Double Vision

The debut English album from Prince Royce opens with a razor-sharp electro beat, a pimpin' Snoop Dogg appearance, and the first Anglo couplet to ever come out of the bachata superstar's mouth: "I like you talking dirty/I like your filthy love." Those lines come from the sexed-up highlight "Stuck on a Feeling," while the album's follow-up single, "Back It Up" with Jennifer Lopez, is a steamy ode to butts that belongs next to "Baby Got Back" in the Sexy Club Tracks Hall of Fame. Double Vision is decidedly in the post-R. Kelly, post-Miguel land of R&B, getting girl crazy during its title track (which should be the new strip club standard for introducing two-for-one dances) and then attacking the hips in a more a traditional style with the lustful Latin number "There for You." Oddly enough, "Handcuffs" refers to a loyal heart rather anything found in 50 Shades of Grey, but the album is much more than just the Prince talking dirty in English. As far as crossover comparisons, this risk-taking and well-executed LP condenses Shakira's multi-album English transition into one daring release, taking listeners all the way up to a She Wolf-type experience, where the production is razor-sharp and innovative beyond expectations. Slick guest artists Tyga and Kid Ink help the listener bridge the gap between the album's maverick moments and the sweet songs aimed at teens, and with smooth-voiced Royce showing equal grace with love and lust, Double Vision becomes the great and infectious model for a 2015 pan-global pop album.