1989 Gloria Estefan – Cuts Both Ways

Cuts Both Ways is the debut solo album by American recording artist Gloria Estefan. Though the release marked the first time Estefan was billed solely as a solo artist, Miami Sound Machine still performed instrumentation for the album. It has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. In some Spanish-speaking territories, the album was titled Doblemente Herida.

In 1987, after a decade of being the lead singer of Miami Sound Machine, she was credited above the group name (Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine) on their album Let It Loose. By 1989, Gloria Estefan was one of the most successful female Latin artists in the world. With the release of Cuts Both Ways, Estefan was marketed as a solo artist, but Miami Sound Machine continued to perform as her backing band in the studio and on tour (however, the only original member of MSM to play on the album besides Estefan was her husband/producer, Emilio).

The album reached the top ten on the US Billboard 200 chart and peaked at number 1 in the UK and Australia.

The first single from the album was “Don’t Wanna Lose You”, which became one of Estefan’s biggest hits, reaching number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (her second US number one) and was certified Gold by the RIAA. It also reached the top ten in the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK. Later releases from Cuts Both Ways were the commercially successful singles “Here We Are”, “Oye mi Canto”, and “Get on Your Feet”. The title track was released as the final single from the album and was a number one hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

Jon Secada provided background vocals for the album. Emilio Estefan, Jorge Casas and Clay Ostwald received a Grammy Award nomination for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for their work in Cuts Both Ways.