Thalia

The trend to bring Latina singers into the American mainstream continues with Mexican pop phenomenon Thalia. No stranger to the limelight, Thalia had sung in two youth bands and starred in Mexico's first teen-centric soap opera by the mid-1980s. But don't worry - her promo material assures us she was "still a teenager" when she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a solo singing career. Over fifteen years later, Thalia's reputation has blossomed with a string of hit records. While she's a stylistic chameleon - you'll hear ska, rock, rap, techno, ballads and traditional Mexican music all vying for space on her records - Thalia controls the mic with total assurance. She sounds passionate and gritty on the traditional collection "Conda Banda: Grandes Exitos" and she's also finding her feet, slowly, in the world of American R&B.