US pop stars reverse an old pattern, wooing fans in Spanish

MIAMI – Few in the crowd seemed to recognise Grammy-winning rapper and producer Wyclef Jean as he leaped onto stage before the sold-out arena.

Then Colombian mega-star Shakira shimmied onto the floor, the two traded Spanish and English rhymes, and the crowd roared. Cha-ching, thousands of new fans for Jean, the Haitian-American founder of the 1990s hip-hop sensation the Fugees.It used to be to make it in the United States, artists had to cross over from Spanish to English as Ricky Martin did, but lately stars like Jean, Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez are kicking it the other way – singing and rapping in Spanish for the hemisphere’s Hispanic market.It’s not hard to see why.Salsa, boleros, cumbia, alt-rock, reggaeton – Latin music offers a little something for everyone.Then there’s the state of the music industry.As more fans download albums than buy them, record labels are desperate for new listeners.The estimated 32 million Spanish speakers in the US, not to mention another roughly 400 million Spanish-speakers in Spain and Latin America, are markets screaming to be tapped.”It’s hard to ignore when 11 million people watch the Latin Grammys,” said Jose Cancela, author of the book, ‘The Power of Business en espanol,’ and a 25-year veteran of Spanish-language radio and television.”What more and more artists are seeing is that the growth of Spanish-language media, especially in the top 25 markets in the country, is having real impact on airplay and on viewership,” he added.Beyonce’s April release of the reissued ‘B’Day’ contains half a dozen songs in Spanish.The idea for the album was born with a duet her group, Destiny’s Child, recorded with Spanish pop singer Alejandro Sanz four years ago.”A lot of my Latin fans said ‘Oh, you should do more songs in Spanish,”‘ Beyonce said during a recent press conference in her hometown of Houston.Beyonce took them to heart, recording Spanish versions of hits like ‘Irreplaceable’ and ‘Listen’ from the film ‘Dream Girls.’ Jennifer Lopez, who was born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, also just released her first complete Spanish album, ‘Como Ama Una Mujer’ or ‘How a Woman Loves.’ Lopez has said she did her first demo in Spanish, but back then the labels weren’t interested.Now she’ll likely sing one of her Spanish songs when she appears in an upcoming episode of Fox Television’s ‘American Idol.’ Even Brooklyn hipster and kiddie crooner Dan Zanes, who happily acknowledges “I am such an Anglo,” is working on an entire CD in Spanish due early next year.Pop musicians have recorded songs in other languages before, but in recent years the number of top US artists rolling that Spanish “r” seems to keep growing.The benefits go both ways.Wyclef’s duet with Shakira, ‘Hips Don’t Lie,’ became a global hit and boosted sales of her English album ‘Oral Fixation Vol.2.’ Meanwhile, Beyonce’s recent duet with Mexico’s Alejandro Fernandez for a telenovela version of Zorro is sure to cross-pollinate fans.Miami-based music producer Rudy Perez, the go-to man for Spanish lyrics, adds that even second- and third-generation Hispanic fans like the idea that artists are reaching out to them, validating their heritage by singing in their parents’ or grandparents’ language.But interest in Spanish is personal for some artists, he says.Perez started the crossover work with Christian music star Jaci Velasquez, who is Mexican-American, then went on to work with Christina Aguilera for her 2000 album.Neither woman spoke much Spanish – Aguilera’s father is Ecuadoran but she was raised mostly by her German-American mother – and both wanted to get in touch with their roots, he said.Perez often writes out the Spanish lyrics phonetically for the artists.He spends hours playing with words to make each line end with a sound similar to the English version to keep the music familiar.Aguilera’s Spanish was so convincing that Perez had to go out and explain to Spanish-language media before her press conferences that she didn’t actually speak the language.Beyonce also worked with Perez and has received rave reviews for her accent.Even though she doesn’t speak Spanish, Beyonce said growing up in Texas, she was influenced by Hispanic friends and culture and vowed to work hard on her pronunciation.”I really wanted to respect the language,” she said.Zanes also said he’s interested in learning more about the culture behind the music.”It’s such a big part of America and New York,” Zanes said.”Not speaking the language, I felt like I was missing out on a lot fun.”US stars aren’t the only ones crossing over.Canadian chanteuse Nelly Furtado’s latest album ‘Loose’ has several Spanish-language songs, and Czech singer Marta Topferova has received rave reviews for her Latin boleros.The Japanese salsa group, Orchestra de la Luz, has played worldwide for more than a decade.So far, the Spanish-language forays seems well-received.”Beyonce in Spanish is a little weird,” said fan Vanessa Garcia, 