palabras SIERRA FREEMAN

When RBD first came on to the Latin music scene, there was much speculation as to whether the six teens, who paraded on the television sets of millions as actors on the international hit novela, "Rebelde" would make it in the industry. Nearly three years later, with a fresh mature look, hundreds of sold out concerts, and multi-platinum album sales under their belt, RBD is standing strong as a successful Latin pop phenomenon that is making strives to conquer the U.S. mainstream audience with their own brand of style.

In January of 2005, the RBD craze spread throughout Latin America and the U.S. with the release of their second album, Nuestro Amor, which sold over two million copies. In Brazil, the group garnered so much fame, that their albums were re-cut in Portuguese, resulting in multi-platinum sales and sold out tickets at the world renowned Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

With two new albums, Celestial, in Spanish, which released on November 24 and Rebels, their debut English album set to hits stores on December 26, the coed sextet, Dulce Maria, Anahí, Maite, Christopher, Alfonso, and Christian are well on their way to making a dent in the Latin and U.S. music markets.

As they gear up for a new year, nocheLatina sat down with Alfonso Herrera of RBD to discuss their music, future plans, and secrets to their toppled success.

You guys just picked up Best Pop Album at the 2006 Latin GRAMMY Awards and have had three successful albums. What do these recent accomplishments mean for RBD?

It's really great. Everything that we have achieved is because of our fans. Any group or singer is nothing without the fans. You have to be grateful for the people who support you.

Your English album, Rebels, hits stores on December 26th, 2006, what can people expect to hear?

It's very different than what we are used to doing back at home. In Latin America pop music is more classic and conservative, but in the states, it can be r&b, hip-hop and pop. We have this mixture, especially with songs like "Tu amor." The title is in Spanish, but most of the song is in English. This is what we are trying to show, these are our roots.

Did you work with any artists on this album?

Actually we did a reggeaton song with the Luny Tones called "Money, Money." We do not want to forget our roots, we are Latin, but we would like to share our music and style with the American people.

You guys have performed in many cities and countries, which places have the most exciting nightlife?

Nightlife, well we have very little time for nightlife because we are working so hard. We've been to many countries and cities and each city has its special flavor. If I said this city is better than that one, it wouldn't be fair. I think we have had good experiences in terms of work and when I say work, I mean it is fun for us, sort of like the nightlife that you are talking about(laughing out loud).

There are six of you in the group, how do you manage to consider the needs of all without offending anyone?

You know what, every time we have a concert we have a message, respect, tolerance and communication and that is exactly what we practice with the six of us.

Are there any artists that you would like to work with in the future?

Right now if I could think of someone, it would be difficult because we are just starting, but we admire Robbie Williams, he is a great singer and Daddy Yankee, who is also another great artist.

So what's next?

We are working on the English language album, which comes out December 26. Next year, we will be heading to Spain and France, and then we will be in Tokyo, Japan. After that, we will be going back to the states to do some concerts for the English album.

What does the future hold for RBD?

I don't know what's going to happen really, but we are going to work really hard to make it. We are going to be bigger and bigger each time because of the work we are doing now. If you want to see results, you have to work really hard. I think that is the purpose of life.

Join the discussion on the nocheLatina Message Boards!