Gloria Estefan (born Gloria María Fajardo, September 1, 1957, in Havana, Cu… Read Full Bio ↴Gloria Estefan (born Gloria María Fajardo, September 1, 1957, in Havana, Cuba) is a seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, actress and social activist. Known as the "Queen of Latin Pop", she in the top 100 best-selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those in the United States. Estefan is the most successful crossover performer in Latin music to date.

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

Into You
Gloria Estefan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I feel the blood inside of me
Moving faster than ever
Every time I dare to think
Of you and me here together
I can feel your hands unleash
The fettered thoughts of my mind
Every thrill you care to seek
I'll make sure that you find

Into you, I will find a way
Don't be scared to come out and play
Into you there's a passageway
Where I'll vanish without a trace
I feel the sweetest agony

Growing stronger than ever
I see you standing on the brink
Once you jump you'll be better
Underneath the urgency where there's nothing but time
I'll take you down and let you drink
Of the headiest wine
Into you, I will find a way
Don't be scared to come out and play
Into you there's a passageway
Where I'll vanish without a trace
Breath it in
It's getting more intense

We're only the sum
Of our experience

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Into You" by Gloria Estefan express the intense passion the singer has for somebody she desires. She describes the feeling of her blood moving faster every time she thinks about being with this person. The imagery of her lover unleashing the "fettered thoughts of her mind" conveys how he frees her from her inhibitions and allows her to express herself fully. She promises to make sure that he finds every thrill he seeks, inviting him to come out and play with her. The chorus reflects her determination to get closer to him, using the metaphor of finding a passageway into him where she can vanish without a trace. The desire between them is so strong that it transforms into the sweetest agony, a feeling that grows stronger every day. The last line of the chorus reflects the idea that who they are is the sum of their combined experiences.

The bridge of the song describes the urgency of their passion, promising to take him down and let him drink "of the headiest wine." The imagery of wine suggests that their love is intoxicating and powerful. The chorus repeats once again, expressing the determination of the singer to find a way into the person she desires. The final line, "We're only the sum of our experience," suggests that their experiences together are shaping their connection and who they are as individuals, emphasizing the importance of their relationship.

Overall, the song depicts the intense passion between two people and the desire to be fully immersed in each other. The lyrics express the idea that their love is transformative and that they are shaping each other's experiences and characters.

Line by Line Meaning

I feel the blood inside of me
I am experiencing a strong emotional reaction

Moving faster than ever
My emotions are getting more intense quickly

Every time I dare to think
Whenever I take the risk of contemplating

Of you and me here together
About the possibility of us being together

I can feel your hands unleash
I sense you are freeing my thoughts

The fettered thoughts of my mind
My restricted thoughts

Every thrill you care to seek
Any excitement you wish to pursue

I'll make sure that you find
I will help you discover it

Into you, I will find a way
I am determined to understand you deeply

Don't be scared to come out and play
Don't hesitate to be vulnerable with me

Into you there's a passageway
There is a path that will lead me to know you more