Qué Hiciste is a song recorded by Jennifer Lopez for her fifth studio album Como ama una Mujer.
The song was written and produced by Marc Anthony and Julio Reyes, with additional writing from Jimena Romero.
"Qué Hiciste" became a commercial success for Jennifer, appearing in a wide range of charts around the world.
The song became her first Spanish-language song to chart inside the Billboard Hot 100, reaching a peak position of eighty-six.
It also peaked atop of Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Latin Tracks charts.
The song additionally reached the top position in Italy and in Switzerland.
Jennifer performed the song on "American Idol" on April 11, 2007, becoming the first artist ever to perform a Spanish song on the show.
Song Composition
"Qué Hiciste" is a Latin rock song with a length of four minutes and fifty-eight seconds.
The song was written by Jimena Romero, Julio Reyes, Marc Anthony and produced by Estéfano & Reyes.
The song marked the beginning of a musical project that lasted for three years and was originally conceived from a dream that Marc had with Spanish recording artist Rocío Dúrcal two weeks after the singer's death.
According to him, Jurado asked him to listen to a piece of music, which turned out to be the primary melody for the song.
He elaborated that, within the dream, Jurado told Marc that the song, yet to be titled, was exclusively "for Jennifer."
Jennifer revealed that as Marc did not want to forget the lyrics and without any studio equipment nearby, she grabbed her phone, called up her answering machine and asked her husband to sing the melody.
She also revealed that, with the help of a composer, "Que Hiciste" was finished in a couple of weeks.
After a few months, Jennifer started to write the lyrics with a Spanish songwriter, and finished it on fifteen minutes.
She asserted that recording a song in her parents' language was "a dream come true" for her.
The song was originally meant to be a ballad, however, as the lyrics were being written, "Qué Hiciste" turned into "something harder, with a bit more of a rock tinge to it. It's an incredibly intense song. [...] It's passionate and a lot of fun, with a killer message."
Jennifer claimed she loves the song "and I hope other people love it as much as I do."
James Reed of The Boston Globe noted the song to be a "diva-mode kiss-off" of a lover who "unraveled her happy home," noting the lyrics:
"Se te olvidó que era el amor lo que importaba/ Y con tus manos derrumbaste nuestra casa" ("You forgot that it was love that mattered/ And with your hands you tore down our home").
He concluded by stating "that's about all the trash-talking Lopez wants to do."
Two months later, Jennifer and Marc re-recorded the song in salsa which was produced by Marc's longtime producer Sergio George in The Hit Factory Criteria studio in Miami.
George commented that his years of experience with Marc made the task "easier and the result, extraordinary."
Critical Response
Tijana Ilich of About.com gave a positive review of the song, stating that if the rest of "Como Ama una Mujer" is as good as "Qué Hiciste", "it's going to mean another big hit for Lopez."
James Reed of The Boston Globe called "Qué Hiciste" a detour on "an otherwise lush, quiet album."
Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine expressed his disappointment in "Como Ama una Mujer" lacking a "Latin booty-shaker" song, citing "Qué Hiciste" as "the closest we get."
Accolades
On the Billboard Latin Music Awards of 2008, "Qué Hiciste" received a nomination for Latin Pop Airplay Song of the Year which was awarded to "Eres Para Mí" by Julieta Venegas.
The song received a Broadcast Music, Inc. Awards of 2008, the song received a BMI Latin award.
Music Video
The music video premiered on MTV on February 5, 2007.
The clip opens with Jennifer driving an old car down a dusty highway in the middle of the desert, leaning out of the window singing.
She pulls over at a gas station and enters the bathroom to change clothes. She is then seen dancing in the desert with flames in front and behind her.
The view cuts between this and Jennifer changing into new clothes and dying her hair at the washbasin. She then continues driving, but this time across the desert sand, away from the highway.
Jennifer stops and gets a can of gasoline out the trunk, then pours it over the car. The car then explodes behind her as she walks away.
Jennifer is then seen dancing in a change of clothes in the sand, cutting between her back in the car and in the desert with the flames.
Promotion
On April 11, 2007, Jennifer performed "Qué Hiciste" on American Idol and became the first artist to perform a Spanish-language song in the show's history.
The performance featured a heavy use of a smoke machine and was introduced with a montage of outtakes from Jennifer's stint on the show the day prior.
Personnel
- Lyrics: Julio Reyes and Jimena Romero
- Music: Marc Anthony
- Production: Marc Anthony and Julio Reyes
- Recording engineer: Anthony Kilhoffer
- Mixing engineers: Andrés Bermudes and Julio Reyes
- Art direction: Julian Peploe
- Photography: Tony Duran
Technical
- "Que Hiciste" was recorded at Record Plant in Los Angeles, California.
Lyrics
<poem> Ayer los dos soñábamos con un mundo perfecto Ayer a nuestros labios les sobraban las palabras Porque en los ojos nos espiábamos el alma Y la verdad no vacilaba en tu mirada
Ayer nos prometimos conquistar el mundo entero Ayer tú me juraste que este amor seria eterno Por que una vez equivocarse es suficiente Para aprender lo que es amar sinceramente
(Chorus) Qué Hiciste? Hoy destruiste con tu orgullo la esperanza Hoy empañaste con tu furia mi mirada
Borraste toda nuestra historia con tu rabia Y confundiste tanto amor que te entregaba Como permiso para así romperme el alma
Qué Hiciste? Nos obligaste a destruir las madrugadas Y nuestras noches las ahogaron tus palabras
Mis ilusiones acabaron con tus falsas Se te olvido que era el amor lo que importaba Y con tus manos derrumbaste nuestra casa
Mañana que amanezca un día nuevo en mi universo Mañana no veré tu nombre escrito entre mis versos No escuchare palabras de arrepentimiento Ignorare sin pena tu remordimiento
Mañana olvidare que ayer yo fui tu fiel amante Mañana ni siquiera habrá razones para odiarte Yo borrare todos tus sueños de mis sueños Que el viento arrastre para siempre tus recuerdos
(Chorus) Qué Hiciste? Hoy destruiste con tu orgullo la esperanza Hoy empañaste con tu furia mi mirada
Borraste toda nuestra historia con tu rabia Y confundiste tanto amor que te entregaba Como permiso para así romperme el alma
Qué Hiciste? Nos obligaste a destruir las madrugadas Y nuestras noches las ahogaron tus palabras
Mis ilusiones acabaron con tus falsas Se te olvido que era el amor lo que importaba Y con tus manos derrumbaste nuestra casa
Y confundiste tanto amor que te entregaba Como permiso para así romperme el alma
(Chorus) Qué Hiciste? Nos obligaste a destruir las madrugadas Y nuestras noches las ahogaron tus palabras
Mis ilusiones acabaron con tus falsas Se te olvido que era el amor lo que importaba Y con tus manos derrumbaste nuestra casa <poem>