Pop Star Belinda

Latin Pop Star Belinda Talks About Her Ambitious Album Utopia; Full English Version Release

By Dale Kawashima

Belinda

17-year-old singer/actress Belinda, who was born in Madrid and lives in Mexico City, has already sold 2.1 million CDs and built an international following. She launched her career at age 10 by acting in a hit Mexican TV series & soundtrack, which became popular throughout Latin America. Then at age 14 she released her debut album Belinda, which has been certified platinum or gold in several countries. Belinda then made her U.S. acting debut by co-starring and performing in the 2006 Disney TV movie The Cheetah Girls 2, and she is featured on the hit soundtrack album

Most recently, Belinda has released her new EMI album Utopia, which she co-wrote and recorded in Los Angeles with such top writer/producers as Kara DioGuardi (Gwen Stefani, Pussycat Dolls), Jimmy Harry (Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears), Lester Mendez (Shakira, Santana) and Greg Wells (Paris Hilton, Jesse McCartney). The album is an impressive collection of modern pop/rock songs, which includes 11 songs sung in Spanish and two in English. The album is already a hit in several countries, and now Belinda has announced that she will be recording new vocals of her Utopia songs, so that all the songs will be in English. This all-English version of the album will be released in June (2007).

In a new interview, Belinda (born Belinda Peregrin) talked about how she got into acting and music, and the extensive TV acting she did early in her career. She also discussed the making of her new album, including how she co-wrote every song, and how all the songs were first recorded in English, then translated into Spanish. In addition, Belinda discussed her plans for 2007, which includes the completion of the Utopia English version, plus touring in the U.S., Latin America and Europe.

For Belinda, landing a role on a TV series (when she was 10) was a terrific opportunity to launch her career. In fact, she ended up starring in three, separate TV series in Mexico, which all released soundtrack albums that featured her. The first series was called Amigos X Siempre (“Friends Forever”) and the second was Aventuras en el Tiempo (“Adventures In Time”). But it was the third series Complices al Rescate (“Accomplices At Rescue”) that established her popularity on a worldwide level. The show became a hit in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Puerto Rico, Spain, the Phillipines and Indonesia

It was her notoriety on these shows, her soundtrack success, and her first CD Belinda which caught the attention of top U.S. writer/producers, who became excited about working with her. “It was great working with my collaborators – they are all very talented and professional,” said Belinda. “I did three songs with Kara DioGuardi, who was very nice – she’s a star and a great person. She loves what she does, and I learned a lot from her.”

Belinda

Belinda explained how she worked with her collaborators. “We started from zero and we wrote everything. I co-wrote the melodies with the producers. They would create the tracks. I would also write the lyrics with my father (Nacho Peregrin). He’s very romantic and he reads Shakespeare - I have the smartest dad ever.”

Interestingly, the songs for Utopia were written in English, even though 11 of the songs were ultimately recorded in Spanish. “I actually wrote the songs in English first with the producers from America,” she said. “For me, it’s easier to write the songs in English. Then I would do the translation for the Spanish lyric, and then we would record the songs in Spanish.”

At the current time, Belinda is focused on her music career, which entails the recording and release of the all-English Utopia, and launching a major tour in the U.S. and Europe. However, she still also loves acting side of her career, particularly if it's in movies. “I liked acting in the TV series I did early on, because it got my career started,” she explained. “But at this point I would rather do movies instead. I love doing music and movies.”

It was early in 2006, that Belinda enjoyed making her first U.S. movie, Disney’s The Cheetah Girls 2. “Acting in Cheetah Girls was a great experience – it was my first U.S. movie. I learned so much about acting on an English-language film. My English really improved. And the girls on the film were very nice, including Raven Symone – she’s my friend.”

Belinda plans on eventually acting in more film projects, but right now, she is concentrating on promoting Utopia and completing its English-language version. “I’m really proud of this album,” she stated. “Utopia is a personal album, and I think people will be able to identify with the songs because it’s real…I love it.”