Utopia

Belinda hails from Mexico and her home country's sultriness is often audible. She's also won a few awards in her short life, among others Video of the Year for MTV Latin-America. That said, Belinda Peregrín Schull is no Shakira, the Colombian chica caliente. The Mexican songstress is aimed at a teen market, and has a more serious edge to her music compared to Shakira, whose songs always drip with innuendo.

Belinda is pretty and sounds really talented, but it's all too manufactured (although the way she rolls her R's is very cute). 'Utopia' is a completely pop-driven affair.

But it might not be long before she too bows down to a highly-lucrative god called R&B. Just look at the wonders it did for Nelly Furtado. No more rolling around in the meadow in a long, white virginal dress, singing about birds and flying away. These days she's found wearing mini-skirts and rubbing shoulders (more than just her shoulders, actually) in videos with rappers and other R&B stars on MTV.

Back to Belinda. Most of her songs are in Spanish, interrupted by a few in English which range in quality from OK to dull ('See A Light'). Yet, regardless of the language she chooses to sing in, there's a definite '90s sound to the album, especially the tracks 'Contigo O Sin Tí' and 'Alguien Más'. Blame the producer.

Nevertheless, if you're 13 years old and tired of American and British wannabe pop princesses, you should try this.

(This reviewer is trying to learn Spanish and has thus found at least one use for the CD: all the lyrics are reproduced in the booklet.)