Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Torres learned to play the violin and keyboards at a young age. He started composing when he was in high school. He then enrolled in Berklee College of Music where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a dual major of "Music Production & Engineering"and "Commercial Arranging". Torres lived in New York for a while working as a studio assistant at the famed Sony Music Studios and later moved to Miami, Florida in 1998.
His first recorded composition was "No Puedo Olvidar" by pop group MDO on 1999. The song made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. That same year, another one of his compositions, "Llegar A Ti" was recorded by christian artist Jaci Velasquez and quickly climbed to the #1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, earning him an ASCAP Song of the Year award. On June 19, 2001, he became a solo artist with the release of a self-titled album. The album included the Billboard Top 20 singles "Como Olvidar" and "Hoy Te Vas". Later that same year, his production of "Cuando Seas Mia" by group Son By Four also made it to the #1 spot on Billboard.
His work on "Acustico" by Ednita Nazario as co-producer, songwriter, and featured artist, earned his first Latin Grammy Awards nomination on 2002. Later that year, he produced the critically acclaimed "Encuentro" featuring singer-songwriter's Juan Luis Guerra, Ruben Blades, and Robi Draco Rosa. On 2003 he produced Ricky Martin's "Almas del Silencio", an album that included songwriting collaborations with artists Franco de Vita, Ricardo Arjona, Alejandro Sanz, and Juanes. The album broke the Soundscan one week sales record for an all-spanish album. The single "Tal Vez" topped the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks for 12 weeks. The song, written by Franco de Vita with musical arrangements and production by Torres, went on to win "Song of the Year" at that 2003's Latin Grammy Awards. The album also gave 3 additional #1 singles. Later that year Torres produced the album "Por Ti" by Ednita Nazario. Both Nazario's "Por Ti" and Martin's "Almas del Silencio" went on to win Best Pop Album Awards (Female/Male) at 2004's Billboard Latin Music Awards earning Tommy his first nomination for Producer of the Year at the Billboard Latin Music Awards.
2004 also saw the independent release of Torres' second album "Estar de Moda No Está de Moda". The album included the singles "De Rodillas", "Dame Esta Noche", "Un Poquito", "Besos y Sal", "Sigo Aqui", and "Vinito Pa'l Corazon" . The first 4 singles were #1 airplay hits in his native Puerto Rico and Top 40 on the Billboard charts. "De Rodillas" reached #1 in several countries including Peru and Panama. Later on in 2004, Torres began work on "Adentro" by singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona. The album was an instant hit with both critics and the public. The song "Acompañame a Estar Solo", penned by Arjona with musical arrangements and production by Torres, became #1 on the Billboard Magazine charts. The album "Adentro" won several awards on 2005, including Best Latin Pop Album at the Grammy Awards and Best Pop Album at the Latin Grammy Awards.
On 2006, Torres produced Ricky Martin's MTV Unplugged, which included new arrangements of old Ricky Martin hits and three new songs. The album was well received with both commercial and critical success. The song "Tu Recuerdo", penned by Torres, topped the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks for 7 weeks and mantained a top 20 spot on the chart for an astonishing 26 weeks. The song featured La Mari from flamenco-electronic group Chambao and Torres on acoustic guitar and vocal. The song "Tu Recuerdo" was nominated for Song of the Year on several awards in 2007, including the Latin Grammy Awards and Billboard Latin Music Awards, Premios MTV Latinoamerica, and winning the coveted ASCAP Pop Song of the Year Award. The album "MTV Unplugged" picked up an equal amount of nominations and eventually went on to win two Latin Grammy Awards for Best Pop Album and Best Longform Video. The song "Pegate", co-written by Torres, Martin, and Roy Tavare, became a Top 10 hit on several countries in Latin America and Europe. It also won an ASCAP recognition at the ASCAP Music Awards.
On 2007, Torres began work on his third solo album "Tarde o Temprano".
