Azúcar Moreno

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Azúcar Moreno
Genre(s) Latin Pop, Pop, Latin Music, Ballads, Flamenco
Years active 1984 - present
Label(s) EMI, Capitol, CBS Records, Sony Music, Epic Records

Azúcar Moreno (Spanish for "brown sugar") is the name of a famous music duo from Spain who has sold 2,2 million albums since 1985 in Spain.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Composed by sisters Antonia (Toñi) and Encarnación (Encarna) Salazar, the singing duo comes from Extremadura. They are part of a large family of performers: their grandfather was a musician, their father a singer and author, their brothers the members of the group Los Chunguitos and their aunt is famous singer Porina de Badajoz. The Azúcar Moreno sisters began their singing careers as back-up vocalists to their brothers, but in 1982, they were discovered and signed by record label EMI Spain, resulting in two albums with moderate commercial success released in 1984 and 1986. In 1988 they signed with CBS-Epic and relaunched their music with a bolder production style and matching sexier image. They became one of the first Spanish acts to combine their gypsy heritage and typical flamenco vocal style with modern dance rhythms like disco, rhythm and blues, funk and techno. One of their first commercial hit singles was a house music remix of the track "Aunque Me Falte El Aire", released in 1988. A full-length remix album Mix In Spain followed in 1989 and the single "Debajo Del Olivo" also became a minor club hit in Continental Europe.

International breakthrough album Bandido, 1990
International breakthrough album Bandido, 1990

Azúcar Moreno became famous all over Europe and Latin America, after singing their song "Bandido", produced by one of Spain's most prolific dance producers Raul Orellana, at the Eurovision Song Contest 1990. Unfortunately, the start of their performance was marred by sound problems at the arena in Zagreb. "Bandido" went out as entry number one of twenty-two participating countries. The contest was broadcast live to an audience of approximately 500 million viewers - but due to a tape technician not starting the pre-recorded backing track in time both the singers, their band and the live orchestra missed their cues. Two minutes of absolute silence followed, then total confusion both on and off stage, then a sudden false start of the backing track, then embarrassed applauds from the audience and legendary BBC commentator Terry Wogan dryly saying "Let's hope it doesn't go on like this or we're in for a very long night, ladies and gentlemen". [1] This resulted in the sisters finally having to walk off stage, make a second entrance and start the song and their dance routine all over, making it one of the most memorable - or infamous - moments in the 50 year long history of the contest. Despite this very unfortunate debacle "Bandido" finished an honourable fifth and the song and its accompanying album, also including the hit single "Devorame Otra Vez", became the starting point of their international career.

During the following years, Encarna and Toñi Salazar had the opportunity to work with producers Emilio Estefan and Estefano, recording in both the United Kingdom and the United States, achieving a Billboard music award and becoming one of the top-selling artists in the Latin pop scene. 1991's Mambo became their commercial break-through in Japan and the title track of their 1994 album El Amor was featured in Luis Llosa's movie The Specialist.

On their following albums Azúcar Moreno widened their repertoire as they combined newly composed songs sung in their typical flamenco vocal style with folk songs like the Chilean "Ojos Negros" and the Hebrew "Hava Nagila", influences from other Hispanic genres like rhumba, mambo and salsa as well as Spanish language cover versions of rock classics like the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" and The Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".

1996 hit single "Solo Se Vive Una Vez"
1996 hit single "Solo Se Vive Una Vez"

As of 2006, Azúcar Moreno have released some 40 singles, 13 studio albums as well as a large number of hits compilations. Their greatest hit to date is "Solo Se Vive Una Vez" (translated as "You only live once."). which topped the charts in Spain as well as a number of countries in South and Central America. In the 2000s the track was included on the Spanish language versions of karaoke video game SingStar. Azúcar Moreno are one of the best selling acts in the history of Spanish popular music, with combined sales of approximately 2 million albums in their native Spain alone and it also makes them one of the most commercially successful acts alongside Sweden's ABBA and Canada's Céline Dion to have their international breakthrough via the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Salazar sisters have been the target of much gossip and some of their songs have been controversial in their homeland. Many of their fans see some of their songs as having feminist content, and the duo has been prominently featured on the covers of Spanish tabloid magazines since the early 90's. The sisters also have a strong gay following in Spain, their 2000 album Olé included a torch ballad especially dedicated to their loyal LGBT fans, "Amigo Mío", and later they also recorded songs like "Divina De La Muerte" and "Sobreviviré", a flamenco cover version of Gloria Gaynor's gay anthem "I Will Survive".

