NPR (National Public Radio) Selects JUANES’ “Fijate Bien” As One Of “The Decade’s 50 Most Important Recordings”

The Title Track From Juanes’ Debut Album Is Selected Alongside Songs From Radiohead, OutKast, Green Day, Eminem, Jay-Z, Coldplay, Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, Beyonce, M.I.A., Kanye West, The White Stripes & More As One Of:

“the 50 most important recordings of the past 10 years — a list that covers a wide range of styles and genres, with indelible songs and albums that challenge, inspire and captivate. These are the game-changers: records that signaled some sort of shift in the way music is made or sounds, or ones that were especially influential or historically significant.”

– NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO – “All Songs Considered”

The Decade’s 50 Most Important Recordings

www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120409149

Fijate Bien

Artist: Juanes – Album: Fijate Bien

Juanes’ social activism and sold-out tours make him one of the most influential artists of the decade. The Colombian vocalist and songwriter kicked off the ‘00s with the tremendous 2000 album Fijate Bien, then won the Best New Artist Latin Grammy and spent the rest of the decade living up to the honor. Ever since, he’s sold millions while making intelligent, thought-provoking music. –Felix Contreras

JUANES – Fijate Bien – Released October 17, 2000

“a haunting, wrenchingly powerful recording that burns with a cold fire… An unforgettable record”

- Miami Herald

“one of the most thought-provoking, exhilarating discs released this year… a debut to remember”-Billboard

“Juanes sings of the grim realities in his native Colombia.  Now his words seem to apply to the world….  A brooding and edgy work… Fijate Bien is an uncompromising work of almost nihilistic disillusion and social outrage… the urgency in his soulful voice had taken a lifetime to cultivate in the crucible of Colombia’s long civil war and his personal losses… His songs of foreboding are not just about Colombia, a country where entire institutions, not just buildings, had collapsed from endemic violence. ‘Fijate Bien’ was inspired by the dangers of land mines in his native country. But more than ever, the haunting song applied to what the whole world was now facing—the fragility of life and an uncertain future.” - Los Angeles Times

“Juanes writes songs about soul-searching, danger, a sense of loss and a stubborn survival instinct, addressing both the civil war in Colombia and more private turmoil…. The songs are earnest and fatalistic but not despondent, as Juanes faces down violence and mortality with a hefty beat– New York Times

[Fijate Bien] is an invigorating mix of pop-rock, traditional Colombian rhythms such as cumbia and vallenato and strong songwriting… And while a never-ending guerrilla war continues to ravage Colombia, Juanes’ music puts a welcome spotlight on his native land’s cultural resiliency….  But “Fijate Bién” has more than just a musical message. Although it’s cutting-edge 21st century hybrid pop, it’s an album that speaks a poetic language very much like 19th century romanticism.” – Newsday

For more information on JUANES, please contact John Reilly at 212.445.8440 / jreilly@rogersandcowan.com

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