Vibe (7/02, p.141) - 3 discs out of 5 - "...Ripe with TRL-worthy gems...[Her] musical multilingualism could be her passport to success..."
Personnel includes: Paulina Rubio (vocals); Ed Calle (arranger); Sindre Hotvedt (conductor, accordion); Gen Rubin (acoustic guitar, keyboards, programming); Estefano (acoustic guitar); Marcello Azevedo (electric guitar, keyboards, bass, drums, programming); Javier Carrion (guitar, bass); Dan Warner, William "JL" Woods (guitar); Alfredo Oliva, Gus Correa (violin); The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (strings); Tony Concepcion (trumpet); Hitesh Huber (Fender Rhodes piano); Gary Miller (keyboards, programming); Brian Rawling (drums); Ivan Zervigon, Edwin Bonilla (percussion); Lenio Purry (programming); DJ Saber (vinyl scratches); Jennifer Karr, Anja, Boots (background vocals).
Producers include: Gen Rubin, Marcello Azevedo, David Eriksen, Shep, Chris "C
Rod" Rodriguez.
It says a lot for Mexican singing sensation Paulina Rubio's self-confidence that she's included a disco version of the Kiss song "I Was Made For Loving You" on her English-language debut. It's stripped down and perky, much like the rest of BORDER GIRL--as the daughter of a famous Mexican actress, Rubio has been around showbiz long enough to know when to keep it simple. Rubio's pleasant vocals are very much to the fore--she's obviously learned a lot from the school of Britney, though if the cover shot is any hint, she's going to find it hard to reproduce the perennial post-teen's illusion of constantly teetering on the edge of virginity.
Here you'll find sultry down-tempo ballads such as the title track, brisk MTV-friendly dance cuts like the album-opening "Don't Say Goodbye," (also included in its Spanish language version, as are several of the cuts here), and a Jewel of a pop ditty in "Undeniable," which conjures images of the Alaskan waif reincarnated as a Mexican pop princess. With BORDER GIRL Rubio shows she undoubtedly has the range to compete with the best the U.S. has to offer.