Beginning her career in 1975 as lead vocalist for the then exclusively Spanish-language band, Miami Sound Machine, before crossing over to mainstream pop success with the international hit singles "Dr. Beat" (1984) and "Conga" (1986), Estefan emerged as one of the biggest new stars in the mid-'80s, predating the still nascent Latin pop explosion by a decade, and scoring a series of propulsive dance hits rooted in the rhythms of her native Cuba, before shifting her focus to softer, more ballad-oriented fare.
Born in Havana, Cuba, the young Gloria Fajardo was raised primarily in Miami, FL, after her father, a bodyguard of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista, was forced to flee the island following the 1959 coup helmed by Fidel Castro. In the fall of 1975, Fajardo and her cousin Merci Murciano auditioned for the Miami Latin Boys, a local wedding band headed by keyboardist Emilio Estefan. With their addition, the group was rechristened Miami Sound Machine and four years later, Fajardo and Estefan were wed. As Miami Sound Machine began composing their own original material, their fusion of pop, disco, and salsa earned a devoted local following, and in 1979 the group issued their first Spanish-language LP on CBS International. Despite a growing Hispanic fan base, they did not cross over to non-Latin audiences until "Dr. Beat" topped European dance charts in 1984.
With 1985's Primitive Love, Miami Sound Machine recorded their first English-language effort, scoring three Top Ten pop hits in the U.S. alone with the infectious "Conga", "Bad Boy", and "Words Get in the Way". Following 1987's triple-platinum Let It Loose, Estefan took top billing and the group changed its name to Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine in 1988, reeling off four Top Ten hits - "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You", "Can't Stay Away from You", the chart-topping "Anything for You", and "1-2-3". 1989's Cuts Both Ways was credited to Estefan alone and generated her second #1 hit, "Don't Wanna Lose You". However, on March 20, 1990, while touring in support of the album, her bus was struck by a tractor trailer. Estefan suffered a broken vertebra that required extensive surgery and kept her off the road for over a year. Her husband Emilio and the couple's son were injured in the crash as well, but all three recovered. Estefan resurfaced in 1991 with Into the Light, again topping the charts with "Coming Out of the Dark", a single inspired by her near-fatal accident. Two more cuts from the album, "Can't Forget You" and "Live for Loving You", secured her foothold on the adult contemporary charts.
With 1993's Mi Tierra, Estefan returned to her roots, recording her first Spanish-language record in nearly a decade and earning a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album; on the follow-up 1994 covers collection, Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, she also recalled her dance-pop origins with a rendition of the Vicki Sue Robinson disco classic, "Turn the Beat Around". Another all-Spanish effort, Abriendo Puertas (1995), earned her a Grammy as well, while Destiny featured "Reach", named the official theme of the 1996 Summer Olympics. As Latin pop made new commercial headway, thanks to the efforts of acts like Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias, Estefan reigned as the most successful crossover artist in Latin music history, with international record sales close to the 50 million mark. In 1999, she also made her feature film debut alongside Meryl Streep in Music of the Heart, recording the film's title song as a duet with *NSYNC, and scoring both a massive pop hit and an Oscar nomination in the process. A new Spanish-language album, Alma Caribeña, followed in the spring of 2000. Several months later, Estefan was awarded a Grammy for Best Music Video for "No Me Dehes de Querer" at the inaugural annual Latin Grammy Awards. Her husband, Emilio, won for Producer of the Year. - Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Appearances and tours
In April 2004, Estefan appeared on the Fox Broadcasting Company’s program, American Idol, but declined an offer to be an official judge, saying she did not like to “judge” others.
On July 28, 2004, in a press conference hosted by Donald Trump at the Trump Tower, Estefan announced that her then-upcoming tour would be her final one. The Live and Re-Wrapped Summer/Fall 2004 Tour, her first tour in eight years was produced by Clear Channel Entertainment. The tour featured Estefan’s greatest hits, along with new material from Unwrapped.
In December 2006, Estefan appeared as a special guest singer on the UK talent show The X Factor.
Gloria's 11th studio album,Miss Little Havana. The Miss Little Havana Songfacts says that the first nine tracks tells the tale of a young girl who hooks up with the wrong guy in Miami after moving there from Cuba. All of these tracks were written or co-written by Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes. It is described by Estefan as a project in the vein of her 1998 hit album gloria!.
Songfacts reports that "Hotel Nacional" debuted at #1 on Billboard's Latin countdown - the first time a female artist had achieved that feat since the chart was introduced in 1986. Both "Wepa" and "Hotel Nacional" achieved number one on Billboard Latin Songs and on Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs.
Estefan started a reality show called The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep opposite Joe Jonas, Nelly and John Rich on the CW Network, where she, and the other three mentors are searched for the next big star, to record an album with Atlantic Records. Unlike other music reality shows, in this program, the mentors selected the "candidates" for the show, and trained them for a live performance, where they'd be voted for the best act of the day. The first season ended in October 2012, with musician Michael Ray, as the big finalist.
This same year, Estefan appeared as a musical guest in Tony Bennett's compilation of duets with Latin-American musicians, Viva Duets with a rendition of the song, "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)". Weeks later, she helped the American version of Teleton, releasing the charity single "Por Un Mundo Mejor" along with Mexican singer Lucero, Dominican rapper El Cata and Mexican pop band, Reik. A video for the song was shot, with them recording the song, which was marked as the official hymn for the foundation.
