Paulina Rubio
Photo: Alexander Tamargo/WireImage

After a two-year absence, Mexican pop diva Paulina Rubio is back on the scene with something unexpected. While the Latin hitmaker might be known primarily for fun, super-catchy pop tunes, her new single, "Causa y Efecto," has a slight rocker edge that Paulina says reflects her desire to grow as an artist.

"I love to do something different all the time," Rubio said. "I don't repeat myself. I've been growing, and I think my music has evolved over time."

That willingness to try new things is a theme carried throughout the music video, which shows the singer fronting a band and rocking out on guitar.

"It's all about the performance, and the rock-and-roll [aspect], glam rock and the rhythm of it," Paulina said about the '80s-inspired video that also features her bedazzled face, made up to look like a human disco ball. "It's really funky. And we also have the skyline of Miami, 'cause we really love the city."

The city also features prominently in the concept of the Miami resident's upcoming ninth studio release, Gran City Pop — named after an imaginary city Paulina created to fuse together the broad musical influences and life experiences reflected on the album's 10 songs.

"Gran City Pop is a city where people speak Spanglish, where freedom reigns and where love prospers and there is no violence," Paulina said. "The city itself was inspired by several places, including Mexico, which is my homeland; Madrid, Spain; and Miami in the U.S."

And in this utopia she has envisioned, the gay icon says same sex-marriage would no longer even be an issue.

"I think the most beautiful thing is two people who love each other. It shouldn't be prohibited for people that love each other to get married. Gran City Pop is a city where, above all, human rights are important. Gays would absolutely be allowed to marry."

Paulina's Gran City Pop drops June 23, and she plans to kick off her tour next month, hitting Europe first and arriving Stateside this fall.

All this week, MTV News will be celebrating Miami's legends, superstars and upstarts. Keep checking back with us for more from the evolving city.

• Paulina Rubio Goes Pop

• Paulina Rubio

As the year winds down, so, too, do the new releases. It'll be short and sweet this week so you can get back to the rest of the day's music news. Yeah, yeah, holiday cheer and whatnot.

First up, David Bowie's box set Sound + Vision. It showcases more outtakes and rarities than hits, but fret not — that's what Best of Bowie, out this week as well, is for.

Paulina Rubio tells her Historia, while Elephant Man is Good 2 Go and Kinky release their second album, Atlas.

Finally, nearly three years since her debut, Songs in A Minor, Alicia Keys releases her follow-up, The Diary of Alicia Keys, featuring the single "You Don't Know My Name" as well as "Streets of New York" with Nas and Rakim. You think you know, but you have no idea.

Out Tuesday, December 2:

• Trace Adkins - Comin' on Strong (Capitol Nashville)
• Alchemist - Insomnia Mixtape (ALC)
• David Bowie - Best of Bowie (Virgin)
• David Bowie - Sound + Vision (box set, Virgin)
• Danny Breaks - Another Dimension (Superrappin)
• The Dells - Hott (A&E)
• Dirty Rig - Blood, Sweat and Beer Make America Strong (Music Cartel)
• Dubtribe Sound System - Baggage (P-Vine)
• Elephant Man - Good 2 Go (Atlantic)
• Fantastic 5 - Saves the Universe Part 1 (The Orchard)
• Garageland - Last Stop to Garageland (Foodchain)
• Glossary - How We Handle Our Midnights (Undertow)
• Helen - Empty Ocean (The Orchard)
• Homosexuals - Homosexuals Record (Morphius)
• Hot Rod Lincoln - Tokyo Bop (P-Vine)
• Adam Joseph - How I Seem to Be (Jah)
• Alicia Keys - Diary of Alicia Keys (J)
  Read: "Alicia Keys Mulls Over First Single; Nas Predicts Saddam Misfortune On New Track"
  Buy Now: Diary of Alicia Keys (J)
  
• Kinky - Atlas (Sonic360/Nettwerk)
• Mama Mia - Hits of Abba (Kala)
• Meeting Places - Find Yourself Along the Way (The Orchard)
• Movietone - Sand and the Stars (Drag City)
• New Model Army - Eight (Attack Attack)
• New Model Army - Strange Brotherhood (Attack Attack)
• Pillar - Broken Down: The EP (Flicker)
• Mary Prankster - Tell Your Friends (The Orchard)
• Elvis Presley - Elvis at the Movies (Kala)
• John Reuben - Professional Rapper (Gotee)
• Paulina Rubio - Historia (EMI)
• Seasoned to Please - Addicted to Your Love (Seasoned Mindz)
• Neil Sedaka - Brooklyn Demos 1958 — 61 (OCR)
• Shabang - Jackin' My Beats 1 (Muzik Source Entertainment)
• Silicone Soul - Pouti (EFA)
• Sol Uprising - Sol Power (Shaman Works)
• Start - Death Via Satellite (Nitro)
• Transcendence - Sleep With You (TMG)
• Lee Shot Williams - Get Down Tonight (Ecko)
• Paul Wright - Fly Away (Gotee)
• Yardbirds - Five Live Yardbirds (Sunspots)
• Various artists - 103.5 Summer Rush (SPG)
• Various artists - Best of Slow Jams (SPG)
• Various artists - Don't Give Up Your Culture (EFA)
• Various artists - Euro Invasion 3 (SPG)
• Various artists - High Fidelity Dub Sessions 5 (Guidance)
• Various artists - Ice Cold (Buffalo Bop)
• Various artists - I Heard it on NPR (box set, NPR)
• Various artists - Tooth & Nail 10th Anniversary (Tooth & Nail)
• Various artists - Webster Hall: New York Dance CD 6 (Webster Hall)
• DVD: Good Charlotte - Good Charlotte (Epic)
• DVD: Walter Trout and the Radicals Relentless - The Concert (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Tony Joe White - Tony Joe White in Concert (Music Video Distributors)

December 9:

• Ryan Adams - Love Is Hell, Part 2 (Lost Highway)
  Read: "Ryan Adams Becomes ' Plaque On The Teeth Of Al-Country' With "
• Nick Cannon - Nick Cannon (Jive)
  Read: "B2K, Nick Cannon 'Feelin' Freaky' On Collabo"
  Buy Now: Nick Cannon (Jive)
• Kelis - Tasty (Arista)
  Read: "Kelis Turning Heads Again With Her Tasty 'Milkshake' "
  Buy Now: Tasty (Arista)
  
• The Offspring - Splinter (Sony)
  Buy Now: Splinter (Sony)
  
• Ruben Studdard - Soulful (RCA)
  Read: "R. Kelly, Missy Elliott Working On Ruben Studdard's Soulful Debut"
  Buy Now: Soulful (RCA)
  

January 6:

• Justin Timberlake - Live From London (BMG)
• DVD: Coldplay - Unauthorized (Music Video Distributors)

• Alicia Keys
• Good Charlotte
• Paulina Rubio
• David Bowie
• Elephant Man

Paulina Rubio
Photo: Universal

Paulina Rubio, Juanes, Molotov and Kinky are the latest additions to the performers at the first MTV Video Music Awards Latin America celebration.

They join a list that includes Shakira, Avril Lavigne, System of a Down, Carlos Santana and Michelle Branch, Maná, Diego Torres, Café Tacuba and others who were previously announced for the event (see "Avril Lavigne Added To VMAs Latin America Lineup").

The event is scheduled for October 24 at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach and will be hosted by Argentine TV and radio celebrity Mario Pergolini and Mexican actor Diego Luna.

Presenters at the ceremony include Johnny Knoxville and other "Jackass" cast members, Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys, Iggy Pop, Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago of Aterciopelados, Jorge Gonzalez of Los Prisioneros, Enrique Bunbury and Anastasia.

Shakira, Juanes and Diego Torres, who have each received five nominations, are the favorites to clean up most of the major awards (see "Shakira, Juanes Lead Nominee Pack For MTV VMAs Latin America".

The MTV Video Music Awards Latin America will be broadcast live on MTV Latin America and MTV2 at 9 p.m. ET on October 24. A taped replay will air on MTV November 1 at 8 p.m. PT/ET.

• Paulina Rubio
• System of a Down
• Shakira
• Santana
• Avril Lavigne

Shakira
Photo: Epic

Latin crossover stars Shakira, Paulina Rubio and Marc Anthony have each landed one nomination for the third annual Latin Grammy Awards, to be held September 18 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Shakira is nominated for Best Music Video for her clip for "Suerte," the Spanish-language version of her hit "Whenever, Wherever," and is joined in that category by Rubio, nominated for her "Yo No Soy Esa Mujer" video.

Marc Anthony is up for Best Salsa Album for his 2001 release, Libre.

Shakira, Rubio and Anthony have some stiff competition, however. They will each be facing off against the two biggest nominees of the year — Colombian folk singer Carlos Vives, who earned six nods, and legendary salsa singer Celia Cruz, who received four.

Vives is up for Best Music Video, Best Record, Best Album, Best Song, Best Contemporary Tropical Album and Best Tropical Song.

Cruz, a two-time Latin Grammy winner, received nominations for Best Music Video, Best Salsa Album, Best Record and Best Album.

This year's other multiple nominees are Miguel Bose, Emilio Estefan, Juanes, Gian Marco and Alejandro Sanz, all of whom earned three nods. They are followed closely by La Ley, Dori Caymmi, Circo and Sin Bandera, who nabbed two each.

The awards ceremony will be televised on September 18 at 9 p.m. on CBS (MTV's parent company, Viacom, also owns CBS).

This year's event marks the return of Latin Grammys after the chaos surrounding last year's ceremony. The 2001 Latin Grammy Awards were first scheduled to take place in Miami, however just three weeks before show time the Latin Recording Academy moved the ceremony to Los Angeles because of concerns that anti-Castro protesters would disrupt the show (see "Latin Grammys Relocated To Avoid Miami Protests"). The ceremony, which was set for September 11, was then canceled (see "Latin Grammys, Concerts On Hold Following Attacks"). The winners were eventually announced at a press conference in October (see "Latin Grammys Honor Christina's Spanish, Ricky's Moves")

For a look back at previous big Grammy winners, red carpet photos and much more, visit our Grammy News Archive.

• Shakira
• Marc Anthony
• Paulina Rubio

Paulina Rubio
Photo: MTV News

Paulina Rubio is a take charge kind of girl.

The Brothers Strause may have provided the stylistic motorcycle action shots and Japanese animation for her fast-paced "Don't Say Goodbye" video, but the concept for the clip belonged to Rubio.

"I just like to be involved in everything," she said, then laughed. "I'm hyperactive, and I write and I sometimes produce and I have ideas for the cover and all that."

Rubio will also write the video treatment for her next single, "The One You Love" (see ), though a director has not yet been chosen. The song is sweeping and romantic, but she envisions the video being violent and dramatic.

"I can imagine this video as a spaghetti western with a lot of action," she said. "These guys are all fighting, and they kill with guns, 'Boom, boom.' I picture it more sweaty and sepia-toned, like [Quentin] Tarantino saves Mexico."

She said she likes the idea of contrasting the passionate lyrics with aggressive visuals because she wants to give the audience something it might not be expecting. She also wants to prove she doesn't take herself too seriously.

"I think that when you're putting visual images to the things that you play, it's great to have silly ideas. It's good to have fun and to not be perfect and to laugh about you a little bit sometimes."

• Paulina Rubio

Paulina Rubio
Photo: Omar Cruz

While her single "Don't Say Goodbye" is about an ex-boyfriend who bailed on her once things were hitting full boil, Mexican pop singer Paulina Rubio didn't let the experience discourage her from the ways of love.

Far from it.

"I believe in love as much as I believe in life," the perky, quirky singer said. "Love for me is everything. I believe in 'make love, not war,' that's for sure. My music is about peace and no violence and the fire of love."

"Don't Say Goodbye" has helped propel Rubio's first English-language album, Border Girl, to 84,000 in sales less than two weeks after its release (see "Paulina Rubio Hoping To Cross Over Border Like Shakira"). Nearly every song on the record is about the power of passion. Aside from using music to transcend boundaries — hence the album's title — she likes singing about the sparks that erupt from magical relationships best.

Rubio is already gearing up for her next single, "The One You Love." She's scheduled to shoot the video for the song from August 6-8, though she hasn't yet chosen a director or treatment for the clip.

The track, an effervescent pop melody colored with flamenco guitar, is about the fulfillment of satisfying someone else's needs: "I only wanna be the one you love/ I only wanna be the one you want/ Come and get me baby/ Let me loose inside your soul."

Another highlight from Border Girl is Rubio's dancebeat-heavy cover of the Kiss song "I Was Made for Loving You," a cut the steamy songstress identifies with even though her music has practically nothing in common with Kiss' pyrotechnic bombast.

"I just love that song," she enthused. "That's what I feel when I love someone. Since I [first encountered] the song 20 years ago, I felt it was totally me with those lyrics."

As positive a force as love is in her life and work, Rubio acknowledges that love gone awry can be completely devastating, though she's convinced it's necessary to feel that agonizing bite in order to appreciate the elation of good lovin'.

"Love is not perfect," she asserted. "And it's the ups and downs of love that make love. If you don't feel [that], how can you know when you're really in love?"

It's a conundrum that fascinates Rubio. Though she dresses provocatively and appears caught up in the vacuous pleasures of throbbing pop when she's performing, she insists she's not just another dumb blonde.

"I love philosophy a lot," she said. "I love to have a [round]table with my friends and just to talk about philosophers like Kafka, Nietzsche, Descartes, Socrates, Plato, Marx and Freud.

"I've been reading Freud for the last month, and I realize that everything starts in the same point," she concluded, citing an axiom that underscored her belief in the yin and yang. "It's like a circle. If you don't feel sad some days, how can you know felicity? How can you feel that you're happy? You're happy sometimes, but it's not continuous, all day long. You need to feel the ups and downs. The opposite. Black and white — all those simple balances of life."

• Paulina Rubio

Papa Roach
Photo: DreamWorks

Papa Roach must have mixed emotions about the first-week chart position of their new album, Lovehatetragedy.

The California quartet has got to enjoy the fact that their second album will land in the #2 slot on next week's Billboard 200 albums chart with more than 135,000 copies sold, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday (June 26). The follow-up to 2000's Infest just marginally bested Korn's Untouchables (132,000) to become the country's best-selling rock album. However, even combined sales of the two rock LPs couldn't top the total of The Eminem Show. The rapper's third major-label LP has been affixed to the #1 position for five weeks, yielding a grand total of more than 3.3 million copies.

Wyclef Jean's Masquerade earned the honor of becoming the second-highest chart debut, landing at #6. The Fugee's third solo album, fueled by a pair of videos for "PJ's" and "Two Wrongs," sold more than 81,000 copies. Canadian rockers Our Lady Peace scored the highest chart debut in their seven-year career with Gravity, which will come in at #9 with more than 66,000 copies sold.

Paulina Rubio's sixth LP, Border Girl, the Mexican pop singer's first English language album, will leave its mark at #11, thanks to the single "Don't Say Goodbye" and her ultra-"hip" image displayed in the windows of retail shops nationwide. Jerry Cantrell's Degradation Trip, the second solo outing by the former Alice in Chains guitarist, and pop singer Anastacia's Freak of Nature round out the chart's top 40 debuts.

Five-spot jumps by Avril Lavigne and Pink make the attitude-infused ladies the biggest gainers in the top 10. Lavigne's Let Go moves from #10 to #5, and hasn't left the chart's uppermost echelon since its release three weeks ago. Missundaztood, meanwhile, re-enters the top 10 from its previously held #15 slot on the coattails of its third single, "Just Like a Pill."

The remainder of next week's top 10 will consist of Totally Hits 2, slipping a spot to #4; Ashanti's self-titled debut making an identical move to #7; and P. Diddy & Bad Boy Records' We Invented the Remix conceding three spots to #8.

The soundtrack to "Lilo & Stitch," the runner-up for tops at the box office in its opening weekend, will make the largest chart leap. After debuting at #57, the LP will rocket 41 spots to #16 and increase its weekly pull by nearly 50 percent.

Three albums in the top 40 will take more than 20-slot slides, with New Found Glory's Sticks & Stones, which debuted last week at #4, leading the downturn with a 21-spot dip. Former first-placer Alan Jackson's Drive and The Osbourne Family Album will both dive 22 places, to #34 and #35, respectively; while David Bowie's Heathen falls farthest, from #14 to #37.

Other notable debuts on next week's chart include the Swedish pop quartet A-Teens' Pop 'Til You Drop! at #45; the double-LP compilation 2002 Warped Tour at #55; dance-music DJ Paul Oakenfold's Bunkka at #65; rapper Archie Eversole's Ride Wit Me Dirty South Style at #83; rapper B Rich's 80 Dimes at #100; Ozzfest vets Otep's Sevas Tra at #145; and indie rock stalwarts Guided by Voices' Universal Truths and Cycles at #160.

For full-length features on Eminem and Korn, check out "Eminem: The Gift And The Curse" and "Korn: The Untouchables."

