Selena Live! - Song Structure and Lyrical Content

Song Structure and Lyrical Content

"No debes jugar", the lead single from Live!, was written and produced by A.B. Quintanilla III, Selena's brother and the producer of her music, lead keyboardist for the band Ricky Vela, and Bebu Silvetti, an Argentine music producer. "No debes jugar" is a Mexican cumbia rock song that centers the organ as its musical instrument foundation. Ramiro Burr of the Houston Chronicle stated that Selena blended Mexican polka rhythms with melodic, synth-driven pop hooks in "No debes jugar" and "La llamada". "No debes jugar" received a Song of the Year nomination at the 1994 Tejano Music Awards. "No debes jugar" is performed on F major with 89 beats per minute. Lyrically the song describes a woman whose life is centered around being unappreciated by her boyfriend. Tired and ready to do anything, she finally stands up for herself announcing that she is done playing around and threatens to leave. It peaked at number three on the US Hot Latin Tracks, Latin Regional Mexican Airplay and the Latin Pop Airplay charts simultaneously.

"La llamada", the first promotional single released from Live!, was written and produced by Quintanilla III and Astudillo. Howard Blumenthal wrote in his book The world music CD listener's guide that "La llamada" is an "energetic" song. It is set in A major with 90 beats per minute. "La llamada" describes a woman telling her boyfriend over the phone that she saw him kissing another girl, while her boyfriend tries to persuade to her that it was not him. It peaked at number five on the Hot Latin Tracks, number six on the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay and number eight on the Latin Pop Airplay chart. "Tú robaste mi corazón" is a duet with "The King of Tejano music" singer Emilio Navaira. It was released as the second promotional single from Live! and was written and produced by Quintanilla III, Vela and Silvetti. Blumenthal wrote in his book that the song is a "great love duet". Paul Verna wrote that Selena's fans were "not growing weary" of "Como quisiera" (Preciosa) and "Tú robaste mi corazón". He also noted that the two songs were "slow-paced love songs" and were potential singles from the posthumous album Siempre Selena (1996). "Tú robaste mi corazón" is composed in the key F major with 130 beats per minute. The song describes a woman and a man finding harmony and love in each other while also feeling emotions never felt before in their lives. "Tú robaste mi corazón" peaked at number five on the Hot Latin Tracks, number eight on the Latin Regional Mexican Airplay and number six on the Latin Pop Airplay charts.