Following the release of Guerra's seventh studio album, Fogarate (1994), Guerra decided to retire because of stress and personal issues.^{[citation needed]} In 1996, he converted to Christianity.^[8] In 1998, on the track "Testimonio", included on the tracklist of the album Ni es lo mismo ni es igual, Guerra described how his life changed since his conversion. In 2003, he performed at the closing ceremony at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, his first performance in the country since his show in 1999 at Altos de Chavon.^[9] In February 2004, it was confirmed by the press that Guerra was going to release an album called Para Ti and it was a Christian-inspired album.^[10] On July 15, 2004, Guerra signed a one-off contract with Vene Music to release the album. He remained signed to his long time indie-label Karen Records.^[11][12]

Critical reception edit

Para Ti received positive reviews from critics. Jenny Gage from Allmusic gave the album three and half stars out of five. She said "Para Ti is bound to make all but the most stalwartly areligious feel a whole lot better. Aside from a couple of isolated missteps involving a culturally displaced gospel choir and what sounds suspiciously like a wind machine, these are great songs, as danceable as they are devotional".^[14] The album received two awards at the 6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, for Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) and Best Tropical Song for "Las Avispas".^[15] In 2005 Guerra was the most nominated artist for the 2005 Casandra Awards.^[16] He was awarded Best International Artist and Merengue of the Year for "Las Avispas".^[17]

Commercial reception edit

In the United States, the album debuted at number 110 at the Billboard 200, Guerra's first album to debut inside the chart, and sold 10,000 copies in the first week.^[18] Its debut at number 2 of US Billboard Latin Albums was the highest debut for a Christian album on that chart.^{[citation needed]} Four weeks later, Para Ti remained at the top five, an anomaly for an album whose content - a mix of praise and worship, gospel and inspirational music - is profoundly devotional. It topped the Tropical Albums charts for seven consecutive weeks and was the sixth best-selling tropical album of 2004.^[19][20] It was certified platinum three times (Latin field) by the RIAA for shipping 300,000 copies in the United States. In Latin America, the album reached the Top 10 in Argentina and was certified gold for selling over 20,000 copies. In Dominican Republic, it topped the charts and was the best-selling album of 2004 despite piracy.^[21] It was certified platinum in Venezuela and Gold in Central America and Colombia. In Spain, the album peaked at number 41 and sold over 20,000 copies. Worldwide, Para Ti sold more copies than Bachata Rosa in the first week.^[22] In total it sold half a million copies worldwide.^[23]

• List of number-one Billboard Top Latin Albums of 2004
• List of number-one Billboard Tropical Albums from the 2000s

• Juan Luis Guerra Discography