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
Heaven
Gloria Estefan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can be like destiny
There's no way to say forever
It may not realize your dreams
And love sometimes
Is like the blowing wind
It can take us to wherever
But I have broken
All the rules of love
I never dreamed that I could
Come this far
And now I'm lost in my emotions
You're becoming my devotion
There's nothing I can do
To stop this love for you
I was not supposed to fall in love with you
I have someone else
And someone else is loving you
And I was not supposed to let this love get through
So let me say for real
Heaven's what I feel when I'm with you
This feeling is forever (it is forever)
You make me feel like heaven (I feel like heaven)
My love is true when I'm with you
How could I
Have known that in your eyes (in your eyes)
I would find the deepest answers
To the questions of my heart
And how could I have known
That by your side
Was the light to fill the darkness
In the shadows of my life
But I have broken
All the rules of love
I never dreamed that I could
Come this far
And now I'm lost in my emotions
You're becoming my devotion
There's nothing I can do
To stop this love for you
I was not supposed to fall in love with you
I have someone else
And someone else is loving you
And I was not supposed to let this love get through
So let me say for real
Heaven's what I feel when I'm with you
This feeling is forever
You make me feel like heaven
My love is true when I'm with you
(Heaven, heaven)
Is what I feel when we're together
(Heaven, heaven)
Just look in my eyes and you'll see it's the truth
I was not supposed to fall in love with you
I have someone else
And someone else is loving you
And I was not supposed to let this love get through
So let me say for real
Heaven's what I feel when I'm with you
The lyrics to Gloria Estefan's song "Heaven's What I Feel" convey the idea that love can often be unpredictable and can take us on unexpected journeys. Love can be like destiny, but it may not always realize our dreams. It can be like the blowing wind, taking us wherever it wants to. The singer acknowledges that she has broken all the rules of love by falling for someone who she was not supposed to, and who is already in love with someone else. But she is lost in her emotions, and this person is becoming her devotion. She cannot stop her love for them.
The singer reflects on how she never imagined she could come this far in love. She finds the deepest answers to the questions of her heart in this person's eyes. Being by their side fills the darkness in the shadows of her life. The chorus repeats the idea that heaven is what she feels when she's with this person. Even though she has someone else and knows that someone else is loving the person she fell for, she cannot deny that her love for them is true and that it's a feeling that will last forever.
One interesting fact about the song is that it was written and produced by Estefan's husband, Emilio Estefan Jr., along with Diane Warren and Kike Santander. The song was released in 1998 as a single from Estefan's ninth studio album, "gloria!". It became a hit, reaching the top 40 in multiple countries.
Line by Line Meaning
Love sometimes
Can be like destiny
There's no way to say forever
It may not realize your dreams
Love can sometimes feel like it is meant to be, but it is impossible to know if it will last forever or come true
And love sometimes
Is like the blowing wind
It can take us to wherever
Sending us on silent wings
Love can also be unpredictable and take us on a journey to unexpected places
But I have broken
All the rules of love
I never dreamed that I could
Come this far
And now I'm lost in my emotions
You're becoming my devotion
There's nothing I can do
To stop this love for you
Despite the challenges of love, I have gone beyond what I thought was possible and am deeply devoted to you. I cannot control my feelings for you
I was not supposed to fall in love with you
I have someone else
And someone else is loving you
I wasn't supposed to love you because I was committed to someone else and they were in love with you
And I was not supposed to let this love get through
So let me say for real
Heaven's what I feel when I'm with you
I wasn't supposed to let my love for you show, but I can't help the feeling of pure happiness that being with you brings me
This feeling is forever (it is forever)
You make me feel like heaven (I feel like heaven)
My love is true when I'm with you
My feelings for you are eternal and you bring me an indescribable level of happiness. My love for you is genuine when I'm with you
How could I
Have known that in your eyes (in your eyes)
I would find the deepest answers
To the questions of my heart
I never could have guessed that I would find the answers to the biggest questions of my heart by looking into your eyes
And how could I have known
That by your side
Was the light to fill the darkness
In the shadows of my life
I never could have predicted that being with you would help me overcome the troubles and fears in my life
(Heaven, heaven)
Is what I feel when we're together
(Heaven, heaven)
Just look in my eyes and you'll see it's the truth
Being together feels like heaven to me and you can see the truth of that reflected in my eyes
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FLAVIO ENRIQUE SANTANDER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@yokomitz
Hello from Japan! This tune used to be played over and over again at a local radio station's programs over here back in August 1998, when my father happened to collapse with a stroke. He passed away in an ICU after his 5-day coma.
This tune brings me back the memory, but doesn't sadden me somehow. I think that's because it helps me rather remember my father with its beautiful melody and vocal by Ms. Estefan. I have listened to this tune so many times that I can sing (not very well) with the lyrics that I have learned by heart.
Thank you very much for uploading! ありがとうございます!
@michaelmepham4788
I nice story may your father rest in piece.
@jackfrost81
Thankyou for sharing.
@EnriqueRodriguez-kx1yo
God bless you!! Your father is watching over you!!
@Lairuat
May your father Rest in Peace....
@oktocute
2022 from bali with love....
@jobenson6336
This tune was great in the 90's and still great today.
@soucentelha
Procurei tanto por essa música ...
Finalmente encontrei 😭💖✨
@analuciacostadasilva5549
Eu também! Adoro música e cantora .😍
@marciamineira4798
Eu também estava procurando e achei aqui agora glória é maravilhosa