Greatest Hits [PA] (CD - 2008)

Photographer: Chapman Baehler.

The 20 tracks on 2008's GREATEST HITS testify to the truth that Enrique Iglesias is no stranger to the pop charts. With special emphasis on hits from late 2000s albums like 7 and INSOMNIAC (including the hits "Not in Love," "Push," and "Somebody's Me"), this satisfying collection brings together the cream of the Latin heartthrob's ballads, dance tracks, and sleek adult contemporary fare.

Naturally, super smashes like "Hero" and "Bailamos" are included, but GREATEST HITS also features two new songs: "Taking Back My Love" is a duet with the Grammy Award-winning Ciara, while "Away" was penned by industry heavyweight Sean Garrett (who has written for Usher, Fergie, and Pussycat Dolls, among others). The result is the definitive representation of the Latin pop icon's talents.

It should come as no surprise that Enrique Iglesias' 2008 Greatest Hits begins in 1999, when he made the leap from the Latin market into the mainstream. All his very successful '90s albums on Fonovisa are bypassed, written off as prehistory, so the spotlight shines only on his English-language singles of the new millennium: the club tracks and syrupy slow songs that gave him a significant number of crossover hits. With the exception of a couple of minor blips on the charts like 2000's "Sad Eyes," all these are here, starting with 1999's "Bailamos" and "The Rhythm Divine," running through 2000's "Be with You" and 2001's "Hero," stopping for 2004's "Not in Love," winding up with 2007's "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)" and wrapping up with two new duets, "Away" with Sean Garrett and "Takin' Back My Love" with Ciara. While this approach may lop off half of his career, it also does exactly what hits collections should do: it gives the casual listener the hits they want to hear and nothing else. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize