Thalía con banda: Grandes éxitos

Thalía con banda: Grandes éxitos is a 2001 compilation album by Thalía. The album was released in August 2001 while successful singles off her Arrasando album were still receiving heavy airplay, like "Arrasando", "Reencarnacion" and "It's My Party."

The album includes ten of Thalía's greatest hits remade in banda style, plus two new banda tracks "La Revancha" and "Cuco Peña" and two bonus remixes of "Piel Morena" and "Amor a la mexicana." The only video filmed from this album was for the mix of "Amor a la mexicana" but the single did not have great success.

Thalía con banda: Grandes éxitos received various music certifications, including a Gold award in Spain, becoming the first banda album to do so. It was also certified with Gold in Mexico and Platinum (Latin) in the United States.

Background and production
After the success of Thalía's first three studio albums by EMI, which reached multimillions of sales according to Billboard magazine, the singer and her record company decided to launch a record with the hit songs from her previous musical productions with the label. Instead of launching a common collection Thalía decided to gather the past hits arranged in the banda style. About recording an album of Banda music, she stated: "I spent my entire adolescence listening to banda with my friends [...] And on the other hand, my life has changed drastically since I've been living in the U.S., and everyhing holds a terrible nostalgia ... Losing your customs, your friends".

The bass of the album was recorded in Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Thalía said that the album is "completely Mexican music, very much from our roots (…) it is a dream that I always longed for and that I will finally achieve". The album was released at Hacienda de Los Morales, one of the most typical restaurants in Mexico City. The album was produced by Memo Gil and featured arrangements by Adolfo and Omar Valenzuela and Pancho Ruíz, composers of the banda musical genre.

Critical reception
The album received favorable reviews from music critics. Drago Bonacich from the website AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars. Leila Cobo from Billboard gave the album a favorable review and said that Thalía's strong vocals stand out even though she complained that the frequent whispering in some songs is "distracting". In a report on the album, the ¡HOLA! magazine praised the album and stated that "Thalia is once again at the forefront" and that once again she "surprises us with a totally renewed image. With the new album, she reinvents herself once again, showing why she continues to be number one."

The album was nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Banda Album at the 3rd Annual Show in 2002.

Commercial performance
The album achieved a notable international success. It became the first Regional Mexican-style album to be certified in Spain, and enter into markets such as Czech Republic, Portugal, Russia, Canada, Israel, and Bulgaria. According to Billboard's Leila Cobo, Thalía received multiple certifications for the album's sales in the United States and Latin America. The magazine previously stated in late 2001, that the album sold well, and proved "appealing both to regional Mexican and pop audiences who do not seem turned off by the singer's new look or sound".

In Europe, Thalía con banda: Grandes éxitos debuted at number 24 at Hungarian Charts, and stayed three weeks at number one in Greece. In Mexico, the album was certified Gold by AMPROFON on September 2001. In addition, the single "Amor a la Mexicana (version banda)" stayed four weeks at number one in that country. It was certified "Disco De Platino" by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of 100,000 copies to the United States.