Selena (album) - Production

Production

José Behar, president of EMI Latin, attended the 1989 Tejano Music Awards, and was searching for new acts. After Selena performed, Behar called his boss and told him about Selena. Behar thought he found the next Gloria Estefan. His boss told him that he was "crazy". He said this because Behar was only in Texas for a week. Selena later signed with EMI Latin later that year. She was the first artist to sign with them. Recording started in late 1988 and went on until early 1989. Selena recorded most of the songs in San Antonio, Texas at AMEN Studios. "Sukiyaki" and "My Love" were recorded in Houston, Texas at Sunrise Studios. Selena wrote "My Love" by herself, and wanted the song to be in the album. Her brother A.B. Quintanilla III was the main music producer and songwriter. Their father and manager Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. gave the job to A.B, believing that he was good at producing music.

The only songs A.B. did not write were "Sukiyaki", "Contigo Quiero Estar", and "No Te Vayas". The original "Sukiyaki" was in Japanese. Selena's lyrics were a Spanish version of an English version of the song by Janice Marie Johnson. "Sukiyaki" had been one of Abraham's favorite songs when he was growing up. "Contigo Quiero Estar" was written by Mexican songwriter Alejandro Montealegre while "No Te Vayas" was written by Reinaldo Ornelas. A.B. wanted "No Te Vayas" on the album because of its reggae sounds. He thought it would make the album "exotic" from other Spanish-language albums. He believed this because of the different music genres they had produced.