Euphoria is international superstar Enrique Iglesias' ninth studio album, but he changes the formula up a bit here releasing a Bilingual album, half Spanish/half English. I will very honestly admit that I did enjoy the album's first two English singles, I Like It (ft. Pitbull) and Heartbeat (ft. Nicole Scherzinger), which although solid, have struggled to garner much Airplay in this Bieber/Gaga-fixated era.
Iglesias' other new tracks keep things melodic, summery and fun. Dirty Dancer (ft. Usher) perhaps may find some commercial success as it is made the same vein that his collaborator's smash OMG, heavy on the Garage Band-loops and Synths, while One Day at a Time (ft. Akon) has a resemblance to Lady Gaga's Eh Eh in being produced by the man responsible for her hits, RedOne.
The album slows down mid-way with Why Not Me, catering to fans of earlier hits like Sad Eyes and Hero. And although I don't speak a word of Spanish, you can hear that there is still some degree of thematic coherency with tracks like No Me Digas Que No (ft. Wisin and Yandel) and Ayer. Cuando Me Enamoro (ft. Juan Luis Guerra) and Dile Que are dead-aimed at fans of his Spanish music and go beyond his younger demographic of listeners.
Euphoria heads back to America with Heartbreaker, beautifully-produced by the always good RedOne but the song itself is nothing groundbreaking nor spectacular. Coming Home is perhaps the collection's most genuine moment with Iglesias sounding at his best. A beautiful track which sounds like it could be written for Robbie Williams in his prime perhaps? Everything's Gonna Be Alright struggles from the album's biggest problem: it becomes too trying with lyrics like "I'm here, we're the stars, nobody can fuck with us....".
With that being said, Iglesias' Euphoria is highly listenable but perhaps the English tracks could have been separated to an eight-track album - no filler. In its current format, I'll be the first to admit that it is excessively long at 14 tracks. Condensed, with perhaps a few less "featured" billings, we would have gotten a proper release. The question though, is whether America still has a spot on its iTunes Library for Iglesias. Grade: B+
Glad you like the album - I think he sneaks them in under the carpet, it's just a shame he often has zero credibility.
ReplyDeleteI only disagree on one thing though: I think Everything's Gonna Be Alright is perfect, it just melts into my ears that one and reminds me of his other song, Be Yourself.
Sounds great! - Can't wait to give it a listen :)!!!!
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