Selena | Amor Prohibido (1994)
"Amor Prohibido" (English: "Forbidden Love") is the title song of American Tejano singer Selena's fourth studio album of the same name (1994).
1994-04-13 19:00:00 - Music Video
Released as the lead single through EMI Latin on April 13, 1994, it was written by Selena, her brother and music producer A. B. Quintanilla, and her band's backup vocalist Pete Astudillo. "Amor Prohibido"'s lyrical themes have been analyzed by authors, musicologists, and journalists, who found them relevant to issues facing the LGBT community. A popular interpretation compares it to Romeo and Juliet.
The Tejano cumbia dance-pop song was acclaimed by music critics, who cited it as one of the singer's most popular singles. It topped the United States Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart for nine consecutive weeks, her first number-one as a solo artist, and became the most successful US Latin single of 1994.
It has since been certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of 420,000 copies. A duet version with Samo was posthumously released in 2012, reaching number eight on the US Latin Pop Songs chart.
"Amor Prohibido" received the Tejano Music Award for Single of the Year, and was Regional Mexican Song of the Year at the Lo Nuestro and Billboard Latin Music Awards. "Amor Prohibido" was the first Spanish-language song to receive a Broadcast Music Award in the pop field in 1996.
Many musicians have covered "Amor Prohibido", including Mexican pop singer Thalía, glam rock band Moderatto, Finnish singer Meiju Suvas, American entertainers Jennifer Lopez and Keke Palmer, and Latin singer Shoshana (no relation to Broadway singer Shoshana Bean).