Christina Aguilera Introduces Mi Reflejo
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/so/20000918/en/christina_aguilera_introduces_i_mi_reflejo_i__3.html
Monday September 18 11:47 PM EDT
By Correspondent Mikel Toombs reports
LOS ANGELES — For his next collaboration, Carlos Santana will join
forces with ...
Christina Aguilera?
Don't laugh. It could happen.
The two multimillion-selling performers, the Supernatural guitarist and
the teen pop princess, met backstage Wednesday during the Latin Grammy
Awards, where each performed.
"I was talking to Santana last night," Aguilera said on Thursday, "and
he was like, 'I had the TV on at home, I was strumming my guitar and
learning the melody to "Genie in a Bottle." ' "
The belly-button-baring singer's voice raised in girlish glee at the
thought, although she didn't utter an "omigod," as she did when she was
named the winner of the Best New Artist award at the February Grammys.
Aguilera, 19, convened a press conference here to present her first
Spanish-language album, Mi Reflejo, released Tuesday. The CD includes
five remakes of songs from her debut album, including the Latin Grammy-
nominated "Genio Atrapado" ( RealAudio excerpt), the translation of her
breakthrough "Genie in a Bottle," and her current single, "Ven Conmigo
(Solamente Tu)" (Come On Over) ( RealAudio excerpt).
Mi Reflejo also features six other Spanish-language songs — among them
a duet with hot young Puerto Rico–born singer Luis Fonsi, "Si No Te
Hubiera Conocido" (If I Hadn't Met You), which incorporates styles
ranging from Mexican bolero to Puerto Rican salsa to Cuban guajira.
"I think we've definitely covered new ground," Aguilera said, "because
I was very interested in, or influenced by, soul and R&B, as well, and
I wanted to keep some of that in there, too, you know what I mean?
"So it was kind of cool mixing certain R&B and soul flavors with a
Latin sense in some songs."
The 'Reverse Crossover'
With Mi Reflejo (My Reflection) Aguilera follows the lead of Christian
singer Jaci Velasquez in making a "reverse crossover" into Latin music.
"Jaci's also from this generation of kids growing up with Spanish
parents, or at least part of the family is Latin. And they're growing
up in English," said Rudy Perez, who produced both Mi Reflejo and
Velasquez's Llegar a Ti. (Perez was Latin Grammy-nominated as Producer
of the Year for works that included the Velasquez album and "Genio
Atrapado.")
Aguilera's father is from Ecuador, and Spanish was spoken in her home
until her parents separated when she was "7 or 8," Aguilera recalled.
The feeling for the language became "second nature" to her as Perez
taught her to phonetically sing the songs he had carefully translated.
And it led her to appreciate the music her producer was introducing,
notably the classic bolero "Contigo en la Distancia" (With You Far
Away).
"The bolero was amazing. One day I was sitting around my pool area and
I just walked into my recording studio, and she was in there warming
up. And I just started playing this song, which happens to be one of
my favorite songs of all time," Perez said.
"Rudy was sitting there, just playing the guitar," Aguilera said, "and
I looked in and said, 'Rudy, I really love that song. I can really
relate to it.'
"And he told me, 'That's a bolero.' And after that, I wanted to
include it, with my interpretation."
Aguilera's interpretation features vocal frills that invite comparison
to Mariah Carey — "riffing," as Perez called it.
"I think the bolero's changed forever now. It's never going to be the
same," Perez said with a laugh.
Eye On Collaboration
The best-known version of "Contigo en la Distancia" is by romantic
singer Luis Miguel, who just won three Latin Grammys. Aguilera said
she would like to work with Miguel, as well as with "Luis Fonsi, who
I did the duet with. I think Alejandro Sanz is really talented, too."
And she also expressed an interest in hooking up with the singer whose
Latin Grammy performance was quickly compared to her own, in which she
joined "Contigo en la Distancia" with a salsafied "Genio Atrapado."
"It's crazy. People are starting to try and do this whole Shakira and
me comparison — the blond hair," Aguilera said of the (not really
blonde) Colombian who sang and danced to the Arab-themed "Ojos Asi"
on Wednesday.
"But actually, a performance I really, really liked was Shakira's. I'm
a big fan of hers. There's something about her that really intrigues
me, from her personality, or how she gets up there and rocks it."
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