In 2006, Azúcar Moreno returned to EMI after 18 years with CBS-Sony and were considered one of the top artists to represent Spain again in the Eurovision Song Contest. Ultimately RTVE's choice fell upon Las Ketchup, feeling the sisters' tribute to legendary Spanish singer, dancer, and actress Lola Flores, "Bailando con Lola" (Dancing with Lola), was too flamenco-flavoured. Nevertheless, as Toñi and Encarna sing in the opening song "20 Años" on the Bailando Con Lola album: It's been 20 years / Nothing else / 20 years of singing / And we've still got so much to give ...

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Year Album Sales Certification
1985 Con La Miel En Los Labios
50,000+
Gold
1986 Estimúlame
50,000+
Gold
1988 Carne De Melocotón
50,000+
Gold
1990 Bandido
300,000+
x3 Platinum
1991 Mambo
200,000+
x2 Platinum
1992 Ojos Negros
100,000+
x1 Platinum
1994 El Amor
100,000+
x1 Platinum
1996 Esclava De Tu Piel
500,000+
x5 Platinum
1997 Mucho Azúcar - Grandes Éxitos
50,000+
Gold
1998 Olé
200,000+
x2 Platinum
2000 Amén
300,000+
x3 Platinum
2001 Únicas
100,000+
x1 Platinum
2003 Desde El Principio
50,000+
Gold
2006 Bailando Con Lola
50,000+
Gold

[edit] Singles

  • 1984 "Azúcar Moreno" / "Luna Coqueta"
  • 1984 "Que Si, Que No" / "No Quiero Que Me Quieras"
  • 1984 "Canela" / "El Girasol"
  • 1986 "Estimulame" / "Amame"
  • 1988 "Alerta Corazón" (Casablanca Mix)
  • 1988 "Aunque Me Falte El Aire" (Lerele Mix) / "Limón Amargo"
  • 1988 "Debajo Del Olivo" (Mix In Spain)
  • 1990 "Bandido"
  • 1990 "Devorame Otra Vez"
  • 1990 "A Caballo"
  • 1991 "Torero!"
  • 1991 "Mambo"
  • 1992 "Moliendo Café"
  • 1994 "El Amor" / "Ando Buscando Un Amor"
  • 1994 "Hay Que Saber Perder"
  • 1996 "Sólo Se Vive Una Vez" (The Caribbean Remixes)
  • 1996 "Esclava De Tu Piel"
  • 1996 "Hoy Tengo Ganas De Ti"
  • 1996 "La Cita"
  • 1997 "Bandolero"
  • 1997 "Hava Naguila"
  • 1997 "Muévete Salvaje" / "Bandido"
  • 1997 "Tapame"
  • 1998 "Mecachis"
  • 1998 "No Pretenderás"
  • 1998 "Olé"
  • 1998 "Cumbaya" / "Ese Beso"
  • 1999 "Agua Que No Has De Beber"
  • 2000 "Amen"
  • 2000 "Dale Que Dale"
  • 2000 "Mamma Mia"
  • 2001 "Ay Amor"
  • 2002 "Bésame" (Mixes)
  • 2002 "Volvería A Nacer"
  • 2002 "Tequila" (Mixes)
  • 2002 "Divina De La Muerte"
  • 2006 "Clávame"
  • 2006 "Bailando Con Lola"
Preceded by
Nina		 Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
1990		 Succeeded by
Sergio Dalma

[edit] Sources and external links

[edit] References

[1]