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"Biography of Luis Miguel"
There are many individuals that
gain fame at an early age. Often they come from show business backgrounds,
exceeding or equalling their parent’s achievements, others come from nowhere.
Once fame has been gained, it may be short lived or maintained, however, few can
be seen to have managed the same level of success as the singer known as the
Idol.
Luis Miguel started his career at the tender age of eleven. This Latin American
singer was born to show business parents; his mother, Marcela Basteri, was an
actress and his father, Luisito Rey, was a singer who saw the peak of his career
in the 1960's long before his son was born.
Luis Miguel was born on the 19th of April 1970, making him an Aries, the zodiac
sign blessed with artistic abilities. In the case of Luis, this musical ability
is unquestionable. He was born in Puerto Rico at the San Jorge Hospital, but
brought up in Mexico.
His career did not begin until he was eleven years old but, backed by his
parents; he was able to achieve a lot in a short time. Having parents who
already knew the basics of the business must have aided his development, and
also ability to cope with success.
In the period between 1982 and 1984 he recorded four albums, which were 1+1 = 2
Enamorados, Directo Al Corazón, Decídete and Palabra de Honor. It was also at
this time that he was to embark upon the first of many international tours, and
he made his first movie 'Ya Nunca Más'. He gained his first gold record for his
interpretations of the songs in this film. This was the first of many.
There was also a pattern to his career starting here that was to be continued,
his albums were not in English; indeed, none of his albums that have followed
have been in English. Acclaim and industry-recognized success was to follow in
the next year. In 1985 he won a Grammy Award. This was received for a duet he
had recorded with the British star Sheena Easton called Me Gustas Tal Como Eres.
In the same year he was also awarded the Antorcha de Plata at the Chilean
festival in Viña del Mar.
In 1985 there was not an album released, but 1986 saw the release of "Soy Como
Quiero Ser", his fifth album. This was also the first album that he made with
Juan Carlos Calderón, a composer and producer. This was the beginning of a
collaborative relationship that would last into the future. The success of this
was amazing - the álbum resulted in a total of eight gold records and five
platinum records. It was also this year that he made his second movie Fiebre De
Amor.
After this, there was a period of change. In 1987 he parted from the
professional relationship that he had with his father, who had been his Manager,
and signed a deal with Warner Music. This is still the company he works with
today.
As with any growth there are adjustments, and by the time he releases his sixth
album in 1988, Un Hombre Busca Una Mujer, we see that the beginnings of a change
in style that would become complete when he reaches the age of twenty - one. The
style change is a gradual maturation at this stage, and the first single that is
released from the album La Incondicional, stayed at the top of the charts on the
Latin radio station for a total of seven consecutive months. Of the seven
singles that were released from the album every one of them reached number one
on the Hot Latin Tracks charts.
The next album was in 1990, and this can be seen as a very successful album
called 20 años the album sold more than 600,000 in the week of its release.
There was also an interesting scenario when there were six singles from this
album simultaneously in the Mexican top 100. Luis also toured both Mexico and
America very successfully this year.
Tracks in this álbum included Entrégate, Oro de Ley, Tengo Todo Excepto a Ti,
Será Que No Me Amas, Amante del Amor, Hoy el Aire Huele a Ti, Cuestión de Piel,
Mas Allá de Todo, Alguien Como Tú, Mas.
International fame was also
to follow, with the increasing number of sales and his fame spreading to Europe,
most especially Spain, his work was being noticed on a wider stage. He won the
European Excellence in Spain and also the Best Selling Artist Category at the
World Music Awards in Monaco, which was a double first - it was his first award
from this organization, and it was also the first time ever a Latin artist has
won this award. Awards were coming in fast this year, with another two awards
from the Viña del Mar Festival.
By now his career was firmly established as one of the most successful Latin
American artists ever. It was with this level of success that he took a risk. He
released a new album called Romance. This was a very different style; the album
was not as pop orientated, but moved towards a slower more romantic style, with
tracks being boleros including: No Me Platiques Más Inolvidable, La Puerta, La
Barca, Te Extraño, Usted, Contigo en la Distancia, Mucho Corazón La Mentira,
Cuando Vuelva a tu lado, No Se Tú and Como. This was to be the first of three
albums knows as the Boleros.
