Spanish Singers with a U.S. Following
How many Spanish singers do you know? In this article you’ll discover some of the best Spanish stars that have succeeded in the U.S. music industry.
Pablo Alborán
Born in Málaga in 1989, Pablo Alborán is a Spanish musician, singer, and songwriter that was nominated for three Latin Grammy Awards in 2011 and for Best Latin Pop Album in 2016 for his third studio album, “Terral”.
In November, 2015, Alborán performed in some of the most important U.S. cities including New York, L.A. Miami, and Washington, D.C.
Alejandro Sanz
Born in Madrid in 1968 to parents from Andalusia, Alejandro Sanz is known for his flamenco-influenced ballads, but he has also experimented with other music genres, such as rock, jazz, funk, electronic and latin music. Sanz has won 17 Latin Grammy Awards, 3 Grammy Awards and 3 Latin Grammy for Album of the Year, more than any other artist in history.
Following the success of the album “Más”, driven by the singles “Corazón Partío”, “Y, ¿Si Fuera Ella?”, “Amiga Mía”, Sanz began touring in United States for the first time at the end of the 90's.
In 2005, his collaboration with Shakira on the song “La Tortura” reached number one in several countries worldwide, such as Spain, Mexico and the United States. Singing this song, Sanz became the first Spanish artist by opening the MTV Video Music Awards show.
Enrique Iglesias
Born in Madrid in 1975, Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer that has sold over 12 million copies in the United States. He’s the third and youngest child of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and Filipina journalist Isabel Preysler.
In 1999 he recorded his first song in English called “Bailamos,” which became an international success. This song was included in the soundtrack of the movie Wild Wild West starring Will Smith. His contribution “Bailamos” became a number one hit in the U.S. in the 90’s and after that, Iglesias performed at the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show in 2000 alongside other important artists, such as Christina Aguilera, Phil Collins, and Toni Braxton.
The album’s single “Be With You” became Iglesias’s second number one single on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 2000. Since then, Iglesias held a successful crossover career in the English and Spanish language music market, and especially in the U.S. music industry. He has also released songs featuring other artists such as Ricky Martin, Juanes, Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, Kylie Minogue, Flo Rida, Gente de Zona, India Martínez, Akon, Usher, Wisin & Yandel, etc.
La Oreja de Van Gogh
In 2016, this popular Spanish pop band released a new album named El planeta imaginario that topped the Billboard list of best-selling Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums in the U.S.
If you want to enjoy the music of La Oreja de Van Gogh live, don’t miss their U.S. tour this year. They’ll perform in Washington, D,C., Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Miami and San Francisco during May 2017.
Melendi
Born in Oviedo (Asturias) in 1979, Melendi is a Spanish pop singer and songwriter with rock, rumba, and flamenco influences. He has sold more than 3 million albums throughout his career and was a judge on the Spanish version of The Voice last season, alongside Alejandro Sanz.
In 2017, Melendi will perform around the U.S. for the first time in cities including Los Angeles, Boston, Miami Beach, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Julio Iglesias
Born in Madrid in 1943, Julio Iglesias is one of the most popular Spanish singers and songwriters around the globe. Throughout his career, he has sold over 120 million records worldwide in 14 languages, and has been awarded with more than 400 gold and platinum records certified. As a result, he’s one of the best-selling artists of all time and the best-selling singers in the history of Latin music.
According to CBS International, he was the largest album seller in the U.S. and Latin America during 1979–1982, and he sold more than 850,000 copies of this album Julio in the 80’s. In 1983, he was invited to perform at the White House Christmas dinner during Ronald Reagan presidency. A year later, he published his first album in English, 1100 Bel Air Place, and he sold more than 8 million copies in the world and 4 million in the U.S. In 1984, he held four best-selling albums on the Billboard 200 list at the same time, an achievement only obtained by The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
In 1992, he was recognized as «Español universal» (“International Spaniard”) by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Florida.
Raphael
Raphael is a worldwide popular Spanish singer and television, cinema and theater actor. He was born in Linares (Jaén, Andalusia) in 1943 and when he was nine was recognized as the best child voice in Europe at a contest celebrated in Salzburg, Austria.
Since his professional career began, Raphael has performed worldwide in many countries in Europe, the United States, Latin America, Russia and Japan. Songs such as “Yo soy aquel” (his most famous song), “Mi gran noche”, “Digan lo que digan”, “Estuve enamorado”, “Tema de amor”, “Cuando tú no estás” and “Desde aquel día” built his fame as one of the best international singing stars.
In 2003, Raphael was added to the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in New York City.
