1-2-3 (Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine song)

"1-2-3"
Worldwide Single Cover
Single by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
from the album Let It Loose / Anything for You
ReleasedJune 14, 1988
Recorded1987
Genre
Length3:28 (album version)
3:36 (7" remix)
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
  • Gloria Estefan
  • Enrique Garcia
Producer(s)Emilio & The Jerks
Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine singles chronology
"Anything for You"
(1988)
"1-2-3"
(1988)
"Don't Wanna Lose You"
(1989)
Music video
"1-2-3" on YouTube

"1-2-3" (sometimes listed as "1, 2, 3") is a 1988 song by American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. The song was written by the band's drummer and lead songwriter Enrique "Kiki" Garcia along with Estefan and appears on the multi-platinum album Let It Loose. The music video was directed by Jim Yukich and produced by Paul Flattery.

Released as the fifth and final single from that album in early summer of 1988, "1-2-3" peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 1988, and was the band's 7th and last Top 10 hit.[2] In addition, the song became their fourth #1 hit on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.[3] On the Billboard R&B chart, "1-2-3" peaked at 54, and on the UK Singles Chart it peaked at #9.[3] After the success of the re-releases of "Can't Stay Away From You" and "Anything For You", "1-2-3" also saw a re-release outside the US in January 1989. The single release was remixed to add more horns, a stronger rhythm track, and a different intro to the song; this version was issued on Greatest Hits and The Essential Gloria Estefan.

The lyrics of "1-2-3" detail the singer's desire to have a shy suitor approach her.

In 1991, Estefan sang a children's rendition of the song with Big Bird and the Birdketeers on Sesame Street.

  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (May 3, 2021). "The Number Ones: Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine's "Anything For You". Stereogum. Retrieved November 11, 2023. ...the group released one more Let It Loose single, the dance track "1-2-3," and it peaked at #3.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  3. ^ a b Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)