Enrique

11/23/1999 3:00 AM, LAUNCH
Bob Gulla

Global hero Enrique Iglesias didn't take long to emerge from his father Julio's diminished shadow. The superstar progeny, who wrote five of the 10 tunes on his major-label debut, has fast established himself in the States as a pop superstar with his English language debut, Enrique. Part of that rise can be attributed to "Bailamos," his No. 1 hit from the Wild Wild West soundtrack, and to "Rhythm Divine," Enrique's silky-smooth lead single.

But the album itself is also an incredibly canny recording, in the same way many of today's Nashville country-pop recordings are. To disguise their intentions of making a pop record, Nashville producers feign a country sound by adding a pedal steel guitar or perhaps a country fiddle track. Here, Iglesias and executive producer Andres Restrepo ensure, with hints of Spanish guitar and vaguely Latin percussion tracks, that their decidedly pop record listens like a "Latin" record, an important move in the suddenly Latin-friendly U.S. of A.

Yet not only does Iglesias guarantee himself a Latin-American audience--Spanish remixes also help with that--he reaches out to urban and AOR listeners as well. His sexy duet with Whitney Houston, "Could I Have This Kiss Forever," and his adequate cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Sad Eyes" are simply brilliant marketing moves, ensuring Iglesias has almost every radio transmitter base from coast to coast covered. It may sound cynical, but you'll understand once you find in a few months that you won't be able to escape this album no matter where you turn.