From Z-Life Magazine
Ever hear a song in Zumba® class and wonder where it came from? Zumba® Fitness’ Director of Music Sergio Minski gives us a taste of his five favorite original Zumba Fitness songs … and the stories behind them.
1. Sweet Girl
“We originally commissioned this song for a volume of kids music and gave one of our producers, Jose Luis Arroyave, two days to create a new merengue. It came back to us and was such an amazing track we knew we had to do more with it. [Zumba Fitness® Co-Founder] Beto [Perez] actually came up with the idea to add lyrics referencing other song titles from the Zumba Fitness® original library. It ended up being a huge hit and the video has more than 1.6 million views on YouTube.”
2. Caipirinha
“Although I wasn’t here for the creation, I’ve heard many stories about ‘Caipirinha.’ I actually think it’s the biggest Zumba Fitness® original hit; it has more than 25 million views on YouTube at this point. It basically started with a simple beat and then grew into a Brazilian/Middle Eastern fusion. Some of the vocals are from one of our Home Office employees, Juliana Sartori. The funniest part is that when it became a chart-topper in other countries, people would call the office trying to book the group that sang it!”
3. Come On and Dance
“This was from the very first batch of songs I did for Zumba Fitness® back in 2002, before I joined the company and during my time as an independent writer and producer. My old friend [CEO] Alberto Perlman called me and asked me create a merengue for a fitness project he was working on, so I put this together for him.”
“This track was written during a studio session with a band for their new album. The singer had come in talking about parties he had gone to that weekend, and he and the producer improvised the chorus. Unfortunately, the rest of the band didn’t take a liking to the song. About that same time Beto came to me asking for a cumbia song with a fun, energetic disco beat. I happened to call this song’s producer and he immediately sent it to me. It was perfect timing.”
“Like ‘Caipirinha,’ I wasn’t here for the creation, but I’m not surprised it’s been so popular. I do know that Beto went looking for something outside of a Latin sound, something more West Coast, more hip-hop. The song was meant for regular Zumba® classes but found a huge following in the kids classes. They go crazy for it.”