Lola's
Erase una Vez is the rollicking, pop-ilicious soundtrack to the telenovela of the same name, which debuted on Televisa in February of 2007. The modern adaptation of the Cinderella story should clearly have a modern soundtrack, and so here it is.
Lola (Eiza Gonzalez) does her best to balance a heavy workload as a servant in the Von Ferdinand household while pursuing her deepest desire on the side -- singing! She occasionally takes her charges along with her to performances who, liberated by the power of rock, decide to form their own musical group. With so much youth-powered bubblegum pop running around, this particular telenovela is clearly going to generate a sizable soundtrack. This two-disc set totaling 24 tracks offers more variety than one might originally think. There is as much stylistic variety as could be expected from a protagonist wearing a mini-skirt and leg warmers.
Lola's brand of sugar pop takes on a variety of slants, a little hip-hop here, house there, punk or straight-up rock to round it out. Gonzalez does a better job with the vocal duties than the majority of telenovela star-gone-recording artists out there. The writing is both as banal and irresistible as might be expected. Gonzalez makes a great Cinderella (as long as neon's in fashion), and even a pretty fun listen. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez