Border Girl

1	Don't Say Goodbye 4:49
2	Casanova 3:36
3	Border Girl 3:36
4	The One You Love 3:47
5	Not That Kind of Girl 3:26
6	Undeniable 3:29
7	The Last Goodbye 4:39
8	Stereo / Pretty Willie 3:48
9	I'll Be Right Here (Sexual Lover) 3:58
10	Fire (Sexy Dance) 3:29
11	I Was Made for Lovin' You 3:33
12	Si Tu Te Vas 4:50
13	Baila Casanova 3:46
14	Todo Mi Amor 3:36
15	Libre 3:43
16	Y Yo Sigo Aqui 3:58

Barnes & Noble

Whether by dint of technology, tenacity, or talent, the world's pop stars are ready to take on America's musical monopoly, and Paulina Rubio follows Colombia's Shakira to the vanguard with her long-overdue bilingual debut, Border Girl. Mexico's Queen of All Media, Rubio has conquered music, TV, and movies, clawing her way through her homeland's pop-star factory system from a tender age to emerge a multiplatinum commodity. That this sexpot's more than ready for across-the-border marketing is obvious from Border Girl, which not only includes English versions of two hits from her previous Spanish-language album, Paulina, but also five Spanish tracks ready for Latin radio. The best, "Don't Say Goodbye"/"Si Tu Te Vas" and "The One You Love"/"Todo Mi Amor," contrast her husky, accented vocals with thunderous pop arrangements that mix and match hip-hop beats, guitar rock, and cascades of multitracked vocals -- imagine Britney Spears after a couple years behind a bar in Tijuana. Noted for hi-energy dance pop, Rubio delivers plenty of it on the brassy "Baila Casanova" (a Latin-pop rumba in the Ricky Martin mode), "Fire (Sexy Dance)," and her aerobicized version of KISS's 1979 disco hit "I Was Made for Loving You." But Rubio's content to play the field: "Stereo" offers a stark, Janet-styled detour into contemporary R&B, and "The Last Goodbye" translates a popular Mexican ranchera into low-rider hip-pop. The marquee songs don't come much more solid -- the unfocused mid-tempo title track by Richard Marx is an exception -- and with her mix of sex appeal and showbiz stamina, it's not hard to imagine this Border Girl moving to the northernmost reaches of the charts. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Just like her blockbuster album Paulina (the biggest Latin album of 2001), Border Girl, Paulina Rubio's first foray into English-language musical territory, is a winning combination of different musical styles, successfully bridging pop, dance, hip-hop, rock, ballads, Latin, and even ranchera into one delicious package. The album opens with the first single, "Don't Say Goodbye," a feverish bit of Top 40 dance-pop, then quickly delves into the Latin rhythms of "Casanova," which is followed by the funky and melodic "Border Girl," whose underlying hip-hop beats only serve to make the song even more appealing. The album's true gem, however, is "The Last Goodbye," which bridges ranchera with a hip-hop beat and features one of the most memorable sing-song choruses in years. "The Last Goodbye" was one of the biggest hits from Paulina (originally titled "El Ultimo Adios"). Other hits from Paulina which are here in English versions include the rock ballads "The One You Love" and "Not That Kind of Girl" and the Hi-NRG dance ditties "I'll Be Right Here (Sexual Lover)" and "Fire (Sexy Dance)." Highlights include the gorgeous and breathy ballad "Undeniable," the funky and soulful "Stereo" (which features a rap), and, almost unbelievably, her version of the Kiss classic "I Was Made for Lovin' You." No matter how pop this album may lean, Paulina Rubio injects these songs with an undeniable and irresistible earthiness (and one heck of a sexy accent) and, in turn, makes Border Girl one of the most interesting and international pop albums of 2002. As a final note, the album closes with two new Spanish-language tracks, those being "Libre" and "Todo Mi Amor," as well as Spanish versions of "Don't Say Goodbye" and "Casanova" and the original version of "I'll Be Right Here" ("Y Yo Sigo Aqui"). ~ Jose F. Promis, All Music Guide

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