¿Qué Creías?

"¿Qué Creías?" was written in its entirety in the back of a car by backup vocalist Pete Astudillo and Selena's brother and music producer, A.B. Quintanilla.[1] Oftentimes, their tour bus broke down, rendering the crew to travel long distances in three vehicles. Astudillo, A.B., and keyboardist Joe Ojeda would share a vehicle whenever the tour bus broke down. Band manager and father of Selena and A.B., Abraham Quintanilla insisted on stops to Las Vegas, whenever traveling back from California. During one particular trip back from California, A.B. challenged Astudillo with the idea of writing a song before they arrived in Las Vegas. When they arrived, Astudillo had written two verses that were greatly inspired by Mexican singer Juan Gabriel. He wanted a song that would enable Selena to "really sink her teeth into and really let it roar."[2] Guitarist of the group, Chris Perez, recalled that Selena recorded the song quickly.[1]

"¿Qué Creías?" is a mariachi ballad,[3][4] torch song.[5] It draws influences from historical boleros of northern Mexico,[6] conjunto (small band) styles,[7] ranchera,[8] and Andalusian copla that connects the culture of Latin America back to Spain.[3] At the beginning of the song, Selena tells her former love interest to leave, she tells him that he would be mistaken into believing that she would forgive him of his wrongdoing, confessing that she can live without him. Biographer Joe Nick Patoski writes how Selena "scorches" her former lover who took her for granted.[6] Lyrically, Selena paints herself as a wronged woman who angrily tells her lover off,[9] reminding female listeners of how men take them for granted.[8] Elsa Nidia Barrett of the Tucson Citizen, found the lyrics to have resonated with her, particularly the part of telling off a cheating boyfriend "with such aplomb."[10] Selena's "lack of restraint" emotive vocal range and lyrics echoing the "gritty passion" of Lucha Villa,[11] showcases her as a "dramatic ballad singer".[12] Richard Torres of Newsday believed Selena's emotional delivery in songs such as "¿Qué Creías?" and "Tú, Sólo Tú" (1995) turned them into successful singles. He particularly enjoyed the "extra throb in [Selena's] throat" as "truly heartrending."[13] Musicologist John Storm Robert, believed "¿Qué Creías?" lack the "thousand octane and ten-Kleenex passion of a Lola Beltran". He continued that the song has enough of the Mexican "pop-ranchera shameless (and superb) emotionalism to get by even south of the border." Robert ended his review that his comments were not to "devalue her singing and star quality".[14] Elijah Wald of The New York Times believed "¿Qué Creías?" is proof that Selena is able to sing in "deepest form" while "making it her own." Wald found Selena's delivery as a "ferocious passion of a classic Mexican diva".[15] "¿Qué Creías?" is a "kiss-off anthem",[8] that Selena said speaks "for all the ladies".[16] Patoski called it "all sass and fire." and found the track peculiar to Selena's repertoire of cumbia music.[17] Steve Webb of the Lakeland Ledger, found that it showcases a singer "who aspires to be something more musically."[12] "¿Qué Creías?" includes seven major chords and a stretched instrumentation in its song structure.[12] Tejano singer David Lee Garza lent his "soulful" accordion-style on the track.[18]

Upon its radio release in November 1992, it entered at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.[19] "¿Qué Creías?" received extensive airplay in Alberquerque, Austin, McAllen, Lubbock, Alice, Laredo, Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio, Brownsville,[20] and Abilene.[21] It was the eighth most-played song on Tejano radio stations in Texas.[22] In its second week, the song rose to number 30,[23] though it fell to number 32 in its third week.[24] During its fourth week, "¿Qué Creías?" fell to number 33.[25] In its fifth week, "¿Qué Creías?" rose to number 27 for two consecutive weeks.[26] Over the holiday season, the song rose to number 26.[27] The song continued an upward track, rising to number 24 the following week,[28] and number 19 the week after.[29] It reached number 18 the following week,[30] before peaking at number 14 on the issue dated February 6, 1993.[31] "¿Qué Creías?" remained on the chart for an additional four weeks before falling off, for a total of 14 weeks on the chart.[32] During the aftershow of the 1993 Tejano Music Awards in March, Selena talked about preparations of making a music video for "¿Qué Creías?" in Nuevo Leon.[33] In September 1992, EMI Latin booked Selena for a press conference in Monterrey, Mexico, the record company aimed to capitalize on the growing popularity of "¿Qué Creías?" and Entre a Mi Mundo, which became the first album by Selena to appeal to audiences in Mexico.[34] In a music report for the state of New York, "¿Qué Creías?" was the fourth most-played song in the state.[35] "¿Qué Creías?" debuted and peaked at number ten on the US Billboard Latin Digital Song Sales chart on the tracking week of December 16, 2020.[36] The song was certified gold (Latin) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which denotes 30,000 units consisted of sales and on-demand streaming.[37]

During her live performances of "¿Qué Creías?", Selena would often seek out a male volunteer on stage to portray her ex-boyfriend, scolding them while she portrays a wronged woman.[38][39] Gus Garcia of Del Rio News-Herald wrote how A.B. composes songs that deal with real-life situations and that Selena is able to convey that message in "¿Qué Creías?" during her performances by asking for young men to play the role of her former lover.[16] Wald found Selena's performances of the song as "paying tribute to tradition while comically asserting her independence from it."[15] Selena performed "¿Qué Creías?" on the Johnny Canales Show in 1994, in which Canales portrayed her ex-lover, was later released as part of the host's "favorite songs" on DVD.[40] In 2005, Alicia Villareal performed the song during the benefit concert Selena ¡VIVE!.[41] In 2020, Christian Serratos portrayed Selena in the Netflix two-part limited drama Selena: The Series. Serratos said filming the concert scene of "¿Qué Creías?" was her favorite part because of the ability Selena had in making people in her concerts feel as though "they were all hanging out together as friends." She had rewatched Selena's performances of the song in preparation,[42] calling a particular performance of the song by Selena "just so badass." because of the singer's confidence.[43]

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Entre a Mi Mundo.[1]

• "¿Qué Creías?" audio on YouTube