18, a veterinarian student in Miami.”But her accent’s good.”Still, she and others harbour few illusions about the timing of the Spanish-language releases.Nampa-APCha-ching, thousands of new fans for Jean, the Haitian-American founder of the 1990s hip-hop sensation the Fugees.It used to be to make it in the United States, artists had to cross over from Spanish to English as Ricky Martin did, but lately stars like Jean, Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez are kicking it the other way – singing and rapping in Spanish for the hemisphere’s Hispanic market.It’s not hard to see why.Salsa, boleros, cumbia, alt-rock, reggaeton – Latin music offers a little something for everyone.Then there’s the state of the music industry.As more fans download albums than buy them, record labels are desperate for new listeners.The estimated 32 million Spanish speakers in the US, not to mention another roughly 400 million Spanish-speakers in Spain and Latin America, are markets screaming to be tapped.”It’s hard to ignore when 11 million people watch the Latin Grammys,” said Jose Cancela, author of the book, ‘The Power of Business en espanol,’ and a 25-year veteran of Spanish-language radio and television.”What more and more artists are seeing is that the growth of Spanish-language media, especially in the top 25 markets in the country, is having real impact on airplay and on viewership,” he added.Beyonce’s April release of the reissued ‘B’Day’ contains half a dozen songs in Spanish.The idea for the album was born with a duet her group, Destiny’s Child, recorded with Spanish pop singer Alejandro Sanz four years ago.”A lot of my Latin fans said ‘Oh, you should do more songs in Spanish,”‘ Beyonce said during a recent press conference in her hometown of Houston.Beyonce took them to heart, recording Spanish versions of hits like ‘Irreplaceable’ and ‘Listen’ from the film ‘Dream Girls.’ Jennifer Lopez, who was born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, also just released her first complete Spanish album, ‘Como Ama Una Mujer’ or ‘How a Woman Loves.’ Lopez has said she did her first demo in Spanish, but back then the labels weren’t interested.Now she’ll likely sing one of her Spanish songs when she appears in an upcoming episode of Fox Television’s ‘American Idol.’ Even Brooklyn hipster and kiddie crooner Dan Zanes, who happily acknowledges “I am such an Anglo,” is working on an entire CD in Spanish due early next year.Pop musicians have recorded songs in other languages before, but in recent years the number of top US artists rolling that Spanish “r” seems to keep growing.The benefits go both ways.Wyclef’s duet with Shakira, ‘Hips Don’t Lie,’ became a global hit and boosted sales of her English album ‘Oral Fixation Vol.2.’ Meanwhile, Beyonce’s recent duet with Mexico’s Alejandro Fernandez for a telenovela version of Zorro is sure to cross-pollinate fans.Miami-based music producer Rudy Perez, the go-to man for Spanish lyrics, adds that even second- and third-generation Hispanic fans like the idea that artists are reaching out to them, validating their heritage by singing in their parents’ or grandparents’ language.But interest in Spanish is personal for some artists, he says.Perez started the crossover work with Christian music star Jaci Velasquez, who is Mexican-American, then went on to work with Christina Aguilera for her 2000 album.Neither woman spoke much Spanish – Aguilera’s father is Ecuadoran but she was raised mostly by her German-American mother – and both wanted to get in touch with their roots, he said.Perez often writes out the Spanish lyrics phonetically for the artists.He spends hours playing with words to make each line end with a sound similar to the English version to keep the music familiar.Aguilera’s Spanish was so convincing that Perez had to go out and explain to Spanish-language media before her press conferences that she didn’t actually speak the language.Beyonce also worked with Perez and has received rave reviews for her accent.Even though she doesn’t speak Spanish, Beyonce said growing up in Texas, she was influenced by Hispanic friends and culture and vowed to work hard on her pronunciation.”I really wanted to respect the language,” she said.Zanes also said he’s interested in learning more about the culture behind the music.”It’s such a big part of America and New York,” Zanes said.”Not speaking the language, I felt like I was missing out on a lot fun.”US stars aren’t the only ones crossing over.Canadian chanteuse Nelly Furtado’s latest album ‘Loose’ has several Spanish-language songs, and Czech singer Marta Topferova has received rave reviews for her Latin boleros.The Japanese salsa group, Orchestra de la Luz, has played worldwide for more than a decade.So far, the Spanish-language forays seems well-received.”Beyonce in Spanish is a little weird,” said fan Vanessa Garcia, 18, a veterinarian student in Miami.”But her accent’s good.”Still, she and others harbour few illusions about the timing of the Spanish-language releases.Nampa-AP