Soft and sweet, album still lacks originality

I love seeing crossover artists who make it in the music industry. Enrique Iglesias crossed over from Spanish-language to English-language music. Unfortunately, his style isn't particularly original or unique. We have another boring pop album here, folks.\nIglesias, born in Madrid and son of popular Spanish-crooner Julio Iglesias, made a splash with his previous self-titled album in 1999, gaining many fans with the release of the singles "Rhythm Divine," "Bailamos" and "Be With You." \nIn Escape, Iglesias certainly knows what his fans like and caters to them, singing primarily of loving and longing. The title track starts out with the strum of an electric guitar, while blending in the digitally-altered background vocals of Iglesias and the keyboard. When the percussion comes in the song really starts moving. Iglesias has a soothing voice, but again, nothing we haven't heard before. Strive for originality, Enrique!\n"Don't Turn Off the Lights" has a sing-songy quality to it in the beginning that is irritating. The chorus, though catchy and with a good beat, lacks anything really special that would make this song good. There are some interesting vocalizations throughout the piece demonstrating that Iglesias does have talent. \nIglesias's first single off Escape, "Hero," is a particularly timely song. "Now, would you die for the one you love?" the song asks, answering its own question with, "I can be your hero, baby." The song has a soft and sweet sound to it, flowing very smoothly. The Spanish guitar also echoes throughout the piece.\nThe album features "Escapar," "No Apagues La Luz, (Don't Turn off the Lights)" and "Heroe," which are almost identical to their English versions, aside from the whole Spanish thing. \nThe Iglesias' lyrics are considerably more poetic in Spanish than in English, which detracts from the meanings of some songs. I can only hope that "She be the One," (notice the bad grammar?) would be better in Spanish. \nRight now, Iglesias seems to be reveling in his triumph as a crossover act. But a little bit of advice, Enrique: you need more than a little Spanish flair to rise above a majority of pop garbage out there today.