The New Now

Mexican Singer-Songwriter Ximena Sarinana’s Bubbly Pop Departure

By | The New Now – Fri, Dec 16, 2011 4:33 PM EST

Photo by Emily Shur

By naming her debut album Mediocre, Mexican singer Ximena Sariñana seemed to have set listeners up for an uneventful 13 tracks. Lucky for her, she is so much more. The baby-faced, 26-year-old singer has impressed audiences and critics alike with her stripped-down, and at times haunting, fusion of jazz, rock, and pop. But with her second, self-titled album, she has exited  her comfort zone to produce an upbeat, English-language record.

Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, to a producer father and screenwriter mother, Sariñana initially followed an acting career while learning to sing and play piano. She appeared in several telenovelas, starting when she was 11 years old, and in several films as a teen and adult, all the while working on her music. After fronting the indie band Feliz No Cumpleaños (Happy Un-Birthday), she finally ventured into a solo music career with the release of her Spanish-language debut Mediocre in 2008.

We're stoked to have an exclusive live video of Ximena Sariñana performing her latest single, "Different," at the WB Records Summer Sessions. Watch her perform with just a keyboard and balloons:

And watch the music video for her beautifully dark single "Frente Al Mar" off of Mediocre to hear her progression as an artist. This song was included in the Spanish edition of the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack, if you're wondering about the gratuitous Edward/Bella/Jacob intercuts.

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