Have you ever wondered how amazing Spanish-Arabic music sounds? Well, you’re in for a ride, because Pablo Alborán, a popular 24-year-old Spanish singer, released his hit album, En Acústico, in 2011. This album consists of love songs that combine traditional Spanish flamenco music with notes in minor keys, which is characteristic of Arabic music. Most of Alborán’s songs, such as “Desencuentro” and “Solamente Tú” have very slow tempos and can possibly be used for meditation. Other songs, such as “Te he Echado de Menos” and “Vuelve Conmigo” are more upbeat. Not all of Alborán’s songs have music videos; perhaps that is to force listeners to think about the songs’ meanings. Here is a sampling of a variety of songs from Alborán’s album.

“Desencuentro” (Disagreement) is a sad love song in which the singer and his lover are no longer in a relationship. Now that they are split, the singer realizes that he misses his lover dearly. Alborán sings that he needs his lover the way a human needs air to survive. The first 40 seconds of the song is a long violin solo that sets the sad and pensive mood. The minor keys and the slow rhythm make the listener remember past loves or other people with whom relations have been cut off.

“Solamente Tú” (Only You) received many awards in Spain and was very popular in Spain. This song, like all of Alborán’s songs, includes elements of Spanish and Arabic music, but “Solamente Tú” sounds much happier than “Desencuentro”. The singer is telling his lover in this song that the lover is making his life much better, such as by making his sky bluer and also that only the lover is able to wake up his soul with her light. This song has a music video, but the entire video is a close up of Alborán’s face as he is singing the song, which does not offer Alborán’s interpretation of his own song. Although this song also has a slow rhythm, it has a happier feeling to it compared to “Desencuentro”. In addition, Alborán sings with different inflections for different words to emphasize the strong feelings that the singer has for his lover.

“Vuelve Conmigo” (Come with Me) is one of Alborán’s upbeat songs. Although the tempo is swifter, the lyrics are very sad. The singer is trying to ask for forgiveness from his lover for his wrongdoings and for her to accept him as her boyfriend again. The singer says that without her, he will die. This is another song without a music video, so listeners cannot see the emotion that Alborán is putting into his songs, but listeners can tell from the inflections in his voice and the notes in a minor key that Alborán truly feels what he is singing.

“Te He Echado de Menos” (I Missed You) is another sad yet upbeat love song in which the singer thinks about past experiences with his lover. He is remembering the room in which they first kissed and his lover’s smile and thinking about how much he loves her and misses her. This song has a guitar background in the beginning, which brings in elements of Spanish flamenco, and has a music video to go with the song. This music video is of Alborán putting together a mannequin in his likeness and then putting the mannequin into a box that has fragile stamped on it.  The meaning of that may be that after splitting with his lover, he became a fragile person and needs his lover back in order to become again who he was before. The cinematography of this music video is excellent because there are many clear and focused shots of each step that Alborán is taking to make the mannequin. The entire music video is shot in a dark room with a spotlight on Alborán, who is very serious and focused on constructing his mannequin. One can also see how carefully Alborán touches the mannequin because it seems as if Alborán has a fear of breaking it after he constructed it. This mannequin could have a deeper meaning such as that after Alborán’s body broke apart from grief caused by a rough breakup, Alborán worked to piece it all back together, and Alborán has to be careful not to cause any more damage.

Do the lyrics that Alborán sings with so much passion have anything to do with his life? Although Alborán does not currently have a girlfriend, the song lyrics that he writes are to help him express his feelings about his past girlfriends and breakups. This helps him to sing with so much emotion. Alborán was also the recipient of three Latin awards, which is great considering that he only started singing for the public in 2011. Alborán’s songs are distinct from those of other Spanish singers because Alborán combines Arabic and Spanish elements in his songs. He also always sings with a soft tone that is meant to be calming and thought provoking. In addition, Alborán almost always has a long instrumental beginning to his songs. Overall, Alborán and his album, En Acústico, are both wonderful.