Enrique Iglesias Insomniac CD

Adapter: Enrique Iglesias.
Personnel: Carlos Paucar (vocals); Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermanson (various instruments); Johnta Austin (vocals); Kristian Lundin (keyboards, programming); Anna Nordell (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Kristian Lundin; Mark Taylor ; Mark "Spike" Stent; Phil Tan; Randy Staub ; Ren Swan.
Recording information: Battery Studios, New York, NY; Metrophonic Studios, England; Oriole Clubhouse, The Location Studios; South Point Studios (The Crackhouse).
Photographers: Alan Silfen; Chapman Baehler.
Throughout the early 2000s Enrique Iglesias steadily gained a firm foothold as the biggest-selling Latin pop star on the market. That his father is an international superstar didn't hurt matters, of course, nor did his smoldering good looks, but Iglesias's albums also showed an increasing command of the pop medium with their blend of romantic balladry, radio-ready pop, and adult contemporary fare. INSOMNIAC (2007) pushes the singer's profile even further into the commercial stratosphere with its slick, glossy sound and the newfound presence of urban contemporary grooves designed for the club.
Everything about INSOMNIAC is designed for crossover appeal. The album is almost entirely in English, and the inclusion of club-oriented tracks--such as "Push," which features a cameo by rapper Lil Wayne, and "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)"--are a clear appeal to young, hip audiences. Yet Iglesias still plays the sexy crooner without missing a beat ("On Top of You"), and also sings a couple songs in Spanish to keep his Latin listeners in the loop ("Alguien Soy Yo"). In short, Iglesias covers all the bases on this sharp, stylish release, adding even more fuel to his reign as the king of contemporary Latin pop.
Insomniacs, of course, can't sleep, so they stay up all night -- and who better to provide a soundtrack to sleepless nights than Enrique Iglesias, the heir to the Latin loverman throne that his father Julio claimed in the '80s. Unlike his dad, Enrique became a global superstar at a relatively young age, and he also came of age in an era that's decidedly flashier than Julio's, so even if he shared a taste for corny romantic ballads with his father, he had a far hipper persona than his dad, and nowhere is that more evident than on 2007's Insomniac, his fourth English-language album and first to really be pushed to a younger audience. Sure, there's a surplus of slow-burning romantic ballads, but Insomniac also has a stylish shimmer designed for clubs and even those slow tunes can get down and dirty, as on "On Top of You," which is every bit the sub-R. Kelly bump-n-grind the title indicates. But Enrique is too much of a crossover guy to spend the entire album doing the nasty -- he's sharp enough to spend just enough time to give the impression that Insomniac leans toward that sleek, sexy club sound, but loads up the rest of the record with songs that can fit into smooth pop radio stations the world over. Sometimes, he pushes too hard in either direction -- complete with a Lil Wayne cameo, the dirty-dancing anthem "Push" (as in "push push/back upon it/don't stop until the morning") tries way too hard and has the opposite effect as intended, while some ballads drown in syrup -- but sometimes Iglesias strikes the right balance between crossover pop and stylish retro-new wave production, as on "Stay in Tonight," a tune that's sleek and propulsive but not edgy, a tune that could have fit into adult contemporary pop radio at any time since the late '80s, and Sean Garrett's production on "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)" is the inverse, sounding tailor-made for the moment of its release. Both are similar in one regard: they're the kind of song that works for Enrique because it glides by on its sound and doesn't rely on him to do the heavy lifting, either as a singer or a seducer. But what works on this slick, snazzy makeover is what always works for him: the ballads and the middle-of-the-road pop tu