2002 |
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Source: Latina
Magazine, May 2002
By: Anne Marie O’Connor
Photos by: Firooz Zahedi
TW Correspondent: Tonchi
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She’s got two new albums coming up (one
in English). She’s planning a world tour. She
recently moved to New York City. And she helps battered
women. Thalía’s living every moment to the fullest. HOW DID THALIA KNOW that music industry hotshot Tommy Mottola would one day be her husband? He was, she reveals, preapproved by God. We know Thalía is a superstar who has it all: talent, beauty, and the adoration of fans from La Paz to Lithuania, who love her chart-topping albums and her wildly popular trilogy of soap operas, Las Tres Marias. But love advice from the Almighty Himself? Even Madonna doesn’t claim that! A couple of years ago, she recalls, she was feeling depressed because she wasn’t in a relationship. “Guys wanted to be with me only for my name,” she explains over a Greek salad at a trendy Manhattan restaurant. “So one day I sat down and just talked to God. I said, ‘I know that you’ve created a guy just for me. I don’t know when you’re going to bring him to me because you have your own plan. The thing I beg for now is the patience I need.’ I also asked that He let me know that when I did meet the right person, he would say a phrase that would be my clue. |
| It turns out that both Thalía and Mottola
had been told by their mutual friend Emilio Estefan Jr. (Gloria’s
husband and producer) that they had to meet. (Mottola,
you may remember, is Mariah Carey’s ex-husband and
the powerful head of Sony Music Entertainment-the guy J.Lo
calls boss.) On the day they finally where introduced,
Thalía’s prayers were answered. “When I first
met Tommy, he said the phrase,” she recalls with a
smile. “I said ‘Thank you, God, no more waiting!’”
What were those magic words? Thalía won’t tell:
Even a superstar likes to keep some things private. Now, Thalía says, the energy she used to waste agonizing over when she’d find a husband is channeled into her work. “I don’t have to worry anymore whether I’m going to find the love of my life.” She says, “I already have that love” –not to mention a diamond the size of a walnut—“so now I can focus my energy on other things.” |
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In
person, Thalía is impeccable groomed—beautiful but
subtle makeup, waist-length hair blown perfectly
straight, jeans, and a lace-up T-shirt. She looks more
like your mejor amiga from high school than an
internationally famous pop diva. But she has been in the
spotlight since she was 9 years old, singing with the
Mexican girl group Din-Din. (Note: The two little boys
who were in Din Din with her might have something to say
about that characterization.) Her PalmPilot is more jam-packed than ever. She has just finished recording not one, but two new albums. The first, Thalía, has just been released. “It has 10 songs in Spanish and three in English,” Thalía explains. Produced by Estefano–Julio Reyes (who has worked with Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin) and Emilio Estefan Jr., this album is edgier then her previous work. “It’s a big step for me,” she says. “Before, my style was Latin mixed with pop; this is more acoustic rock, with a lot of guitar.” |
| Then,
late in the fall, the rest of America is likely to
discover Thalía when her first all-English-language CD
is released. She says recording in English has unique
challenges. “When you’re onstage or doing
interviews, you’re allow to speak with your accent,
but not when you’re recording. And that was the
hardest part.” She describes the music as a cross
between that of U2 and Lenny Kravitz “It really is
amazing,” she says, grinning. For the rest of the year, Thalía will focus on filming music videos and planning her first world tour, which will take her to North and South America, Europe, and Asia. “I’m very involved in every step of my career because I’m a perfectionist. I drive the people around me crazy. Sometimes I drive myself crazy!” |
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But life isn’t all about her career for Thalía –she also devotes a lot of her time to helping out the Robin Hood Foundation, an organization that, among other endeavors, provides safe havens for battered women. It’s a cause she embraced after playing several characters who were abused. Typically for Thalía, her involvement is a lot more hands-on than simply writing a check. “The women call this hotline, and we arrange to meet them at a street corner,” she explains, her voice getting softer as she recalls the horrifying accounts she listened to. “We tell them we’re going to be in a certain kind of car and to make sure no one is following them. We pick them up with their children, and we drive around for a while to make sure no one is following us before we take them to the shelter. They usually spend six months there trying to get their lives back together. I love to just sit with them and hug them and tell them everything is going to be all right.”
(Note: We have a problem with the above statement that Thalía’s participation in the organization actually involves picking up the women who are fleeing from abusers, and we therefore assume when Thalía says “we” she actually means the trained people who work with her. Really, Thalía is unable to go ANYWHERE without being followed and mobbed by fans and/or paparazzi, and it is unlikely that she rides in unmarked cars to dangerous parts of New York City accompanied by a bodyguard and shadowed by a black SUV filled with more bodyguards, which is how she usually has to get around in public.)
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Aside
from her two new albums and her deep involvement in
charity work, Thalía has been settling into a new
multimillion-dollar townhouse on New York City’s
posh Upper East Side, where she and Mottola spend most of
their time. Thalía has also been busy doing some of her
favorite activities –reading, yoga, and exercising.
Despite all of the great stores in New York City, though,
she’s not into retail therapy. “For years I
loved shopping, I was a freak about it! But then that
went away,” she says, shrugging. “I don’t
know how many bags I own, but I use just one or two. I
have—how many pairs of shoes?—and I wear just
two or three. What’s the point?” Although New York is now her home base, Thalía frequently jets down to Miami, and whenever she can, she slips back home to Mexico. “What I miss most is those five hour lunches where you sit with your friends, you eat, you have your tequila, you solve all of life’s problems, and you end up staying at the table until it’s time for dinner,” she says. “And then you go have fun or dance or whatever.” |
She may be focusing on her music right now, but Thalía hopes to return to acting at some point. “It’s really hard to fight against the stereotype that Hollywood has about Latins,” she says. “If you’re not showing your breasts or talking like ‘coochie-coochie,’ they’re not going to do anything serious with you. But I’m not going to do a movie until I find a good role, even if it’s a tiny one.”
| Thalía hopes to start a family of her own
eventually. Would she want all girls, as he mother had?
“Of course! I’d want a little Thalía first,”
She says, laughing, “but God has His plan!” As one of the few child stars who didn’t end up as an E! True Hollywood Story, Thalía doesn’t regret starting her career at such a young age. “I had fun,” she says. “A child will always play, even if that child has responsibilities—he will be playing on the stage.” So what separates her from all of those other ex-child stars, some of whom ended up either doing time or fading into obscurity? “My Mother was by my side all the time,” Thalía says. “She was like a lion defending me so no one could invite me to take drugs or do anything crazy.” Thalía and her mother are still phenomenally close. “We talk four times a day,” Thalía says. “We’re basically twins. Seriously! If I forget to tell her something, she tells me it the next time I speak to her. We’re almost psychic.” She’s also close to her four older sisters, all of whom still live in Mexico. One of them, Laura Zapata, appears as a villainess on Unvision’s La Intrusa. |
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It's Not Just a New Look for Thalia in Tu y YoTW Correspondents: Tonchi & Luisa If you are lucky enough to purchase the Radio Musica magazine, direct your gaze over to the right side bottom of the life size poster they have inside for Tu y Yo. Or if you have the cd already, check out the bottom right hand side of the back cover. Notice anything different? Yep, you said it, EMI - Hoffman International released the CD ! So what does this mean ? Well, to us fans, this means that this cd is not destined for promotional purgatory like all the other records Thalia has done for EMI. This time EMI is not running the show alone so the cd has no reason to fail. EMI may own the rights to the record release but most definitely the promotions ball is in Thalia's management company - Hoffman International court. |
| Since the release of Thalia's records It's My Party, Arrasando and Arrasando con Banda, Hoffman has been on board simply as her management representative. This is the very first time that EMI and Hoffman are working side by side on a Thalia project. We are hoping that this will result in a fabulous collaborative promotional campaign for Tu y Yo. |  |
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You Have a Chance to Win Thalia's Glovesource:
