Wed, May 25, Ximena Sariñana

Ximena Sariñana called her first album Medíocre, but the Guadalajara-born artist is hardly sub par. Indeed, that album—sung in Spanish—went to No. 1 in Mexico and garnered the singer a handful of Grammy nominations. Now, Sariñana’s self-titled sophomore disc, due in August, marries her Latin roots with a decidedly American pop sensibility. Sung in English and Spanish, it’s at once deeply emotional, yet criminally catchy. Maybe it’s the singer’s artistic heritage—her father is a filmmaker, her mother a screenwriter, and she spent much of her youth appearing on various telenovelas—that give the songs such polished, theatrical pop flair. 1417 R Street, www.ximenamusic.com.