• Papa Roach
• Korn
• Eminem
• Wyclef Jean
• Our Lady Peace

What happens when you try to balance the love and hate in your life? Just ask Papa Roach, whose Lovehatetragedy comes out Tuesday (June 18). The follow-up to Infest features the single "She Loves Me Not" and finds frontman Jacoby Shaddix (f.k.a. Coby Dick) grappling with marital strife.

As the guitar player for Alice in Chains and friend of their late frontman, Layne Staley, Jerry Cantrell is also familiar with moody music. He serves up Degradation Trip, his first album since 1998's Boggy Depot.

On a lighter note, Wyclef Jean's not hiding his enthusiasm that Masquerade hits stores this week, while Guided By Voices and their Universal Truths and Cycles share shelf space with Our Lady Peace's Gravity, Paulina Rubio's Border Girl and Paul Oakenfold's Bunkka, which features Nelly Furtado, Perry Farrell, Ice Cube and Tricky.

Finally, a bunch of Essentials and Anthology albums from greats such as Alice Cooper, Devo and Cameo hit shelves as well. Word up.

Out Tuesday, June 18:

• A*Teens - Pop 'Til You Drop (MCA)
• Ace Troubleshooter - The Madness of the Crowds (Tooth & Nail)
• Gerald Albright - Groovology (GRP)
• Eric Alexander - Summit Meeting (Milestone)
• Ambrosia - Essentials (WSM)
• American Death Ray - Smash Radio Hits (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
• Anastacia - Freak of Nature (Epic)
• Jade Anderson - Dive Deeper (Columbia)
• Atom & His Package - Hamburgers (EP, File 13)
• Average White Band - Essentials (WSM)
• Anita Baker - Best of (Rhino)
• Bananarama - Essentials (WSM)
• Belly - Sweet Ride: Best of Belly (Rhino)
• The Brothers Creeggan - Sleepyhead (Nettwerk)
• Jonathan Butler - Surrender (Warner Bros.)
• Cameo - Anthology (Mercury)
• Jerry Cantrell - Degradation Trip (Roadrunner) Read about it ... Jerry Cantrell Conjures Ghost Of Alice In Chains On New LP
• Charlatans U.K. - Songs from the Other Side (Beggars Banquet)
• Margaret Cho - Notorious C.H.O. (Nettwerk)
• Chumbawamba - Readymades (Universal)
• Club 8 - Summer Songs (Hidden Agenda)
• Alice Cooper - Essentials (WSM)
• The Cripples - Dirty Head (Dirtnap)
• Da Outfit - Lost Underground (Supa Tree)
• Devo - Essentials (WSM)
• Disarray - In the Face of the Enemy (Eclipse)
• DJ Kool - Let Me Clear My Throat (reissue, American Recordings)
• Ike Dirty - Dirty's Way (Select)
• Duraluxe - Suitcase (Hidden Agenda)
• Archie Eversole - Ride Wit Me Dirty South Style (MCA)
• The Fairlanes - Monumento (Asian Man)
• Julia Fordham - Concrete Love (Vanguard)
• Fury - Resurrection (EP, Jade Tree)
• Peter Gabriel - Long Walk Home: Music from "Rabbit-Proof Fence" (Real World)
• Guided By Voices - Universal Truths and Cycles (Matador)
• The Hellacopters - Cream of the Crap Vol. 1 (Gearhead)
• Robin Holcomb - Big Time (Warner Bros.)
• Ghoti Hook - Retrospective (Tooth & Nail)
• Hot Snakes - Suicide Invoice (Swami)
• Incantation - Blasphemy (Necropolis)
• Inkblot - Love Your Mother (Audio Dregs)
• Rick James - Anthology (Motown)
• Wyclef Jean - Masquerade (Columbia) Read about it ... Wyclef Jean Gets Sexy On Upcoming Masquerade
• Michael Jones - Pianoscapes - Deluxe Edition (Narada)
• Joy Electric - Art & Craft of Popular Music (BEC/ Tooth & Nail)
• Jucifer - I Name You Destroyer (Velocette)
• Knuckle Sandwich - Nice (Resurrection A.D.)
• Looper - Snare (Mute)
• Lovespirals - Windblown Kiss (Projekt)
• Brad Martin - On the Wings of a Honky Tonk Angel (Epic)
• MC Breed - New Breed (Ichiban)
• Medication - Prince Valium (Sin-Drome)
• Mewithoutyou - [A –-> B] Life (Tooth & Nail)
• Joe Molland - This Way Up (Parasol)
• Joseph Patrick Moore - Alone Together (Root Cellar)
• Aaron Neville - Millennium Collection: 20th Century Masters (A&M)
• No Use for a Name - Hard Rock Bottom (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Paul Oakenfold - Bunkka (Perfecto/ Maverick) Read about it ... Nelly Furtado, Ice Cube Add Flavor To Oakenfold's Bunkka
• Ohio Players - Funk on Fire: Anthology (Mercury)
• OTEP - Sevas Tra (Capitol)
• Our Lady Peace - Gravity (Columbia) Read about it ... Our Lady Peace Are Putty In Producer Bob Rock's Hands
• Papa Roach - Lovehatetragedy (DreamWorks) Read about it ... Papa Roach Distance Themselves From Rap-Metal Peers On New LP
• Pere Ubu - St. Arkansas (SpinART)
• The Proclaimers - Best of (Capitol)
• Chuck Prophet - No Other Love (New West)
• Paulina Rubio - Border Girl (Universal) Read about it ... Paulina Rubio Hoping To Cross Over Border Like Shakira
• Seven & Sun - Back to the Innocence (Atlantic)
• Silvercrush - Stand (Redline)
• Simple Minds - Cry (Eagle/ Red Ink)
• Leni Stern - Finally the Rain Has Come (LSR)
• Alice Stuart - Can't Find No Heaven (Burnside)
• David Sylvian - Camphor (Virgin)
• Dulcie Taylor - Diamond & Glass (Black Iris)
• Tricky - A Ruff Guide to Tricky (Island/ UME)
• Various artists - The Bottle Let Me Down (Bloodshot)
• Various artists – "Daniela" soundtrack (EMI Latin)
• Various artists - Excursions - A Journey Into Chill Out (Water Music)
• Various artists - Exposure III (4 Foot 11)
• Various artists - "Minority Report" score (DreamWorks)
• Various artists – "The Scorpion King" score (Varèse Sarabande)
• Various artists – "Victor Victoria" soundtrack (Rhino)
• Various artists - 2002 Warped Tour Compilation (Side One Dummy)
• Various artists – "Yankee Doodle Dandy" soundtrack (Rhino)
• Violent Femmes - 20th Anniversary Edition (Rhino)
• The Vogues - Five O'Clock World (Park South)
• Ben Weasel - Fidatevi (Lookout!)
• Whiskey Rebels - Whiskey Rebels (GMM)

