Formula, Vol. 1 | ||||
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Studio album by Romeo Santos | ||||
Released | November 8, 2011 | |||
Recorded | 2011 | |||
Studio | The Castle, Fight Klub, and EMG Studios in New York City | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 54:40 | |||
Language | Spanish | |||
Label | Sony Latin | |||
Producer |
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Romeo Santos chronology | ||||
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Singles from Formula, Vol. 1 | ||||
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | favorable |
Chicago Reader | favorable |
Entertainment Weekly | B |
Terra Networks | |
The Washington Post | favorable |
Formula, Vol. 1 is the debut studio album by American singer Romeo Santos, released on November 8, 2011 by Sony Music Latin. It is Santos's first album as a solo artist following the break-up of American bachata group Aventura, of which he was the lead singer. The record contains fifteen tracks, most of which were composed by Santos and co-produced with Ivan Chevere. The album experiments with the sound of bachata and other genres including R&B and flamenco. It features several Anglophone and Hispanophone guest artists including Usher, Tomatito, Mario Domm, and Lil Wayne. Recording for the album took place in 2011 at The Castle, Fight Klub, and EMG Studios in New York City. A deluxe edition of the album containing five extra tracks was released exclusively in Walmart retail stores in the United States.
In the U.S., Formula, Vol. 1 peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and Billboard Tropical Albums charts and was the best-selling Latin album of 2012. It was certified three times platinum (Latin field) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping 300,000 copies and had sold 328,000 copies in the U.S. by February 2014. It ranked number thirteen, twenty-six, and seventy-seven on the Argentine, Mexican, and Spanish album charts respectively.
Santos promoted the record by touring the U.S., Latin America and Europe. It was generally well received by critics, who praised the production of the bachata tracks although some of the duets—including those with Mario Domm and Mala Rodríguez—were criticized as obvious attempts to appeal outside of the bachata audience. The album earned Santos several accolades, including a Grammy Award nomination, three Billboard Latin Music Awards, a Billboard Music Award, a Lo Nuestro nomination, a Premios Juventud award, and a Soberano Award. Six singles were released from the record, four of which, "You", "Promise", "Mi Santa", and "La Diabla", reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the U.S.