Olga Tañón
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| Olga Tañón | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Olga Teresa Tañón |
| Also known as | La Mujer de Fuego |
| Born | April 13, 1967 |
| Origin | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Genre(s) | Merengue, Latin pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Composer |
| Years active | 1987 - Present |
| Label(s) | WEA Latina (1992–2004) Sony BMG (2005-2006) Univision Music (2006-Present) |
| Website | http://www.olgatanon.com/ |
Olga Tañón (born April 13, 1967 in Santurce, Puerto Rico) is a two-time Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy-winning Merengue & Latin Pop artist. Tañón has led a career that has earned her 5 Grammy Awards, 19 Premios Lo Nuestro awards.
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[edit] Early years
Born to a middle class family, Tañón is the youngest of four children born to José and Carmen Tañón. Her childhood and teenage years were just like that of any other average child, the only difference was that Tañón wanted to be a singer.
[edit] Singing career
Tañón's singing career started when she joined a group called Las Nenas de Ringo y Jossie (Ringo and Jossie's Girls) in the 1980s. A short time later a very popular group in Puerto Rico called Chantelle noticed her mezzo soprano voice and recruited her. They saw in her what they needed for their merengue style of music. When Tañón was a member of Chantelle, they scored their biggest hit, "Aunque Tú no Quieras" (Even If You Don't Want It), which was popular in Latin America.
In 1992, Tañón signed a contract with the WEA Latina record label to record a solo album. Her first recorded album was titled "Sola" (Alone). Among the songs in the album were "Me Cambio por Ella" (I'll Trade With Her) and "Quiero estar Contigo" (I Want to Be with You).
In 1993, she recorded her second album for WEA Latina, "Mujer de Fuego" (Woman of Fire). Tañón also debuted as a composer with the song "Presencié tu Amor" (I Felt Your Love).
In 1994, Tañón earned her first double platinum record and in 1995, she earned three more platinum records with her album "Siente el Amor" (Feel the Love). This album also included another one of her compositions "Unicornio" (Unicorn), which was written to the rhythm of Salsa. Tañón had gained fame and recognition throughout Latin America.
Tañón recorded a Tex-Mex CD with Mexican singer Marco Antonio Solís called "Nuevos Senderos". She was now being heard internationally, and with that recording she became the first Puerto Rican to be certified by the RIAA to have sold over half a million records. The album lead single, the ballad "Basta Ya!" topped the U.S. Billboard Top Latin Tracks for several weeks, and became Tañón first #1.
In 1997, Tañón debuted as an actress in the Puerto Rican version of the popular production of Jesus Christ Superstar produced by Rafo Muñiz. She played the part of Mary Magdalene. This version had a tropical feel to it and included some of Tañón's songs.
In 1998, Tañón married Juan González a Puerto Rican major league baseball star. In 1999, after many scandals, the marriage ended in divorce. The couple had a daughter, Gabriella Marie.
In 2000, Tañón, who was now known as the "Woman in Fire" by her fans, recorded her first concert, titled "Olga viva...Viva Olga" in the House of Blues in Orlando, Florida. This production was named by the National Foundation of Popular Culture as one the top 20 productions of the year. The record went platinum and Tañón earned her first Grammy Award.
On August 2000, Tañón sold out 12 shows in the Antonio Paoli Hall at the Luis A. Ferre Center of the Fine Arts in San Juan. Later in that same month she debuted in the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas. Her performances received rave reviews in the Fort Worth Star and the Dallas Morning News.
At the end of 2000, Tañón presented her musical spectacular at the Anayansi Theater in Panama, and toured the southeastern United States with Mexican singer Alejandro Fernandez.
In 2001, Tañón recorded a CD titled "Yo por Ti" (Me for You) which won both American and Latin Grammys. The first single Como Olvidar, top the U.S. Billboard Top Latin Tracks. The CD became a best seller in Puerto Rico, Latin America, and among the Hispanic population in the United States.
In 2002, Tañón toured many countries, including Venezuela, Panama and the United States. That year she became the first merengue artist to successfully score a chart topper in the Middle East when her partnership with Egyptian music singer Hakim yielded the highly successful Arabian hit, 'Ah Ya Albi'. In 2003, Tañón toured Europe and made a total of ten recordings for WEA Latina. In 2003 she released Sobrevivir and won her fourth Grammy. She also married music producer Billy Denizard with whom she had two sons, Indiana Noa and Ian Nahir.
[edit] Current activities
In 2005, Olga Tañón made public that her daughter Gabriela is one of only 50 people in the world to have Sebastian syndrome, a rare disease. Her plans are to keep touring and donate some of the money that she earns to find her daughter a cure. She also released her hit album "Una Nueva Mujer", which won for Best Contemporary Tropical Album at the 2006 Latin Grammys.
In support of Latin American immigrants in the USA in 2006 Olga Recorded "Nuestro Himno" in collaboration with Pitbull, Carlos Ponce, and Wyclef Jean
[edit] Premio lo Nuestro
On February 22, 2007, Tañón won three awards at the 19th edition of Premio Lo Nuestro.[1] During the 2006 show, she won in the categories: "Album of the Year", "Female Artist" and "Song of the Year". She holds the record as the artist who has won the most "Premio Lo Nuestro Awards" with a total of 22.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Hot Latin Songs |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Contigo O Sin Ti | # 20 |
| 1994 | Vendrás Llorando | # 27 |
| 1994 | Receta De Amor | # 30 |
| 1994 | Presencié Tu Amor | # 9 |
| 1994 | No Me Puedes Pedir | # 25 |
| 1994 | Muchacho Malo | # 24 |
| 1994 | Es Mentiroso | # 23 |
| 1995 | Ya Me Cansé | # 21 |
| 1995 | Una Noche Más | # 31 |
| 1995 | Entre La Noche Y El Día | # 9 |
| 1995 | Aún Pienso En Ti | # 28 |
| 1996 | Mi Eterno Amor Secreto | # 21 |
| 1996 | Me Subes, Me Bajas, Me Subes | # 3 |
| 1996 | Éxitos Y Más | # 13 |
| 1996 | Basta Ya | # 1 |
| 1997 | Serpiente Mala | # 9 |
| 1997 | Porque No Te Encontré | # 35 |
| 1997 | Llegó El Amor | # 22 |
| 1997 | En Ti | # 34 |
| 1998 | Tu Amor | # 4 |
| 1998 | El Frío De Tu Adiós | # 4 |
| 1998 | Así Es El Amor | # 34 |
| 1999 | Hielo Y Fuego | # 23 |
| 1999 | Escondidos | # 4 |
| 1999 | Engáñame | # 35 |
| 2001 | Cómo Olvidar | # 1 |
| 2002 | Miénteme | # 18 |
| 2003 | No Podrás | # 10 |
| 2003 | Cuando Tú No Estás | # 34 |
| 2003 | Así Es La Vida | # 1 |
| 2005 | Vete Vete | # 15 |
| 2005 | Bandolero | # 6 |
| 2006 | Desilusióname | # 4 |
| 2007 | Flaca O Gordita | # 34 |