A new collaboration with singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona resulted in the song "Quien", from the album "Quien Dijo Ayer". The song was written of Arjona (lyrics) and Torres (music) reaching the top 10 of the Billboard charts. Also on the same album, Torres produced and arranged the songs "Quiero" and "Tarde (Sin Danos A Terceros)", a duet with Arjona and spanish artist Marta Sanchez. The album "Quien Dijo Ayer", was nominated for Best Pop Album at the Billboard Latin Awards. He also co-produced the song "Ya No Estamos Solos" ("Non Siamo Soli"), a duet with Eros Ramazotti and Ricky Martin. The song became a #1 hit in several countries in Europe and Latin America but only reached Top20 status in the United States.
On December 2007, Billboard Magazine named Torres as the #1 Hot Latin Tracks producer of the year, becoming the first Puerto Rican to achieve that recognition. On February, 2008 Torres released the radio single "Pegadito" thru the Warner Music label. As of April 25, 2008, the song is the #1 song in Puerto Rico according to Mediabase. On April 1, 2008, Torres released the album "Tarde o Temprano". The album debut #1 on the Puerto Rico sales charts and maintained the top spot for 4 consecutive weeks, according to Soundscan reports. Torres was one of several artists selected to perform in "KQ Live Concert" on September 27, 2008, organized by KQ 105 FM, the event included several renowned artists from Puerto Rico and other Latin American locations.
Amélia
Tommy Torres Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se me hace tan hermoso pronunciarte
Pero para ir mas allá me falta arte.
Voy de nuevo
Sentado frente a ti aquí voy de nuevo
Con tanta inspiración y yo sin verbo.
De rayar tu perfección y prefiero
El silencio.
Amelia
Página tras página he botado
Llenas de metáforas borradas.
Amelia
Te podría dedicar tanta poesía
Mil estrofas llenas de cursiterías.
No creo
Que alguna ha de alcanzar tu grandeza
Dime entonces.
Para qué
Dañaras lo que es
Tan perfecto así
Con palabras tan gastadas
Mejor tu
Oh
Oh
Amelia
Cuantas veces ya canté tu nombre
Cada vez me suena tan distinto
Amelia, Amelia, Amelia
Para qué
Dañaras lo que es
Tan perfecto así
Con palabras tan gastadas
Mejor oh
Oh
Oh
The song "Amelia" by Tommy Torres is a beautiful tribute to a person named Amelia. The song's opening lines express the singer's admiration for Amelia, but he feels he lacks the art to communicate his feelings fully. As the song progresses, he talks about his struggles to convey the depth of his emotions for Amelia through poetry. He admits to having written and discarded pages of metaphors, and yet he still feels that his words cannot match Amelia's perfection. The line "Para qué dañaras lo que es tan perfecto así con palabras tan gastadas" translates to "Why would I damage what is so perfect with tired words?"
The singer concludes that silence is the best way to express his love for Amelia because his words would fail to measure up to her greatness. He ends the song by repeating Amelia's name several times, signifying his deep love and devotion. Overall, the song is an ode to love and the human struggle to express it adequately.
Line by Line Meaning
Se me hace tan hermoso pronunciarte
I find it so beautiful to say your name
Pero para ir mas allá me falta arte
But to go beyond that, I lack the artistry
Voy de nuevo
Here I go again
Sentado frente a ti aquí voy de nuevo
Sitting in front of you, here I go again
Con tanta inspiración y yo sin verbo
With so much inspiration and yet I'm lost for words
Y es que no hay forma
And it's because there is no way
De rayar tu perfección y prefiero
To scratch your perfection and I'd rather
El silencio
Choose silence
Página tras página he botado
I've thrown away page after page
Llenas de metáforas borradas
Filled with erased metaphors
Te podría dedicar tanta poesía
I could dedicate so much poetry to you
Mil estrofas llenas de cursiterías
A thousand stanzas full of clichés
No creo
I don't believe
Que alguna ha de alcanzar tu grandeza
That any of them will reach your greatness
Dime entonces
Tell me then
Para qué
What's the point
Dañaras lo que es
You would damage what's
Tan perfecto así
So perfect as it is
Con palabras tan gastadas
With such worn out words
Mejor tu
Better you
Cuantas veces ya canté tu nombre
How many times have I sung your name
Cada vez me suena tan distinto
Each time it sounds so different to me
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TOMMY TORRES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind