Rihanna surprised her fans last night, as she switched songs at the last minute on American Idol. Originally supposed to perform her fourth single from her Rated R album, the latin-flavored ballad “Te Amo,” Rihanna instead turned to Rockstar 101. However, in case she swooned her lovers with ‘Te Amo’ we were ready to look back at other great singers who drew influence from latin music…so here’s a look at a few pop songs that have a bit of latin-inspired spice, including Rihanna!
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Madonna “La Isla Bonita”
The 5th single released from Madonna’s 1985 album True Blue, “La Isla Bonita” is arguably the song that started this trend. Originally written for the king of pop Michael Jackson, the song speaks of the “tropical island breeze“ of the imaginary island of San Pedro. Madonna has said that the song is a “tribute to the beauty and mystery of Latin-American people.”
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Sade “Paradise”
Sade got her start as the lead singer of a Latin funk band named Pride, and this song displays those roots. The biggest single from the underrated Stronger Than Pride album, “Paradise” is built on a simple bass-line, and heavy percussion typical of a lot of latin music.
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