If you haven't noticed, a lot of English-speaking singers have been recording songs and albums in Spanish lately. This is no coincidence. Music sales have declined significantly over the past few years, and according to the Chicago Tribune, acquiring new Latin audiences may be the key to overcoming this problem. Everyone from Wyclef Jean to Beyonce to Jennifer Lopez to Christina Aguilera has released Spanish-language material recently.

 

We should all be happy that record labels have found a way to generate income that doesn't involve suing teenagers. Latin audiences really could be the answer to the industry's problem. Consider the following...

 

-Spanish acts such as Shakira, Marc Anthony and Ricky Martin had great success crossing over from Spanish to English. Why wouldn't English stars have similar success going the other way?

 

-11 million people watch the Latin Grammys.

 

-There are 32 million Spanish-speaking people in the U.S. and 400 million more worldwide. It is the fastest-growing demographic in America. Even if Pat Buchanan were to get his wall along Mexico, the Latin population would continue to grow steadily.

 

-Latinos are the fastest-growing demographic of radio audiences, and many stations are going Spanish.

 

-"A lot of my Latin fans said, 'Oh, you should do more songs in Spanish.'" -a quote from Beyonce at a recent press conference

 

-Latin people are very passionate and this surely translates to music. In fact, some would say they have a "fiery passion." Caliente!

 

-Latin women are incredibly hot. For proof, refer to the picture of actress Vanessa Marcil (above). This may seem irrelevant, but trust me, it's not.

 

-Spanish people make up a good percentage of major cities like New York, L.A. and Miami. These cities are very influential in creating buzz around an artist or song.

 

-Latin people don't steal music illegally as much as we gringos do.

 

-Even English-speaking people of Latin decent will appreciate an artist's inclusion of their culture.

 

-Si no hablas español, no eres fresco, perdedor.

 

-I don't know if you've heard the Spanish version of "Irreplaceable," but it's pretty sick...