• Boy George - Night Out (Moonshine)
• Epidemic - Epidemic (Elektra)
• Ozzy Osbourne - Live at the Budokan (Epic) Read about it ... Osbournes Wreak Havoc On Japan In Budokan DVD Extras
• Play - Play (Columbia)
• Will Smith - Born to Reign (Columbia) Read about it ... Will Smith Drops Samples For Guitars On Born To Reign
• Sonic Youth - Murray Street (Geffen)
• Vida Blue - Vida Blue (Elektra)

• Aerosmith - O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits (Columbia)
• Cypress Hill - Stash (Columbia)
• Nas - From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes (Columbia)
• Jerzee Monét - Love & War (DreamWorks) Read about it ... Jerzee Monét: Workin' For Her Big Break
• Jessica Simpson - This Is the Remix (Columbia)
• Various artists - "Men in Black 2" soundtrack (Sony) Read about it ... Will Smith Preps Next LP, New Tracks For 'MIB2'
• Various artists - So So Def Presents: Definition of a Remix (So So Def/ Columbia)

• Silverchair - Diorama (Atlantic) Read about it ... Silverchair Craft U.S. Diorama, Plan New York Dates

• Lil' Romeo - Game Time (Universal/No Limit) Read about it ... Lil' Romeo Battles His Evil Twin On B-Ball Court
• Swizz Beatz - G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories (DreamWorks) Read about it ... Swizz Beatz Unveils Metallica/Ja Rule Track, Sets 'Guilty' Single
• The Vines - Highly Evolved (Capitol) Read about it ... The Vines Branch Out On Highly Evolved Tour

• Beth Orton - Daybreaker (Astralwerks) Read about it ... Beth Orton Tours, Breaks Day With Ryan Adams, Chemical Brothers
• Various artists - "Topdog/Underdog" soundtrack (MCA) Jay-Z, DMX, Wu-Tang, Mos Def Bone Up 'Topdog/Underdog' LP

• Papa Roach
• Wyclef Jean
• Jerry Cantrell
• Paulina Rubio
• A*Teens

Paulina Rubio
Photo: Universal

Given the crossover success of Shakira, it wouldn't be surprising if a stream of Latin pop vixens floods U.S. airwaves in the coming months. One such singer with a good shot at Stateside success is Mexican firecracker Paulina Rubio.

