ENTERTAINMENT

* Judging by last year’s successes, look for bilingual singers to be the growing trend in 1992. Following in the footsteps of veterans Jose Feliciano, Vikki Carr, Gloria Estefan and Placido Domingo, among others, is a new wave of artists seeking popularity with both English- and Spanish-language audiences.

Topping Billboard magazine’s Latino “Critic’s Choice” list of the best records of 1991 is Naomi with her controversial album “Tocamela.” Critical acclaim has greeted the LP in the United States. Its cuts include “Tocamela,” a play on words in Spanish that sounds like a come-on but turns out to be a request for a DJ to play a song, and “Quedate” (“Stay”). But the music’s acceptance has been slow in Mexico. “Record companies know what to do with balladeers like Ana Gabriel or Julio Iglesias,” said Naomi, a native Angeleno, whose father is Mexican-Venezuelan and whose mother is Japanese. “But when someone different comes along, these companies are fearful because they don’t know how to promote them.” The singer with a daring style added: “I know I speak for a lot of the younger artists who are up against the same thing--afraid to cross that line of traditional material because of the frown they’d get from record companies and radio stations.”

Also on Billboard’s list are Vicky, Diana and Sylvia Villegas--better known as The Triplets--who achieved plenty of U.S. recognition last year with their album “Thicker Than Water.” The 26-year-old daughters of a Mexican father and American mother, the singing, songwriting sisters moved from their Mexican homeland to New York when they were 17. They were first recognized in 1986, when they produced a winning MTV music video contest entry. The trio is introducing its sounds to Spanish-language audiences with its album, “Fuerza del parentesco” (“Thicker Than Water”). It features the cut, “La esperanza” (“The Hope”), about moving to a foreign land in search of a better life. And certainly The Triplets’ move seems to be paying off.

Angelica, another rising talent, shows off her vocal skills in both Spanish and English in the debut album that bears her first name. The recording includes one of the most requested of rock ‘n’ roll oldies, “Angel Baby,” first recorded in 1960 by Rosie & the Originals. Angelica has introduced it to a new audience and watched it climb the charts. A Spanish version of the song is in the works. The 19-year-old singer got her start performing with her family in restaurants around her hometown of El Monte.

And what about those musical trailblazers mentioned above? Jose Feliciano has moved to Connecticut, where he hosts a weekly radio program. Vikki Carr is on the road, keeping a busy concert schedule, while Gloria Estefan’s representatives told Nuestro Tiempo that they would like to find her a good movie role. And Placido Domingo will conduct the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra tonight and Feb. 2 at the Ambassador Auditorium. It will be the tenor’s first time at the baton for an entire orchestral concert in the United States.