Shakira and Iglesias' strong debuts come at a time when Latin pop seems to be in decline. Sales of Ricky Martin's ''Sound Loaded'' were a fraction of those for his self-titled 1999 debut, and Marc Anthony's English language album ''Mended'' was recently postponed until next year (his salsa album ''Libre'' hits stores this week).
But even though ''Laundry'' is her English debut, Shakira's sound, which references British pop and classic rock influences as well as Latin spice, may help her transcend the narrow Latin pop label. ''I bet you that there are people who won't even notice that she's a Spanish-speaking artist,'' says Bryant. ''We look at 'Whenever' as a straight pop record. Yes, it has a Latin flavor, but it mixes in well with the rest of our format.''
And even if Latin pop is down, it certainly isn't out. ''It's tempting, but too early, to blow the whistle on this trend,'' says Mayfield. ''The Latin population in the U.S. continues to grow, and a setback here or there -- like Ricky Martin's second album -- doesn't mean the foundation that started the Latin invasion is crumbling.''
For her part, Shakira has started out on the right foot, but the final verdict on ''Laundry'' won't be known for months. ''People don't usually buy an album until the second single is out, so we'll see more of what her impact will be in the first quarter of next year,'' says Bryant.
Meanwhile, Shakira is becoming the queen of all media (in addition to recent appearances on the ''Today'' show and the ''Tonight Show with Jay Leno,'' she's the musical guest on ''Saturday Night Live'' Dec. 1) in an attempt to become as familiar a face to middle America as Britney or Christina. ''We're not walking into this as a first week sprint,'' says Kurzman. ''We realize that to most of the population, she's a brand new artist. But I think we're already starting to see a real groundswell of interest.'' Now if they can only get her to belly dance with a snake.
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