He's being touted as the latest Latin heartthrob à la Enrique, Marc, and Ricky, but Luis Fonsi sounds more like a Making the Band wannabe on Fight the Feeling, his English-language debut album. Fonsi has a strong... more » and supple voice, but it's wasted on drippy ballads such as "If Only" and "Save Me," which is anchored by the cringe-inducing lyric "Heaven must be missing an angel." Even the uptempo tracks "One Night Thing," "Twisted," and "Turn It Up" fail to generate any heat. The entire album is slickly produced, which is part of the problem. Every track is soaked in pseudo-R&B rhythms, altered vocal tricks, and limp Latin flourishes. It all makes the Puerto Rican performer come off like a one-man boy band along the lines of O-Town and 98 Degrees. Nothing against 'N Sync, however, whose own music has even evolved past this kind of innocuous pop schmaltz. --Joey Guerra« less
He's being touted as the latest Latin heartthrob à la Enrique, Marc, and Ricky, but Luis Fonsi sounds more like a Making the Band wannabe on Fight the Feeling, his English-language debut album. Fonsi has a strong and supple voice, but it's wasted on drippy ballads such as "If Only" and "Save Me," which is anchored by the cringe-inducing lyric "Heaven must be missing an angel." Even the uptempo tracks "One Night Thing," "Twisted," and "Turn It Up" fail to generate any heat. The entire album is slickly produced, which is part of the problem. Every track is soaked in pseudo-R&B rhythms, altered vocal tricks, and limp Latin flourishes. It all makes the Puerto Rican performer come off like a one-man boy band along the lines of O-Town and 98 Degrees. Nothing against 'N Sync, however, whose own music has even evolved past this kind of innocuous pop schmaltz. --Joey Guerra
CD Reviews
It's about time!
07/24/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I just bought Luis Fonsi's cross-over English debut, "Fight the Feeling" last night, and I was extremely impressed. I enjoyed some of his latin songs, especially "No Te Cambia Por Ninguna", "Mi Suenos" and "Imaginame Sin Ti", and have always found that he has a real ability to put a lot of emotion into his songs, whether slow or upbeat. "Fight the Feeling" didn't disappoint, and I enjoyed a great mix of funky dance numbers and heartfelt ballads. "I Wish" is an extremely sentimental song which is sure to bring back memories of a past love, or did at least for me. I sat in my car listening to it twice on my stereo during a rainstorm last night, and caught myself crying. Luis Fonsi's music is able to do that. "Fight the Feeling" is very upbeat, and similar to Plus One or early Backstreet Boys. I don't think that this is necessarily a bad thing; sometimes it's kind of fun to crank up a good dance tune while you drive and not have to think about the lyrics too much: look how many people bought Britney's "Baby, One More Time". I would have given the album five stars, except for one disappointment. A few years ago I bought a Tim James single, "I'll Be Your Secret" which I fell in love with immediately, and waited anxiously for the debut album to be released a few months later. It ended up never coming out. Luis Fonsi remade the song as "Secret" on his new album. Even though Luis has a better voice, he redid the song as a bouncy, uptempo number, and I preferred it as the original acoustic, unplugged version of Tim James. Not to say Fonsi's song is bad, by no means, just that I really liked the way the other sounded. I'm so glad Luis Fonsi has finally released his English debut. I knew when I heard "Imagine Me Without You" from Eterno that he would be big someday, and while his cross-over album may not have an infectious single like "Livin La Vida Loca" or "Whenever, Wherever", it is consistently good and many of the songs on it are strong enough to be released as singles."
New Face Emerges from Latin Explosion
07/10/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Luis Fonsi may be a new name for many people in the US market. But this Puerto Rican singer has been winning over fans with his incredible voice and amazing talent since the release of his 1998 album "Comenzare". Not only has he had 3 very successful Spanish albums, but he has also done duets with artists like Olga Tanon, and Christina Aguilera.
This album has a mix of romantic ballads, dance and pop songs. With every note he sings, you can just feel the intense emotion and passion he puts into his work. Don't be surprised if one of his songs brings tears to your eyes. He is an incredible talent that is sure to make a huge impression on the English market. You can see his new video "Secret" (which was directed by long time friend and *NSYNC member Joey Fatone) on TV or on the web.
If you like singers like Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, BSB, *NSYNC you are sure to enjoy Luis Fonsi!
Check out his 3 Spanish Albums, they are all very good!..."
Wow. I love this guy @}->---
Little Miss Cutey | Melbourne, Australia | 03/04/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first heard the song Fight The Feeling on a United flight from Seattle to LA back in 2002 or 2003 and the dj never said who sung it. I was hooked, but I didn't know this amazing singer. Long story short, I FINALLY found him two years later in 2004 and still listen to it all the time since then. I bought this cd because of that one fantastic song and love the whole entire cd. It's great. Now I'm going to get more of his work (especially if it's anything like this). Fight The Feeling was never released in Australia so this cd is my secret, and speaking of which, Secret is another fantastic song. I love him whether he's singing in English or Spanish. He's great and you have to hear him. I hope he keeps releasing new material. I'll buy it all."
EXCEPTIONAL ENGLISH CROSS-OVER: electric, funky, exciting!
London Braithewaite | The United States | 07/06/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Luis Fonsi granered a handful of Latin radio markets' playlists with his 1998 eponymous debut, and caused an immediate fervour with his talented vocal stylings within this music genre. His subsequent release, ETERNO, came two years later with a more sophisticated production led by Master Rudy Perez (Latin hit-maker extraordinaire), mature lyrics, and an intensely and deliberately intimate approach. His sophomore treatment was likewise exceptionally successful, with two new developments in this young artist's growing career:a)English language vocal experiments with two tracks--impeccably delivered with an intuitive sensibility for interpretation.
b)Added appearances in various entertainment venues and programs--argueably not enough, considering his exponentially growing fan base and their desire to attend his live performances.2002 sees the almost simultaneous release of AMOR SECRETO, the beautiful, ever-expanding styled album in Spanish, and now FIGHT THE FEELING.If you are looking for a direct English translation for AMOR SECRETO, you'll be quite happily disappointed--only a few songs from the latter have been brought in exact likeness to the present all-English-language presentation. The result is a smashing success. The variety of songs is wide; danceable numbers, funky styles, and that irresistable vocal ability of Luis Fonsi's to bring a ballad down from the ethereal luminescence, or rather, taking us into it with his beautiful interpretations. FIGHT is amazing, and will capture your attention immediately. It's catchy, timed smartly with the ballads coming in between the fast-tempoed numbers. It remains a favourite CD once it's been played through--what I consider a mainstay in any summer playlist.Much of what can go wrong with many Latin artists today is their uninformed approach to attempt a cross-over in English with an exact, song by song, production of their Latin releases. Not so, Luis Fonsi. His music is influenced with all that works in American Pop music. It is commercial and artistic lack of skill to ignore what is going on in the music genres an artist is attempting to break into. Those qualities which make an artist successful in his natural sphere usually do not translate well into others. Luis Fonsi, who resides at Orlando in the U.S., is connected with the best of the Pop artists that are based there, as well as with artists in the current Latin rosters; Marc Anthony and Ricky Martin, both from Fonsi's native Puerto Rico, are among them. But trivialities aside, I very strongly recommend FIGHT THE FEELING. You will be enjoying a great production, and also, have handy the impetus to seek his Spanish releases and acquire the desire to speak that language. You will not be disappointed with any of these, and Luis Fonsi will remain a favourite artist for a long time to come. Enjoy!"
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
