No Tengo Dinero (Los Umbrellos song)

"No Tengo Dinero" (English: "I Don't Have Money") is the debut single of Danish musical group Los Umbrellos, considered to be their signature song. It was released by FLEX Records (now part of EMI) on May 14, 1997.[1] Based on the theme of 1960 film Never on Sunday by Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis, the lyrics were written by Jay and Richie Balmorian and group member Al Agami. It was produced by Kenneth Bager, Michael Pfundheller and Jan Elhøj, with additional production handled by Cutfather & Joe.

"No Tengo Dinero"
Single by Los Umbrellos
from the album Flamenco Funk
Released	May 14, 1997
Genre	Latin pop, hip hop
Length	3:36
Label	FLEX, EMI
Songwriter(s)	Manos Hadjidakis, Al Agami, Richie Balmorian, Jay Balmorian
Producer(s)	Kenneth Bager, Michael Pfundheller, Jan Elhøj, Cutfather & Joe
Los Umbrellos singles chronology
"No Tengo Dinero" (1997) "Drive" (1998)

The song became a top-five hit in Denmark, Italy, New Zealand and Switzerland. In Austria, the song reached number one for ten weeks, received a Platinum certification from IFPI, and was the highest-selling single of 1998. The song also peaked at number 31 on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart and number 42 on the US Billboard Hot 100; it stayed on the latter chart for 27 weeks without entering the top 40.[2] As of August 2003, the single had sold 800,000 copies worldwide.[3] Unlike the band's following releases, "No Tengo Dinero" enjoyed chart success, thus Los Umbrellos were named a one hit wonder.

Background

In 1995, Jan Elhøj and Anders Hansen, of rap-comedy duo Angry Ass, made a song called "Frikadeller og krebinetter" (Danish for "Meatballs and pork patties") which incorporated the theme of 1960 film Never on Sunday, composed by Manos Hadjidakis.[4][5] The song was presented to Kenneth Bager, owner of FLEX Records, who immediately saw its potential.[3] Bager sought to find the right people to work on the track. He enlisted Ugandan rapper Al Agami to write the rap lyrics, while songwriters Richie and Jay Balmorian wrote the Spanish and English chorus.[5] Danish singer Shirley arranged the backing vocals for the chorus. Finally, Kenneth Bager, Jan Elhøj, and Michael Pfundheller produced the track.[3] Bager then presented "No Tengo Dinero" to FLEX Records' parent label, EMI but they weren't interested in the song. It was then re-produced by the Danish producers Cutfather and Joe Belmaati (of Cutfather & Joe), and finally EMI agreed to release the song.[3] Before the release of the song, Kenneth Bager wanted to find two female backing singers for the Los Umbrellos project. Michael Pfundheller personally knew dancer Grith Højfeldt, while Mai-Britt Vingsøe was contacted through modelling agency Scandinavian Models.[3][4] All three members of Los Umbrellos finally met at the cover shooting for the single.[4]

Chart performance

"No Tengo Dinero" enjoyed chart success. In Denmark, the song peaked at number two on the Danish Singles Chart. It went on to sell 10,000 copies there.[3][4] It reached number one on the Ö3 Austria Top 40, number two on the New Zealand Singles Chart, number four on the Swiss Singles Chart and number five on the Italian Singles Chart.[6][7] The song also reached number thirty-three on the UK Singles Chart and appeared on three US Billboard charts—number forty-two on the Hot 100, number forty on the Mainstream Top 40 and number 27 on the Rhythmic chart.[8][9][10] As of May 1998, the song had sold 412,000 copies in the United States.[3]

As the next Los Umbrellos single, "Easy Come, Easy Go", did not follow the success of "No Tengo Dinero", the band was considered to be a one hit wonder, and "No Tengo Dinero" their signature song.

