Latin star Thalia makes her English language debut

NEW YORK -- Thalia, already a star among Latin music and television fans, is facing one of the biggest challenges of her career as she tries to transplant her success to American airwaves.

Yet ask the Mexican beauty if she's nervous about the "crossover" of her English-language debut, and the 31-year-old singer-actress shrugs with a smile.

"To me, a big crossover was what happened to me years ago, like bringing my music in Spanish in Europe, or Asia. To me, that's a crossover because Spanish is not a language that everybody talks," says Thalia, who first gained fame in her native country at age 9 and is now married to music mogul Tommy Mottola.

"It was double or triple the work, so I think that's a crossover," she said. "This is just expanding my music."

So far, the expansion plan seems to be working. Thalia, who learned English four years ago, has tapped producers who have crafted hits for Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera and others for her self-titled disc, a mixture of pop, R&B and soft rock. The first song, "I Want You," featuring rapper Fat Joe, is already a growing hit on urban and pop radio.

The collaboration, which uses a hook made popular by Fat Joe protege Big Pun on "I'm Not a Player," has drawn comparisons to J. Lo. Even the video is reminiscent of J. Lo's hit "I'm Real." But Thalia is quick to point out that she isn't trying to follow anyone else's career path.

"I always focus on myself in what I want, where I want to go, who I want to reach, which message I want to put out, how I want to dress," says Thalia.