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Crossing borders
Latin pop star Paulina Rubio ready for English success with new CD
By JANE STEVENSON -- Toronto Sun
Border Girl, the English language debut of Mexican singer Paulina Rubio, is poised to do for her what previous albums have done for Ricky Martin, Shakira, Enrique Iglesias and Marc Anthony.
That is successfully cross over from a Spanish-language artist -- whose biggest markets are currently Mexico, Spain and Brazil -- to an English one.
Border Girl just debuted at No. 11 in the U.S. and No. 49 in Canada and Rubio, in Toronto yesterday for a promotional visit, couldn't be more pleased.
"We're very excited," said the pretty, whippet-thin singer, dressed in a beautiful vintage Morrocan shirt, caramel-coloured pants and matching high heels, and dangly, amber-coloured earrings.
"We've been promoting this album for the last three months and we've been very focused with my band and to film the video and to go all around the world. And we're in the middle of the U.S.A. right now, making concerts and all that, and then I'm here in Canada. We're very, very happy to be here because we postponed this visit for the last two or three months."
Rubio's last effort was Billboard's No. 1 Latin album of 2001 so the timing of Border Girl, a blend of pop-R&B ballads and European disco and Latin-infused dance songs, including a campy cover of the KISS anthem I Was Made For Lovin' You, would certainly appear to be good.
And Rubio's physical resemblence to Shakira -- long, blond-streaked wavy locks, intense, light brown eyes and a curvy, slight frame --probably won't hurt either.
"For me it's very important to connect with more people every day," says Rubio, 30, who doesn't plan to start touring until next February. "And I believe English is a universal language, so it's amazing how much you can get from a language. I grew up with a bilingual language (Spanish and English) but I speak a little bit of French, and a little bit of Italian. For me languages are not a problem. Even if I don't know the language my body language permits me to get close to people and to express myself."
Rubio, who has already sold 4 million albums worldwide as a Spanish language star, has also been primed for this widespread exposure since she was a very little girl.
The daughter of Mexican film star Susanna Dosamantes, she recorded her first song at age three and was later part of the teenage girl group Timbiriche (the female equivalent of Menudo) for a decade. She's also appeared in three different soap operas and a film.
"I think I wait because of my music," says Rubio of the long wait to record in English. "Because I think my music, it's international right now. I grew up in different countries, that's why Border Girl is Paulina growing up in different cultures and how all that reflects into my life. My life is music -- it's the way I express myself to the outside world."
As for that KISS cover, it has personal significance to Rubio, who has met Paul Stanley and appears on the premiere cover of Gene Simmons' Tongue.
"First of all, my first album was a KISS album and that specific album (Dynasty)," she says. "I had the idea first with my brother because we remember we were like nine and 10 and we never had the opportunity to dance to that song in a nightclub, so we liked that song. But I think that new generations will hear the song, it's like a deja vu. And I love the lyrics."
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