Her debut U.S. single, "Don't Say Goodbye," blends buoyant techno beats, sweeping keyboards, jangly guitars and stratospheric vocals, and many pop stations are already playing the tune even though it doesn't officially go to radio until the end of the month. Rubio's English-language debut, Border Girl, will follow on June 18.

As uplifting as "Don't Say Goodbye" may sound, the track is about a former boyfriend of Rubio's who got goin' just when the goin' was gettin' good.

"It was so strong, this love, that he told me he needed to step back," Rubio said recently from the MTV radio studio. "I was a little bit desperate at the moment. I believe in love as much as I believe in life. Love for me is everything."

Recalling the experience, Rubio shrugged, forced a smile, then revealed her theory on men who bail on a good thing.

"Woman today know what we want," she began. "We're independent. Plus, men get frustrated because they have this macho man inside. I'm a strong woman and sometimes if you're a strong man, when you love so much you start feeling fear. I don't know why. Maybe it's because you're not a girl."

Maybe the men back off because they're afraid of being burned?

"What do you mean burned?" she scoffed. "You need to be on fire if you're alive, and that's part of love. I'm very passionate. That's part of love, and if you don't feel that pain you don't feel the love, so it's like breathing without being awake."

In early April, Rubio shot a video for "Don't Say Goodbye" in Los Angeles with the Brothers Strause (Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers). The clip, which will be submitted to video channels in the next two weeks, features a combination of animation, live action and dancing shots that loosely convey the narrative of the song.

"We did part of it like a Japanese cartoon," Rubio said. "And for the dancing, we feel the rhythm of the song because the beat is almost like a heartbeat. The story is about this love that you feel with someone and he just takes one step back. I was riding the motorcycle with him, and at the end, well, he makes his choice. I was riding the bike 'til the end of love. And I was driving, of course. I was in charge."

While there's no question that Shakira opened doors in this country for artists like Rubio to succeed, Rubio was a Latin music star long before Shakira. At the age of 6 she started recording with Mexican teen pop sensation Timbiriche, and she's been featured on 24 albums, including five solo records in Spanish. While she's excited to finally have an album out with English lyrics, she said writing the songs was more difficult than she expected.

"I learned English at school, and English is the universal [language], so I wanted to cross boundaries," she said. "But it was hard because we were very clear that we didn't want to miss the simplest thing. When you translate one thing to another language and you use the exact same words, sometimes you're not gonna get the same feeling. So I worked very hard because we wanted it to be as I am. I'm very feministic and I'm very strong and I didn't want to miss that. So it was hard, but at the same time I like to work with hard things because you insist on so much and at the end it's great."

As for the Shakira comparisons, Rubio remains unconcerned because she believes so much in what she's doing and because the star to whom she's constantly compared happens to be one of her close friends.

"Our boyfriends are very, very good friends, so we go out in Miami and do very simple things," Rubio said. "We go to the beach and have fun, and when we're sharing the stage in some awards ceremony or something, we talk about cell phones, batteries, diets, love, movies. We just chill down. I think our whole generation is very supportive with one another. We don't have any ego trip. We are like a pyramid. We support each other and we're a very simple generation just trying to be friends."

• Paulina Rubio

Mi TRL F/ Paulina Rubio

• Paulina Rubio

TRL Guestbook

• Beyoncé
• Justin Timberlake
• Christina Aguilera
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Nelly Furtado

Paulina Rubio, Three 6 Mafia, Landon Donovan

• Paulina Rubio
• Three 6 Mafia

Lindsay, Usher, Snoop, Game, Gwen And More Hit The 2005 VMAs White Carpet

• Fall Out Boy
• The Bravery
• Nick Cannon
• David Banner
• Rihanna

47th Annual Grammy Awards Red Carpet

• Beyoncé
• Kanye West
• Mos Def
• Gwen Stefani
• Black Eyed Peas

46th Annual Grammy Awards Green Carpet

• Beyoncé
• Christina Aguilera
• 50 Cent
• G-Unit
• Justin Timberlake