In terms of ratings, American soap operas fell on hard times in the early to mid-2000s -- and soap-oriented publications lamented the fact that the audience for CBS, NBC and ABC's daytime soaps had shrunk considerably. But for Latin American telenovelas, the first half of the 2000s were a very different story; from Mexico's Televisa to Venezuela's Venevision, Latin soaps continued to bring huge ratings among Spanish-speaking audiences. In Latin entertainment, someone who is both a telenovela actress and a recording artist has a definite advantage -- and Ninel Conde is both things. The Mexican singer/actress had a major role on the telenovela #Rebelde in 2004, and in late 2005, Universal Latino released her album La Rebelde (The Female Rebel). This CD isn't a five-star masterpiece, but it's an enjoyable Latin pop effort along the lines of Pilar Montenegro, Mariana Seoane, and Ana Bárbara. Pop is definitely the operative word here. Conde incorporates cumbia on No Hay Mal, Que No Te Asombre, and the title track, norteño/Tex-Mex on Todo Conmigo and Ingrato, and Colombian vallenato on Cuando Me Vaya de Tu Lado, but whatever she is incorporating, there is never any question that Conde is a pop singer first and foremost. One could say that Conde exemplifies the Mexican/Colombian connection in Latin music. Regional Mexican music is popular in Colombia, and cumbia -- which originated in Columbia -- has been huge among Mexicans for many years (much more popular than salsa or merengue, in fact). So it comes as no surprise that a Mexican artist like Conde would have both Mexican and Colombian influences. La Rebelde falls short of the excellence of Bárbara and Montenegro's best work, but again, it's a likable outing from this Latin pop/telenovela star. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

1		No Me Veras
2		Rebelde
3		Matame
4		Ingrato
5		Que no te Asombre
6		Cuando me Valla de Tu Lado
7		Todo Conmigo
8		No Hay Mal
9		Tu
10		Una Mala Hierba
11		Un Adiós