Luis Miguel Del Amargue

Luís Miguel del Amargue, a bachata performer born in Azua, Dominican Republic, built a decade-long recording career in Spain before reaching American listeners through the 2009 compilation Mis Canciones. His first album, the 1998 release Amor de una Noche on independent Chaira Records, blended bachata and merengue tracks and circulated across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Spain, though sales remained modest. The modest reception nevertheless led JM Records to offer him a contract, allowing him to cultivate a dedicated following in Spain, where bachata and merengue enjoyed narrower audiences than in the United States. Under JM Records he issued Luisa María (1999), Te Echo de Menos (2000), Quiero Amanecer Contigo (2001), and Amor de Locos (2003), whose cumulative appeal prompted the television-marketed double-disc retrospective Grandes Exitos (2003). Later JM releases comprised Corazón de Dinero (2004), Quiero Saber (2005), Buscame (2006), and De Nuevo Contigo (2007). The 2008 album De Rodillas de Te Pido drew particular attention for its title track, which reappeared on the subsequent Mi Regreso (2009). By then del Amargue had concentrated almost exclusively on bachata, aligning him with the style’s rising profile in the United States. Sony Music therefore signed him and prepared a stateside edition of Mi Regreso for summer 2009. Later that year the label issued the best-of collection Mis Canciones, spotlighting the tropical-radio staples “De Rodillas de Te Pido,” “Se Acabó lo Bonito,” and “Abrazame Amor.”