Pero Dile
{{good article}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Pero Dile
| cover = Pero dile.jpg
| type = single
| artist = Víctor Manuelle
| album = Inconfundible
| released = 1999
| studio =
| genre = Salsa
| length = {{duration|m=4|s=55}}
| label = Sony Discos
| writer = Víctor Manuelle
| producer = Sergio George
| prev_title = La Persona Equivocada (Bolero version)
| prev_year = 1999
| next_title = Si la Ves
| next_year = 2000
}}
"Pero Dile" ({{trans|"But Tell Them"}}) is a song written and performed by American singer Víctor Manuelle on his sixth studio album, Inconfundible (1999). The song's production was handled by Sergio George, while the arrangement was done by Ramón Sanchez. It was released as the album's lead single in 1999 by Sony Discos. One of the album's salsa songs, it narrate the singer telling his ex to tell other people that he was a bad lover and admits to being at fault.
The song received with positive reactions by music critics for its catchy lyrics. "Pero Dile" was nominated in the category of Tropical/Salsa Hot Latin Track of the Year at the 2000 Billboard Latin Music Awards and was a recipient of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Latin Award in 2000. In the United States, the song reached number three on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs. It also topped the US Tropical Airplay chart, spending 11 weeks at number one.
Background and composition
In 1999, Víctor Manuelle released his sixth studio album, Inconfundible. Like his previous albums, it is a record of salsa tunes.{{cite web |last1=Birchmeier |first1=Jasno |title=Víctor Manuelle Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/v%C3%ADctor-manuelle-mn0000807428/biography |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=May 9, 2023 |archive-date=February 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203160651/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/v%C3%ADctor-manuelle-mn0000807428/biography |url-status=live }}{{cite web|last1=Estévez, Jr.|first1=José A.|title=Victor Manuelle – Inconfundible|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/inconfundible-mw0000669290|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=July 25, 2022|archive-date=July 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725183610/https://www.allmusic.com/album/inconfundible-mw0000669290|url-status=live}} Ramón Sanchez handled the album's arrangements, while American musician Sergio George produced two of the album's tracks, including "Pero Dile". "Pero Dile" is the only song in the album that Manuelle wrote by himself. The song tells of a "love hangover",{{cite magazine |title=In Honor of Hispanic Heritage: The 20 Top Tropical Songs of All Time|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/7966042/in-honor-of-hispanic-heritage-the-20-top-tropical-songs-of-all-time |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523062832/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/7966042/in-honor-of-hispanic-heritage-the-20-top-tropical-songs-of-all-time|archive-date=May 23, 2019 |date=September 18, 2017|url-access=subscription}} in which Manuelle tells his former lover to proceed to "tell everyone he" was a rotten lover and everything was his fault and admits that how much he loved her may have been a mistake.{{Cite web |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1999/12/31/victor-manuelle-is-a-salsa-sensation/ |title=Victor Manuelle Is a Salsa Sensation |access-date=September 6, 2011 |archive-date=October 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005023101/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1999-12-31/entertainment/9912290323_1_victor-manuelle-inconfundible-por-ella |url-status=live|last=Gettelman|first=Parry|work=Orlando Sentinel}}
Reception
"Pero Dile" was released as the album's lead single in 1999 by Sony Discos.{{cite AV media notes | title=Pero Dile|others=Víctor Manuelle| year=1999| publisher=Sony Discos|location=United States|id=TRT 83310}} In spite of giving the album a mixed review, AllMusic's José A. Estévez Jr. cited it as one of the songs where Manuelle is a "forceful, "dynamic singer", despite asserting the salsa genre being "sound undistinguished and devoid of novelty" during the late 1990s. Parry Gettelman of the Orlando Sentinel praised the song, noticing it is as "graceful as it is catchy", and that "the lyrics are humorously bitter." On his book, Hispanic New York: A Sourcebook (2010), Claudio Iván Remeseira wrote that the song's "manic momentum makes the heart race".{{cite book |last1=Remeseira |first1=Claudio Iván |title=Hispanic New York : A Sourcebook |date=2010 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780231148191 |page=391 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wo4sOpOV68wC&pg=PA391 |access-date=May 9, 2023}}
At the 7th Annual Billboard Latin Music Awards, "Pero Dile" was nominated in the category of Tropical/Salsa Hot Track of the Year, but ultimately lost to "El Niágara en Bicicleta" by Juan Luis Guerra.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EA8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA18|title=Catch Some Rising Stars: Artist Showcases Offer a Glimpse Into The Future of Latin Music|last=Lannert|first=John|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|volume=112|issue=18|page=16|date=April 29, 2000|access-date=May 9, 2012|archive-date=July 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724212349/https://books.google.com/books?id=EA8EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=RA1-PA18|url-status=live}} In 2000, it was recognized as one of the best-performing songs of the year at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Awards under the salsa field and did so again the following year.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PA8EAAAAMBAJ&q=intitle%3Abillboard%20%22no%20me%20ames%22&pg=PA123|title=Pérez Honored at 8th El Premio ASCAP Gala|last=Pesselnick|first=Jill|magazine=Billboard|date=May 20, 2000|volume=112|issue=21|page=123|access-date=May 5, 2012}}{{cite magazine
|title=El Premio ASCAP Awards Arturo Sandoval, Songwriter Omar Alfanno
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BhQEAAAAMBAJ&q=intitle:billboard+premio+ascap&pg=PA50|magazine=Billboard |volume=112
|issue=21 |page=50 |date=May 19, 2001|access-date=September 27, 2013}} Commercially, "Pero Dile" reached number three on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and topped the Tropical Airplay chart in the United States, becoming Manuelle's eighth number-one on the latter chart. It spent 11 weeks on top of the chart and was the fourth best-performing tropical song of 2000 in the country.
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart positions for "Pero Dile" ! scope="col"| Chart (1999) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{single chart|Billboardlatinsongs|3|artist=Victor Manuelle|rowheader=true|accessdate=May 22, 2021|refname="latinsongs"}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardtropicalairplay|1|artist=Victor Manuelle|rowheader=true|accessdate=May 22, 2021|refname="tropicalsongs"}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders " style="text-align:center;"
|+1999 year-end chart performance for "Pero Dile" |
| scope="col"|Chart (2000)
!scope="col"|Position |
|---|
| scope="row"|US Hot Latin Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ehEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA32-IA2|title=2000: The Year in Music|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|volume=112|issue=53|pages=YE–76, 78|date=December 20, 2000|access-date=October 20, 2013|archive-date=March 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319204048/https://books.google.com/books?id=ehEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA32-IA2|url-status=live}}
|31 |
| scope="row"|US Tropical Airplay (Billboard)
|4 |
{{col-end}}