The third volume in the annual
Now Latino series of cross-licensed hit samplers is similar to its predecessors in the sense that it's stacked heavily with Latin pop and reggaeton, with only a few tropical songs sprinkled in and no regional Mexican whatsoever. If there's a difference between past volumes, it's that this one includes more reggaeton than in the past, albeit much of it crossover reggaeton. For instance,
Daddy Yankee's "Impacto (Remix)" features
Fergie of
Black Eyed Peas, in addition to a lot of English, while
R.K.M. & Ken-Y's "Llorarás,"
Hector el Father's "Sola," and
Tito el Bambino's "Siente el Boom" all employ R&B mannerisms, and melodically sung hooks in particular. As for the Latin pop featured on
Now Latino, Vol. 3, half of it comes courtesy of established superstars, namely
Ricky Martin ("Pégate"),
Jennifer Lopez ("Que Hiciste"),
Luis Fonsi ("Tu Amor"), and
Paulina Rubio ("Ayúdame"); the other half courtesy of youthful rising stars, namely
Belinda ("Bella Traición"),
La Quinta Estacion ("Ahora Que Te Vas"),
Nelly Furtado ("No Hay Igual"), and
RBD ("Tu Amor"). As far as tropical music goes, there is a pair of reliable hitmakers:
Juan Luis Guerra ("La Llave de Mi Corazón") and
Marc Anthony ("Que Precio Tiene el Cielo"). The anomalies on
Now Latino, Vol. 3 include
Kumbia All Starz ("Chiquilla"),
Aventura ("Mi Corazoncito"),
Calle 13 ("Tango del Pecado"), and
David Bisbal ("Torre de Babel [Reggaeton Mix]") -- each of which blurs the aforementioned stylistic categories and thus as a scattered group here help break up the categorical makeup of this sampler, which is understandably compiled yet, from a listener's standpoint, would benefit from some more diversity. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide