| Total length: | 8:48 | |||
Notes
- ^[a] indicates an additional producer.
- All tracks are stylized in all lowercase.
- "Aguardiente y Limón" is stylized as "//aguardiente y limón %áµâ¿â¿áµ%".
- "Que Te PedÃ" is stylized as "que te pedÃ//".
- "Aquà Yo Mando" was track four on the initial track listing of the album but it ended up being the 10th track in the final version.
- "La Luna Enamorada" is a cover of "La Luna En Tu Mirada" by Luis Chanivecky.
Personnel
Musicians
- Kali Uchis â vocals
- PartyNextDoor â vocals (track 2)
- Josh Crocker â piano (track 2), flute (track 2), harp (track 2), bass (tracks 5â6), drums (track 5), guitar (track 5), keyboards (track 5), percussion (tracks 5â6), strings (track 5), vibraphone (track 6)
- Rico Nasty â vocals (track 4)
- Flikka â additional vocals (track 6)
- Joe Harris â guitar (track 6)
- Tom Henry â keyboards (track 6)
- Hailey Niswanger â saxophone (track 6)
- Ariel Shrum â trombone (track 6), trumpet (track 6)
- Jowell & Randy â vocals (track 11)
- Jhay Cortez â vocals (track 12)
- Mauricio Guerrero â guitar (track 13)
Technical
- Prash "Engine-Earz" Mistry â mixer (tracks 1â2, 4â6, 8â13), mastering engineer (tracks 4, 12)
- Austen Jux-Chandler â recording engineer (tracks 1â3, 5â9, 11, 12), vocal producer (tracks 2â13), engineer (tracks 10, 13)
- Liz Robson â recording engineer (tracks 2, 3, 7)
- Ethan Shumaker â recording engineer (track 3)
- Yakob â recording engineer (track 6)
- Chris Gehringer â mastering engineer (tracks 1â3, 5â11, 13)
- Will Quinnell â mastering engineer (track 11), assistant mastering engineer (tracks 2â3, 5â10, 13)
Artwork
- Jora Frantzis â photography
- Iggy Rosales â hair styling
- Aleali â hair styling
- Priscilla Ono â make-up artist
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[40] | Gold | 40,000â¡ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[41] | 3Ã Platinum | 420,000â¡ |
|
â¡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Version | Label | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | November 18, 2020 | Standard | [5] | ||
| United States | May 14, 2021 | [42] | |||
| Various | June 4, 2021 |
|
Acoustic EP |
|
[43] |
| September 30, 2021 | Deluxe |
|
|||
| United States | November 26, 2021 |
|
[44] | ||
| December 3, 2021 | [45] |
Notes
- Standard vinyl stars a nude Uchis with pink wings and the words "Kali Uchis Presents Sin Miedo Deluxe".
- Spanish: [sim Ëmjeðo ðel aËmoɾ i Ëotɾos ðeËmonjos], transl.âFearless (of Love and Other Demons).