Music video

The music video was recorded at the Safari Inn motel in Burbank, California. The video featured a guest appearance of adult film actor Ron Jeremy.[1]

Track listing

1. "No Tengo Dinero" — 03:36
2. "No Tengo Dinero" (Flex Mucho Mix) — 03:36
3. "No Tengo Dinero" (Extended Mucho Mix) — 04:13
4. "Los Umbrelos Theme" — 03:20

Credits and personnel

• Manos Hadjidakis – songwriter
• Al Agami – songwriter
• Richie Balmorian – songwriter
• Jay Balmorian – songwriter
• Kenneth Bager – recording, production, arrangement, executive producer
• Michael Pfundheller – recording, production, arrangement, mastering
• Jan Elhøj – recording, production, arrangement
• Cutfather & Joe – remix, additional production
• Mads Nilsson – engineer
• Lars Vissing – trumpet

Credits adapted from CD single liner notes.[11]

Charts and sales

Weekly charts Chart (1997–1998) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 1 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[12] 18 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] 31 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[14] 42 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[15] 25 Denmark (Tracklisten)[16] 2 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[17] 14 Germany (Official German Charts)[18] 20 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[19] 24 Italy (Musica e dischi)[7] 5 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 14 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 22 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 2 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[23] 35 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 3 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[25] 33 US Billboard Hot 100[8] 42 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[9] 40 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[10] 27

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position Romania (Romanian Top 100)[26] 81 Chart (1998) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[27] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[28] 58 Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 86 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 8 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 30 Certifications and sales Region Certification Certified units/sales Austria (IFPI Austria)[32] Platinum 50,000^* Denmark — 10,000[3][4] New Zealand (RMNZ)[33] Platinum 10,000^* United States — 412,000[3] Summaries Worldwide — 800,000[3] ^*sales figures based on certification alone

References

1. Eriksen, Jan (10 May 1997). "LOS U M B R E L L O S a la Gami". B.T. (in Danish). Copenhagen: Berlingske Media A/S.
2. Bronson, Fred (14 March 1998). "Smith Gets 'Jiggy' Atop Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 110 (11): 146. ISSN 0006-2510.
3. Poulsen, Mikkel Rytter (22 August 2003). "Bag om et sommerhit 9: Flæskesteg og frikadeller – og en Bager" [Behind a summer hit 9: Roast pork and meatballs - and a Bager]. Politiken (in Danish). Copenhagen: JP/Politikens Hus A/S.
4. Pedersen, Niels (26 December 1997). "Det hemmelige hit" [The secret hit]. Jyllands-Posten (in Danish). Copenhagen: JP/Politikens Hus A/S.
5. Drejer, Dennis (12 December 2005). "Danskeren fra Uganda". B.T. (in Danish). Retrieved 1 June 2014.
6. "Austriancharts.at – Los Umbrellos – No tengo dinero" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
7. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 27. 4 July 1998. p. 12. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
8. "Los Umbrellos Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
9. "Los Umbrellos Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
10. "Los Umbrellos Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
11. No Tengo Dinero (liner notes). Los Umbrellos. FLEX Records. 1998. 7 24388 53532 8.CS1 maint: others (link)
12. "Ultratop.be – Los Umbrellos – No tengo dinero" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
13. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3328." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
14. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3349." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
15. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 3317." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
16. "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 06/19/97". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 109 (27): 41. 5 July 1997. ISSN 0006-2510.
17. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 32. 8 August 1998. p. 9. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Los Umbrellos – No Tengo Dinero". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
19. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 234 Vikuna 14.8. '97 – 21.8. '97)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 15 August 1997. p. 22. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
20. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 24, 1998" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Los Umbrellos – No Tengo Dinero" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
22. "Charts.nz – Los Umbrellos – No tengo dinero". Top 40 Singles.
23. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
24. "Swisscharts.com – Los Umbrellos – No tengo dinero". Swiss Singles Chart.
25. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
26. "Romanian Top 100: Top of the Year 1997". Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 22 September 2005.
27. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1998" (in German). Retrieved 4 November 2018.
28. "Year in Focus – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1998" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 51. 19 December 1998. p. 8. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
29. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
30. "End of Year Charts 1998". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
31. "Swiss Year-End Charts 1998" (in German). Retrieved 4 November 2018.
32. "Austrian single certifications – Los Umbrellos – No Tengo Dinero" (in German). IFPI Austria.
33. "New Zealand single certifications – Los Umbrellos – No Tengo Dinero". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 25 May 2019.