"No Tengo Dinero" is the debut single of Danish musical groupLos Umbrellos, considered to be their signature song. It was released by FLEX Records on May 14, 1997. Based on the theme of 1960 filmNever on Sunday by GreekcomposerManos Hadjidakis, the lyrics were written by Jay and Richie Balmorian and group member Al Agami. It was produced by Kenneth Bager, Michael Pfundheller and Jan Elhøj, with additional production handled by Cutfather & Joe. The song became a top-five hit in Denmark, Italy, New Zealand and Switzerland. In Austria, the song reached number one for ten weeks, received a Platinum certification from IFPI, and was the highest-selling single of 1998. The song also peaked at number 31 on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart and number 42 on the US BillboardHot 100; it stayed on the latter chart for 27 weeks without entering the top 40. As of August 2003, the single had sold 800,000 copies worldwide. Unlike the band's following releases, "No Tengo Dinero" enjoyed chart success, thus Los Umbrellos were named a one hit wonder.
Background
In 1995, Jan Elhøj and Anders Hansen, of rap-comedy duo Angry Ass, made a song called "Frikadeller og krebinetter" which incorporated the theme of 1960 film Never on Sunday, composed by Manos Hadjidakis. The song was presented to Kenneth Bager, owner of FLEX Records, who immediately saw its potential. Bager sought to find the right people to work on the track. He enlisted Ugandan rapper Al Agami to write the rap lyrics, while songwriters Richie and Jay Balmorian wrote the Spanish and English chorus. Danish singer Shirley arranged the backing vocals for the chorus. Finally, Kenneth Bager, Jan Elhøj, and Michael Pfundheller produced the track. Bager then presented "No Tengo Dinero" to FLEX Records' parent label, EMI but they weren't interested in the song. It was then re-produced by the Danish producers Cutfather and Joe Belmaati, and finally EMI agreed to release the song. Before the release of the song, Kenneth Bager wanted to find two female backing singers for the Los Umbrellos project. Michael Pfundheller personally knew dancer Grith Højfeldt, while Mai-Britt Vingsøe was contacted through modelling agency Scandinavian Models. All three members of Los Umbrellos finally met at the cover shooting for the single.
Chart performance
"No Tengo Dinero" enjoyed chart success. In Denmark, the song peaked at number two on the Danish Singles Chart. It went on to sell 10,000 copies there. It reached number one on the Ö3 Austria Top 40, number two on the New Zealand Singles Chart, number four on the Swiss Singles Chart and number five on the Italian Singles Chart. The song also reached number thirty-three on the UK Singles Chart and appeared on three US Billboard charts—number forty-two on the Hot 100, number forty on the Mainstream Top 40 and number 27 on the Rhythmic chart. As of May 1998, the song had sold 412,000 copies in the United States. As the next Los Umbrellos single, "Easy Come, Easy Go", did not follow the success of "No Tengo Dinero", the band was considered to be a one hit wonder, and "No Tengo Dinero" their signature song.
