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
Destiny
Gloria Estefan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Has once again surprised me
Oh destiny
Must want you here beside me
Quietly
Like the sunrise with its splendor
Unexpectedly
With a passion strong yet tender
You draw me in
Like the moon draws the tide
Swept away by this love
Taken in by your eyes
If I had to walk away from you
I know that it would be no use
'Cause you're so deep inside of me
Can't deny
I never want to be set free
The more you give the more I need
You can't change what is meant to be
No you can't change destiny
Destiny
Destiny
Speaks with many voices
So eventually
We're obliged to make some choices
Oh destiny
Who I thought I owned completely
Just to toy with me
Made me fall in love so deeply
You fill my soul
Like the stars fill the sky
Brought to life
This new world
Where I'm held captive inside
If I had to walk away from you
I know that it would be no use
'Cause you're so deep inside of me
Can't deny
I never want to be set free
The more you give the more I need
You can't change what is meant to be
No, you can't change destiny
If I had to walk away from you
I know that it would be no use
No you can't change destiny
Destiny
Destiny
Destiny
No, no, oh
Destiny
I had to walk away from you
I know that it would be no use
'Cause you're so deep inside of me
Can't deny
I never want to be set free
The more you give the more I need
You can't change what is meant to be
No, you can't change destiny
In Gloria Estefan's song "Destiny," the singer sings about the power of fate and love. She states that destiny has surprised her and brought the person she loves into her life unexpectedly, like the sunrise. The love she feels for this person is described as a "passion strong yet tender," which draws her in like the moon draws the tide. The singer suggests that this love is deeply ingrained within her and cannot be denied, even if she were to walk away from it. She has accepted that destiny has brought them together and that they cannot be separated.
The singer goes on to describe destiny as something that speaks with many voices and something that we must eventually make choices about. She had thought that she owned destiny completely, only to realize that destiny had toyed with her and made her fall in love deeply. This love has filled her soul like the stars fill the sky and has brought her into a new world where she is held captive inside. The singer concludes that destiny cannot be changed and that nothing can separate her from the person she loves.
Overall, "Destiny" is a song about the power of love and how it can overcome even the most challenging circumstances. It suggests that true love is something that cannot be denied or changed, and that destiny plays a significant role in bringing people together.
Line by Line Meaning
Destiny
The idea of a pre-determined path surprises and intrigues the singer.
Has once again surprised me
The concept of predestination as a way of explaining how some things in life happen unexpectedly.
Oh destiny
The wonder felt by the singer towards an unchangeable force.
Must want you here beside me
The belief that the singer's current situation is a result of their predestined fate.
Quietly
The idea that destiny is subtle and hard to perceive.
Like the sunrise with its splendor
Destiny is compared to the beauty of a sunrise - both can be unexpected but bring joy.
Unexpectedly
Similar to the previous line, the singer is emphasizing the unpredictability of destiny.
With a passion strong yet tender
Destiny can bring powerful feelings, such as love, but still be gentle.
You draw me in
The influence that destiny can have on a person's life.
Like the moon draws the tide
Destiny is compared to the gravitational pull of the moon on the ocean.
Swept away by this love
The overwhelming feeling that destiny can bring on a person.
Taken in by your eyes
The idea that destiny can be closely linked to meeting the right person at the right time.
If I had to walk away from you
The fear of leaving the person who was brought into the singer's life by destiny.
I know that it would be no use
The belief that destiny cannot be fought against or avoided.
'Cause you're so deep inside of me
The idea that the other person has become a part of the singer's being due to destiny.
Can't deny
The singer recognizes the influence that destiny has had on their life.
I never want to be set free
The love that the singer feels for the other person is so strong that they never want to be without them.
The more you give the more I need
The feeling that the love between the two people brought together by destiny keeps growing stronger.
You can't change what is meant to be
The idea that no matter what happens, destiny will always have its way.
Destiny speaks with many voices
Destiny can take many different forms and be communicated in different ways.
So eventually
Destiny can take a long time to become clear.
We're obliged to make some choices
Despite the influence of destiny, people still have some control over their lives.
Who I thought I owned completely
The idea that destiny can upend a person's sense of control or ownership over their life.
Just to toy with me
The action of destiny is sometimes seen as a playful or teasing force.
Made me fall in love so deeply
Destiny can bring about profound emotions, such as love.
You fill my soul
The other person brought into the singer's life by destiny has a profound impact on their emotional wellbeing.
Like the stars fill the sky
The intensity and completeness of this impact is compared to that of the stars in the night sky.
Brought to life
The idea that destiny can make a person feel more fully alive, or bring new meaning to their life.
This new world
The idea that the love brought about by destiny can create a whole new reality for a person.
Where I'm held captive inside
The overwhelming and all-consuming nature of destiny in this case is emphasized.
No, no, oh
The singer is expressing a strong reaction to the idea of being separated from the other person brought into their life by destiny.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Realsongs
Written by: Lawrence Paul Dermer, Emilio Estefan, Gloria Estefan, Diane Warren
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind