Gran City Pop

Gran City Pop is the ninth studio album by Mexican singer Paulina Rubio, released by Universal Latino on June 23, 2009.

The two collaborated with various producers and writers on the album, including Lester Méndez, Mario Domm, Noel Schajris, Gianmarco and Fernando Osorio.

In November 2007, Universal Music announced Rubio's "started recording her next album in her [home]studio in Miami (Florida) which she plans to release in the fall of 2008"[1] She had recently finished her Amor Luz y Sonido tour, so she had already written some songs.

During American television and radio host Larry King's 75th birthday charity party, Rubio announced: "I've been recording with Estéfano, Cachorro López for many months ...

"[2] Until then, the production had features compositions by Estéfano, Los Rabanes, Jeremías, Noel Schajris, Gian Marco Zignago, Lester Méndez, and Mario Domm.

She sing a pop-rock version of "Solo Le Pido A Dios", originally performed by Argentine folk rock musician León Gieco.

Rubio describes it as a city "very earthy and very organic where everything is an amalgam; a mixture that allows to unite instead of divide", where borders do not exist;[9] is a place "where people speak Spanglish, where freedom reigns and where love prospers and there is no violence".

"[11] In the album's booklet, journalist and writer Boris Izaguirre details how Rubio returns stepping "on the asphalt" of Gran City Pop.

The second track "La Danza del Escorpión" was described as a "pungent club anthem"[21] that sticks to distinctives Rubio's Latin guitar riffs.

Lyrically it is about a "scorned love"[22] where Rubio alludes to the popular legend of the scorpion and the fire that, when stung with its own sting, ends up poisoning itself.

[14] "Melodía De Tu Alma" is a pop ballad[22] song that provides a glimpse into Rubio's love life with then husband Nicolás "Colate" Vallejo Nájera, recounting her wishes to start a family.

[14][20] Features a "boom-bap" beat[14] and instrumentation similar to that of Tejano music,[26] Rubio "half-raps, half-sings about how flowers and toys [from a man] won't earn her love".

[14] "Amanecí Sin Ti" is a reggae-style[10] and alternative pop[22] song with acoustic guitars, drums, bass, organs, and keyboards.

[25] The eighth track, "Algo De Ti", is a pop[22] and electro-disco song with sampled strings rubbing against hard synth lines.

[14] The track opens with hazy sirens[17] using a sound effects,[12] with Rubio's whispery and melodious vocals contrast dance-pop beat.

Over a ticking arrangement of keyboards, violins, cello, and harp harmonies,[12] the song depicts feeling of living inside a vicious circle of a relationship destined to fail.

It is a pop rock, and arena tune, with hushed tambourine, guitar riffs, drums, and piano,[12] that talks about "a relationship that ends" and the "disappointment of love"[27] but from an optimistic point of view.

Spanish design team Pon un Diseñador Gráfico en tu Vida were responsible for the artwork of Gran City Pop.

[28] For the album illustration, Paulina Rubio wears an "exotic" purple sequinned mini-dress with a sweetheart neckline, from the Armand Basi One Spring-Summer 2009 line.

[31][32] Rubio's comeback took place in April 23, at the 2009 Billboard Latin Music Awards, where she performed Gran City Pop's lead single, "Causa y Efecto", for the first time.

According with Billboard, she "presented herself as a woman in command" setting off a stadium-style wave by the dancers and drummers onstage, belonging to Miami Northwestern Senior High School.

[35] During her stay in New York, she visited the MTV Tr3s Studios, she taped the show ESL, and presented fans the single "Causa y Efecto".

Rubio and Cobra Starship won an MTV Award for "Best Live Performance at Los Premios 2009", as voted by the public, beating artists such as Shakira, Nelly Furtado, and Wisin & Yandel.

Lastly, Paulina performed "Algo De Ti" for the first time at the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards on April 29 as a duet with rapper/singer Wyclef Jean.

The accompanying music video, directed by Jessy Terrero, inspired by the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, features Rubio as an empowered woman.

[44] To promote the album, Rubio embarked on the Gran City Pop Tour, beginning on September 18, 2009, at the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm, Nevada.

Phil Freeman from AllMusic praised Rubio's choice of collaborators and producers, and appreciated the album's cohesion "almost miraculously" despite "style-hopping" of each song "from electro to pop/rock to indefinable blends of whatever works."

"[14] Rachel Devitt from Rhapsody gave the album a positive review and found it to be an "a potent reminder of why she is such a mega-star in the Latin pop world", adding that "Rubio's flexible voice and diva charisma allow her to carry off each style with attitude and flair.

"[48] Dan Kimpel from Broadcast Music, Inc. praised the sound of the album and said that "the sonic scope of the songs and the production is vast and varied".

[52] Gran City Pop debuted at number forty-four on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of over 9,400 copies; it marked Rubio's third highest-peaking album on the chart, behind Ananda (2006) and Border Girl (2002).

Paulina Rubio at Premios Juventud red carpet in July 2009