Chayanne: The Crossover – Why It Has Never Materialized (According to Bariloche)

What a stressful week it has been Caja readers!  But alas the weekend is finally here and that means I can relax at least a little.  To aid in this relaxation I employed Chayanne and Vanessa Williams to do the trick.  And it worked!  It had been a while since I watched Dance With Me.  I am a sucker for romantic comedies so it goes without saying that I absolutely love it.  As the movie progressed and I swooned over how adorable Chayanne’s English accent is, I started to think of all the Latin American artists who have crossed over.  Yet… it seems that a musical “crossover” is not going to be on Chayanne’s radar any time soon, if at all.

Chayanne has been blessed with a 30 year long career, countless hits, millions of fans all over the world and his many artistic talents.  In 2007, his Cautivo/Mi Tiempo tour was one of the highest grossing tours for that year in the United States.  He has been no stranger to English-speaking audiences with appearances on the show Ally McBeal and the movie Dance With Me.  He has even tackled other markets outside of the Latin America and USA with his Australian self-titled album in which he featured English and Spanglish songs (You Walk Away, Caprichosa, Alive, What Else, Boum Boum). 

So, the question poses itself:  Why hasn’t Chayanne made a complete crossover into the English USA market?  Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Shakira have done it quite successfully and so have many other Latin American artists.  Here is my opinion:

A crossover means a complete change.  Not just slightly... COMPLETELY.  If any of you ever listened to the beginnings of Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Shakira, you will understand what I mean.  Their musical style has changed completely.  It’s not even a shadow of what it used to be.  Chayanne crossing over will most definitely require for his musical style to change.  Perhaps something a la Usher… Ne Yo… collaboration with David Guetta, Rihanna, Beyonce, and Pitbull?  After all, this is what is dominating the air waves right now. 

Gosh… a Chayanne and Pitbull song would be so awesome….

I’m near losing my train of thought, so I will finish off by saying that Chayanne has not crossed over for the simple fact that he has not wanted to.  He has always expressed his gratitude and love for his fans.  The fans that have kept his career going strong for 30 years and counting.  The fans who buy-out his shows all over the world.  The fans who appreciate and love his musical style.  The fans who support him unconditionally.

I hope he knows that if he were to ever decide to go into complete crossover mode, we will, as we have always done, support him every step of the way.  I am sure that his millions of Spanish-speaking fans would buy his English material in the same way that his English-speaking fans buy his albums and sing the songs as if they were native speakers.  Heck… I’d buy a Chayanne album even if it were completely in Russian! And I don’t even know how to say “hello”  in Russian.  Would you do the same?  : - )