Enrique the songwriter

There is something different about Enrique Iglesias. One takes a look at the cover of his new album 7 and wonders what it is. The younger son of Julio Iglesias, the ageless singing heartthrob from Spain and the Philippine-born beauty Isabel Preysler, is his usual goodlooking sexy self in the picture, but something has definitely changed. Realization sets in after a while. The mole is gone! Enrique used to have this dark mole on the left side of his face and it is not there anymore. The birthmark never bothered his fans and it sure didn’t stop him from making all of those hit songs and becoming one of the biggest pop acts of today. But something has definitely happened to the mole. Was it airbrushed off the picture? Was it surgically removed? I do not know.

Mole or no mole though, Enrique Iglesias is still one guy who knows how to work up a storm with his music. 7, his third English album and seventh release in eight years, comes after Enrique Iglesias, platinum, Vivir, platinum; Cosas del Amor, gold; Enrique, platinum; Escape, triple-platinum; and Quizas, double platinum. It is a high-intensity mix of songs made for club dancing or romancing. One cut Addicted has a Spanish version Adicto and two additional mixes but everything else is made to also please his non-Spanish speaking fans all over the world.

But of course, whether he sings in English or Spanish or Portuguese or Italian, whether he goes into a dancing frenzy or a sexy slow jam, Enrique never loses the Latin flavor that makes his music different from other pop productions. Not in Love, the new single which opens 7 has flamenco-influenced stamped on it, while the rock-tinged Addicted is every bit as passionate as Latinos are said to be. And talk about Latin lovers, The Way You Touch Me with its brilliant guitarwork was made to accompany romantic evenings.

The album falters not a bit. The songs smoothly segue from one track to the next and Enrique moves from breathy sensuality to rock star wails with ease. Nice, but the best thing about 7 is something that even his most swoony followers might not care about. He sings. He struts. And they lose their senses. They will not do that with this new development in Enrique’s career. This is the fact that for the first time in his career, he composed every cut in his album. Sure, he has collaborators but the songwriting is what makes the difference between a pop star and a true artist and it would be very exciting to find out where his future compositions will take his music.

The other songs included are Say It, California Callin’, Break Me, Shake Me, Free, Be Yourself, Wish You Were Here with Me, You Rock Me, Roamer, and Live It Up Tonight.

The US hit charts

Outkast continues to dominate the US hit charts with two hit singles Hey Ya! backed with The Way You Move which features Sleepy Brown and the top selling album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

The other hit albums are The Diary of Alicia Keys by Alicia Keys; Now 14 by Various Artists; The Very Best of Sheryl Crow by Sheryl Crow; The Singles 1992-2003 by No Doubt; The Black Album by Jay-Z; Fallen by Evanescence; Beg for Mercy by G-Unit; Shock’n Y’all by Toby Keith; and Soulful by Ruben Studdard.

The rest of the singles are Milkshake by Kelis; You Don’t Know My Name by Alicia Keys; Stand Up by Ludacris featuring Shawnna; Walked Outta Heaven by Jagged Edge; Here Without You by 3 Doors Down; Slow Jamz by Twista featuring Kanye West & Jamie Foxx; Suga Suga by Baby Bash featuring Frankie J; and Me, Myself and I by Beyonce.

Back to Enrique and his new album. Just thought I’d let you know that the lovely Kelis who is doing great in the hit charts with her single Milkshake, is Enrique’s leading lady in his Not in Love video. Take note that videos to some of Enrique’s hits have featured famous beauties like Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anna Kournikova and Mischa Barton. Kelis is the latest addition to the club. Unlike the others though, she gets to join Enrique in a duet of the song.