This post is maybe a little bit of a cheat, as I've already posted one of these songs before, back in December 2006, but there is a difference: it's in English now. And that really does change something about it.Trying not to jump ahead too much, though, Mexican singer Belinda became a child star with some acting and her self-titled debut album (the second single off of which was a cover of Kim Lian's "Teenage Superstar"), which came out in 2003. She must've decided the light pop (-rock) of most of that album wasn't what she wanted and that she wanted a more mature, "edgy" image, though, because in 2005 she starred in Mexico's resident knowingly-throwback-to-the-'80's rock group Moderatto's music video for "Muriendo lento" and featured on the song (though her collaboration in the U.S. would be with the decidedly less cool Cheetah Girls). In 2006, she released her second album, Utopia, pretty obviously designed to pitch Belinda as "edgier" and less "just for kids," even right down to the album artwork and accompanying photo shoots. This year, she re-released the album, retitled Utopia 2, with some of the songs on it re-recorded in English, and it's two of those I'm posting today (toyed with posting these when the album first came out, but then Electroqueer covered her; I think enough time has passed that it's worth mentioning her again, though).
If We Were--I have to say, I really think I like this a lot more in English. For some reason, the Spanish version didn't feel as catchy to me, somehow felt impenetrable--but, and it's probably just because I'm hearing the song in my native language now, the song feels catchier in this version. The fact that "If We Were" manages to beat out the original is no small feat, though, considering it loses my two favorite things about the Spanish version: the casually tossed off "you were hot...I forgot" (which, yes, was in English while pretty much the rest of the song was in Spanish, making it even more random and even funnier) and the snappy title of the original, "Ni Freud Ni Tu Mama," which is a heck of an awesome brush-off (Belinda's leaving a guy, and tells him she was never Freud [his therapist/someone who could change him] or his mom [someone to take care of him/make him grow up]). When Belinda sings in English, she often has a rough, harsh edge to her voice (not an extreme one, but it peeks through here and there), which can be a little bit of a problem when she's singing something as light as, say, her Cheetah Girls 2 song "Why Wait," but here, it fits the drama and strong dark electro sound of the song. The song's got a nice stompy feel to it that I love and fantastic backing music that apparently still works fairly well even though the message of the song has completely changed (from a brush-off to wanting to be with a guy).
End Of The Day--the English version of "Bella Traición" and, once again proving that I either didn't pay close enough attention the first time around or just "get" the songs more in English, the original version never jumped out at me as much as this one has. "End Of The Day" is a lot lighter and less electro than "If We Were," but it's still catchy and still really good pop, even if the line "I'm not sorry 'cause that would mean I'm not cool with myself" does make me laugh a little bit.
To buy Belinda's album Utopia 2, go here (physical) or here (digital). If you're looking for a dramatic half-power ballad, the English version of "Pudo ser tan fácil," "Takes One To Know One," is worth a listen.
Next up: maybe something else in Spanish, or Italian.
4 comments:
Why is his name Belinda?
Because "Avril" was already taken.
oh I really hate Belinda her music is a cheat, I don't know how people can like her music, the IF we were on English version is a total disaster, she doesn't sing in any language good.
I remember when my mom watched Mexican Soap operas and Belinda was in many of them as a sweet girl, but now she is a hot singer, and so controversial, for instance her hot video!
Post a Comment