Univision.com Thalia is hitting the music scene hard with the release of her latest music outing this May. With this disc, she is trying a new image and sound that is a far cry from what we have come to know as her signature. The release of her first single Tu y Yo ( You and I) shows the arms that once carried the roses of Rosalinda now carrying and strumming an electric guitar. There is going to be a party on May 26 where fans can participate and join in a contest to win the glove that Thalia wears on the cover of and in the music video for the album. At this Listening Party, you will have a chance to meet, chat and listen to Thalia being interviewed. This is also your chance to be the first person to hear the all the songs contained in the album Tu y Yo. Details on how to join the contest may be found here. In the meantime, here are shots from the filiming of the video. |
Thalia's First Single Launched TodaySource:
Thalia.com & esmas.com May 21 TODAY APRIL 15TH IS THE WORLDWIDE LAUNCH OF THALIA'S FIRST SINGLE "TU Y YO" FROM HER NEW ALBUM The new album THALIA, will be in stores May 21st Thalia is back and there is ... and there is no stopping her. Today, April 15th is the worldwide launch of her single "Tu y YO" from the new album THALIA, which according to Billboard Magazine has so much energy it could illuminate the city of Los Angeles for several days. The first single in this album was produced by Estefano and recorded at Sterling Sound in New York City The album track listing is as follows: |
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Thalia is also slated to make appearances on the following dates in promotion of the album:
April 20th -
Concert Hola New York at Madison Square Garden, New York City.
May20th - Thalia in Otro Rollo, live show in Mexico. Airs on
Univision
May 25th - Thalia on Sabado Gigante (air date)
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Top Stars Confirmed For Billboard Latin AwardsSource:
billboard.com Thalia, Marc Anthony, Carlos Vives, Celine Dion, Olga Tanon, Juan Gabriel, and Cristian are the first performers confirmed to appear at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, set for May 9 in Miami Beach, Fla. |
The show will air May 12 on Telemundo. The leading contender for the awards is Lupillo Rivera, who is a finalist in six categories, including two each in the regional Mexican album of the year/male and the regional Mexican album of the year/new artist categories.
The Billboard Latin Music Awards, which honor the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music, will take place immediately following the Billboard Latin Music Conference, held May 7-9 in Miami Beach. Finalists, and the eventual winners for the 13th edition of the awards, are determined by the actual sales and radio airplay data that informs Billboard's weekly charts during a one-year period from the issue dated Feb. 17, 2001, through this year's February 9 issue.
'Thalia' Reveals Her Gutsier SideBy
Leila Cobo Thalia, barefoot and without makeup, is fiddling with the remote control of her newly installed stereo system in her almost equally new home in Miami Beach. So here we are, listening to what even a home stereo can't disguise: that this is a gutsy album, flush with personality |
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and hooks, and that Thalia -- Mexican soap-opera star, former teeny bopper, and Latin pop diva -- has taken a quantum artistic leap that may mark the difference between her current musical success and mainstream stardom.
Due in stores May 21 via EMI Latin, 'Thalia' has far more aggressive rock undertones than its namesake's previous material, edgier arrangements that often rely on crunchy guitars, and a generally relaxed feel that belies the nine months of work that went into it. A rap/pop track featuring Los Rabanes and even the requisite dance tracks -- including the irresistible "En la Fiesta Mando Yo" (At the Party I'm the Boss) -- manage to sound out-of-the-ordinary yet at ease with themselves.
"It's been a very relaxed, unpretentious process," Thalia says. "It's been a marvelous personal encounter where it was about simply letting things flow and taking them as they came, without so much starch and fuss. It's not that I'm not doing pop anymore, but the tendency of everyone who worked on the album was to go toward [more rock-oriented] sounds, and it feels incredible."
'Thalia' is a collection of 10 Spanish tracks, most of them penned by hit writer Estefano, who co-wrote and co-produced several of them with collaborator Julio Reyes. The album also includes three English-language tracks that Thalia envisions as her introduction to that language's market; a process that will be complete by year's-end, when she releases her full-length English-language debut.
Expectations surrounding Thalia's release are high -- not just because she's a consistent seller and a major act, but because this is her first album since her marriage to Sony Music Entertainment chairman/CEO Tommy Mottola, and that alone puts an extra spotlight on the project.
"I'm at this stage in my career because I've prepared for it, and in no way do I feel pressured," Thalia says. "I'm Thalia on my own." By the same token, she says her husband has been close to her album-making process, a situation she embraces. "He definitely gives me advice," she says. "Imagine having such a music guru in your house. If he supports me in something and likes something, well, I really have to pay attention.
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Marimar 2002: Same Old Brand New YouEditorial By: Luisa The return of Thalia to the Philippine TV screens was the most anticipated event of the week. As GMA 7 reached a fever pitch in heralding their 7 Seasons brand new shows. The network launched their new station line up for the 6:30 - 9:00 P.M timeslot. Reversing their order of programming and putting their canned telenovelas, with MariMar as their solid lead - in at the top of the heap followed by the local teleserye line up. After a long Thalia drought on the television screens, Thalia has returned with the telenovela that started it all, MariMar. And this time Marimar is better and stronger than ever. Backed by new audio (dubbing ) track and hipper tagalog translations, the story of MariMar and Sergio begins to unfold for a new generation of viewers to be enthralled by. |
Early on, one who has viewed the earlier version as released by Thalia's then home network RPN 9 can make comparisons with this newer version. Don't get me wrong, it is still the same MariMar who was back in the mid 90's judged as the Angelus of the Times (Referring to the fact that people would rush through their afternoon prayers and hurry home from work just to catch the latest happening in the life and times of Marimar), but with a twist. The voices seem to be more tempered now. Gone are the exaggerations in intonations by the dubbers, their voices are now more relaxed. GMA hired a new set of professional dubbers to redub the series, leaving only the voice of Fulgoso - the loyal dog of Marimar as the original voice from the first 2 airings. Deep tagalog dialogues have been replaced by hipper everyday language that even the youngest viewer can easily understand and relate to. The film used to air the show is also glossier this time around and the sound is now recorded for Full Stereo broadcast. The most glaring of differences between the 2 lies in the Closing BillBoard Credits (CBB). GMA 7 is using the original Televisa cut and refrained from running the local production peoples names whereas RPN made a totally different CBB to reflect the local production team spliced into the Televisa original. Needless to say, the original CBB had people on their feet in surprise as we totally expected to see what we thought was the original CBB to MariMar. That was a real Treat.
So, will Marimar work her magic once again? Judging from the reaction of Thalia fans and non fans viewing the premier showing for the very first time, MariMar and Thalia have everything under control. It's all in the bag.
Viva Thalia! Welcome back!
Source: lamusica.com
TW Correspondents: Chad & Luisa
93.1 Amor announces another fantastic superconcert! On Saturday, April 20th at Madison Square Garden join your friends from the hit morning show "Hola New York" for an exciting show featuring Ricardo Montaner, Alexandre Pires, Franco da Vita, Pablo Montero, La Mosca, Thalia, Carlos Ponce, y Jose Luis Rodriguez "El Puma". Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster and Joyerias Pepe.
Source: GMA-7
TW Correspondents: Allan & Luisa
GMA channel 7 has been hyping up the "Return of the Phenomenon" on their network. For those of you who have seen this ad in the Philippines, the answer is a resounding YES! They are talking about Thalia. But is it MariMar? As our sources at the network tell us, sit tight and wait. They do not want to pre-empt anything.
It seems that the contract of Televisa with RPN 9 for Thalia's novelas have expired and the novelas went up for grabs. Needless to say, Channel 7 grabbed the chance immediately. They had a bad rep before as the station that hated Thalia (after all, she was kicking all the stations butts in the ratings game with Rosalinda). Let's give them a chance. With her entry into their family, there will be a lot of changes. Including their treatment of her.
Stay tuned to the Ankh Chronicles for further details. We are gathering more information from sources for a more comprehensive report.
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