'Romance' sold very well, including a total of more than 7 million albums
internationally resulting in 70 platinum awards. The album also won many other
awards including: "Best International Album" and "Best International Artist Of
The Year" at the Venezuelan Ronda Awards, "Best Artist From A Non-English
Speaking Country" at The Korean International Music Awards the and in Argentina,
the "Trofeo Ace". This was a very successful year but this success was to
continue into the following year.
Awards gained this year also included the best international video at the
American MTV awards. He was also the only Latin American artist that received an
invitation to take part in the recording of the theme song for the Olympic games
that were to take place in Barcelona Spain, called Barcelona Gold.
In 1992 the awards for the album Romance continued. There were the Billboard
awards, including Best Album and Best Spanish-Singing Artist as well as awards
from Latin America. At the end of the Seville Expo in 1992 there was also a very
successful charitable concert where all of the funds were donated to the
Children's Museum in Mexico.
1993 saw the album Aries. Again, this album sold many copies and won many
awards. This álbum also achieved 40
platinum and four gold records. Tracks included Suave, Me Niego a Estar Solo,
Luz Verde, Hasta el Fin, Ayer, Que Nivel de Mujer, Pensar en Ti, Dame Tu Amor,
Hasta que Me Olvides and Tu y Yo.
The same year was also one
where another successful tour would take place, covering central and South
America as well as the United States. There were concerts at many premiere
sites, such as Madison Square Garden in New York and in Los Angeles, The
Universal Amphitheatre. In both of these venues he was the first Latin American
artist to achieve a sell out.
Segundo Romance, the second of the Bolero
álbum, tracks included ; El Día Que Me Quieras, Sin Ti, Somos Novios, La Media
Vuelta, Solamente Una Vez, Todo y Nadal, Historia de un Amor, Como Yo Te Amé,
Nosotros, Yo se Que Volverás and Delirio.
He also gained recognition from the
Recording Industry Artists of America (RIAA) for the two million copies of the
Bolero albums he had sold in the US.
It was also this same year that he was to make the one recording of his career
in English. It was a guest appearance on an album by Frank Sinatra, in the duet
of Come Fly with Me. This guest appearance also made it into the television show
about Frank Sinatra's Duets as well as performing at his eightieth birthday
concert with well known artists such as Bruce Springsteen.
The albums have kept coming with EL CONCIERTO in 1994, NADA ES IGUAL in 1996,
which went platinum thirty time over and included the tracks he had recorded for
Disney's hunchback of Notre Dame. It was also in this year his fame was
recognized in Hollywood with a star on Hollywood Boulevard. In this year he also
broke other records becoming the highest paid Latin American Artist to appear in
Las Vegas, where he topped the bill at Caesar's Palace.
The third Bolero álbum, Romances, was
released in 1997. Here we see a further development in his career, as this was
self produced with tracks such as “Voy a Apagar la Luz”, “Contigo aprendí”,
“Sabor a Mí”, “Por Debajo de La Mesa”, “La Gloria Eres Tú”, “Amanecer”,
“Encadenados”, “Bésame Mucho”, “Contigo (Estar contigo)”, “Noche de Ronda”, “El
Reloj”, “Júrame”, “De Quererte Así” “Uno” and “Mañana de Carnaval”.
This was also another touring year,
with sell out dates all over the United States and South America. Fans were also
now coming from many different countries to see him play.
1998 saw the achievement of his fourth Grammy award and many other successes and
awards too numerous to mention. In one
of his latest álbum, Amarte Es Un Placer, he is again reunited with Juan Carlos
Calderón, who wrote and produced the songs on the album including Tu Mirada, Soy
Yo, Sol, Arena y Mar, O Tú o Ninguna, Quiero, Dormir contigo, Dímelo en un beso,
No me fío, Te propongo esta noche, Tu solo tu, Ese momento and Amarte es un
Placer. The meaning of the
title fits in with many of the others, meaning, loving you is a pleasure. This
was recorded in 1999. This album formed the basis of the tour.
The career of Luis Miguel looks to be one that will continue to go from strength
to strength. With over 45 million records sold world wide there is little that
can get in the way of this super star, how continues to live up to his nick name
of "El Idolo"!