If money is the great influence, then call Enrique Iglesias the most influential Latin music artist in the world, having sold a record-breaking number of albums over a stretch of several years. With Escape, his sophomore English-language release, he brings the whole Latin Invasion to a screeching halt, or "maybe" a gentle halt, making for an opportune screeching question: Have Latins traded in their musical roots for the American musical dream? When Latin-flavored music came flooding into the United States in the late '90s, it sounded a lot more, well, "Latin" than it sounds these days. Repetition and popularity certainly have something to do with it, and keep in mind that the likes of Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera, and Jennifer Lopez have had the benefit of hits from American pop writer heavyweights like Diane Warren, Carl Sturken, and Evan Rogers. Here, however, is an album executive produced by and with every song written (with collaborators) by Iglesias. The musical result is not exactly consecrated to his native country of Spain, nor his Miami upbringing. Touring with musicians from the bands of Billy Joel, Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen might have shaken loose the rock soul inside of him. Escape is a pop/rock album through and through, and it is also reminiscent of classic pop albums of the 1980s -- short (ten original songs), sweet, and wildly catchy. It is not without Spanish flavor, if only for Iglesias' pronunciations and three added Spanish-version tracks; it just has other priorities in mind. Though Iglesias' songs always turn up as remixes and at dance clubs, and though he could just as easily thicken the sound effects to overtake the basic melodies, he remains reserved in sound and lyric. On One Night Stand, he makes reference to intimate belongings left behind by his "girlfriend." There is such a childlike vulnerability in his voice that listeners get the impression this scenario may not have ever happened to him.

1		Escape
2		Don't Turn Off the Lights
3		Love to See You Cry
4		Hero
5		I Will Survive
6		Love 4 Fun
7		Maybe
8		One Night Stand
9		She Be the One
10		If the World Crashes Down
11		Escapar
12		No Apagues la Luz
13		Héroe

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