In May 2013, she appears doing another duet with the song "Think I'm In Love Again" as part of the albums Duets released by Paul Anka.
Estefan has announced she was working on a new album of covers, The Standards, released in September 2013. The album will feature some collaborations with artists like Laura Pausini, Dave Koz and Joshua Bell, and the selection of songs are mostly songs from the Great American songbook. Estefan released the first single, "How Long Has This Been Going On?", digitally on Amazon and iTunes on July 9, 2013
Official website: http://www.gloriaestefan.com
Close My Eyes
Gloria Estefan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
See just what I wanted to see
It would be much easier to live this life
Thinkin' that it never really comes down to me
Sometimes I wanna close my eyes
So I can't see time while it's slippin' away
We're all walkin' on a very fine line
Bury it deep and maybe you won't feel the pain
(Feel the pain)
But you can't let it go
Down the line, will be back again
If we could all close our eyes
All the things we know that are wrong
We could live, selfishly protected lives
Not even think about, what we could have done
Say it's not there and maybe it will go away
(Go away)
But the truth is it won't
Down the line, will be back again
It will be back again
Rather than examine it
Maybe I should handle it
What good is it, to close my eyes
And tell myself another lie
I gotta get along somehow and sometimes the only way
Is to close my eyes
Somtimes I have to close my eyes
Let you think, you can make a fool out of me
Guess I set myself up each time
By trustin' you, so openly
Yeah, that's the way I wanna be
That's the way I wanna be
Woo
Somtimes I have to close my eyes
The lyrics to Gloria Estefan's song Close My Eyes explore the concept of escapism and the desire to avoid facing difficult truths or realities. The opening lyric "If I could just close my eyes, See just what I wanted to see, It would be much easier to live this life" highlights this desire to avoid the harshness of reality, and live in a self-constructed fantasy where the world conforms to our wishes. However, the line "Thinkin' that it never really comes down to me" illuminates the dangerous aspect of this thought pattern - the idea that the world can operate independently of our actions and choices.
The chorus of the song further explores this concept, with the line "Bury it deep and maybe you won't feel the pain, But you can't let it go, Down the line, will be back again" highlighting the consequences of running away from our problems. Ultimately, problems left unaddressed will resurface and cause even more pain in the future. The lyrics encourage us to face the situation before it gets out of control and find a way to handle it, even if it may be difficult.
The song also touches on the theme of trust and betrayal, with the lyrics "Sometimes I have to close my eyes, Let you think you can make a fool out of me, Guess I set myself up each time, By trustin' you so openly". This line suggests that the singer has had negative experiences related to trust and has been betrayed by someone close to her.
Overall, the song urges listeners to confront their problems head-on, even if it may be uncomfortable or difficult. Avoiding reality and living in a self-constructed fantasy ultimately does more harm than good and only prolongs the pain we experience.
Line by Line Meaning
If I could just close my eyes
Sometimes I wish I could avoid facing reality
See just what I wanted to see
If I could control my vision, I would only see the things I desire
It would be much easier to live this life
Avoiding truth would make life simpler
Thinkin' that it never really comes down to me
Believing that I'm not responsible for my actions or consequences
Sometimes I wanna close my eyes
At times it's tempting to ignore the passage of time
So I can't see time while it's slippin' away
To prevent myself from feeling like I'm losing time
We're all walkin' on a very fine line
Life is a balancing act
'Til reality is somehow thrown in our face
Until reality confronts us directly
Bury it deep and maybe you won't feel the pain
Hiding the problem could offer temporary relief
(Feel the pain)
Indicating that there is pain but it's not feasible to avoid it
But you can't let it go
You can't simply forget about it
Down the line, will be back again
It will resurface again in the future
If we could all close our eyes
If everyone could ignore what's wrong in the world
All the things we know that are wrong
The atrocities and issues in the world that we're aware of
We could live, selfishly protected lives
We could prioritize our own comfort without guilt
Not even think about, what we could have done
Without considering how we could contribute to a cause
Say it's not there and maybe it will go away
Denial or ignoring a problem won't solve it
(Go away)
Acknowledging that the issue can't be resolved by avoidance
But the truth is it won't
The problem will persist
Rather than examine it
Instead of looking at the problem closely
Maybe I should handle it
Perhaps I should confront the issue head-on
What good is it, to close my eyes
Ignoring the issue won't lead to a resolution
And tell myself another lie
Lying to oneself about the problem won't make it disappear
I gotta get along somehow and sometimes the only way
Surviving is crucial, but avoidance isn't always the answer
Is to close my eyes
Sometimes avoidance is necessary, but it shouldn't be the default
Somtimes I have to close my eyes
At times, closing my eyes is beneficial
Let you think, you can make a fool out of me
Others may attempt to deceive me, but I won't let them succeed
Guess I set myself up each time
I may be responsible for allowing myself to be deceived
By trustin' you, so openly
By putting trust in someone else without reservations
Yeah, that's the way I wanna be
This is a desired trait or characteristic
Woo
An exclamation or expression of enthusiasm
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GLORIA M. ESTEFAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind