María Isabel

María Isabel

María Isabel in 2007
Background information
Birth name María Isabel López Rodríguez
Born 4 January 1995
Origin Ayamonte, Huelva Province, Spain
Genres Latin pop, electropop, dance-pop
Occupation(s) Singer
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2004–present
Labels Universal Music Group Vale Music
Website http://www.mariaisabel.org

María Isabel (born 4 January 1995) is a Spanish singer who won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song Antes Muerta que Sencilla.[1][2][3]

Biography

María Isabel was born as María Isabel López Rodríguez in Ayamonte, Huelva Province, Spain. She demonstrated an interest in dancing and singing from a very young age. Her love for singing and dancing took her to the 2004 Spanish "Eurojunior" competition, which was televised nationally in her native Spain. The purpose of this competition is to select Spain's representative for the relatively new, "Festival de Eurovision Junior" competition (Junior Eurovision Song Contest), which began in 2003.

María Isabel won Spain's "Eurojunior" with her single "Antes Muerta que Sencilla" ("I'd rather be Dead than Plain"). Subsequently, she won the second "Junior Eurovision Song Contest" performing the same song, and setting a record for both largest score (171 points) and largest winning margin (31). This record can be explained in part due to the 2004 contest having the most amount of participants of any Junior Eurovision Song Contest, with eighteen participants. Her winning margin record was broken by the 2012 winner, Anastasiya Petryk, who won with a 35-point margin.

Winning at the age of nine years, ten months and 16 days old, she became the youngest person to win the contest to date (a few days younger than The Tolmachevy Twins, the only other 9 year-old winners). In light of a rule change in 2007 which requires all performers to be 10 to 15 years old to participate, she might remain the youngest person ever to win the contest.

Several weeks before winning the festival she released her first CD, titled "No me Toques las Palmas que me Conozco" ("Don't clap Because I Know Myself"). This CD included "Antes Muerta que Sencilla", which launched her career in the Spanish show business world, making her a competitor of another Spaniard teen idol, Melody Ruiz Gutiérrez.

"Antes Muerta que Sencilla" became an instant radio hit in Spain, and was later promoted in Latin America, where Maria Isabel's album was released in 2005. Milly Cangiano, a Puerto Rican television show host, has made the song's name one of the phrases she uses daily during her show.

In addition, Maria Isabel began her first tour of Latin America and the United States after the album's release. Her song has become a charttopper in Argentina, Colombia, Puerto Rico and other places. In April 2005, she was interviewed on American national television for the first time, when she was presented on Univision's "El Gordo y La Flaca and spoke with Lily Estefan and Raul De Molina.

Maria Isabel lists Chenoa (David Bisbal's ex-girlfriend) as one of her favorite singers. She plans to continue her show business career and possibly become a businesswoman when she becomes an adult. She has said she would like to open a clothing store. Although singing remains her main interest, she is also a musician. As a little girl, she studied the piano, but she left it because she became bored.

Maria Isabel continues to go to school from Monday-Friday, but on weekends and school holidays she travels throughout Spain giving concerts as well as interviews for the [media]. She is a regular on Malaga's Tivoli World.

Her second album is titled "Número 2". It includes the hits "Pues Va A Ser Que No" and "En Mi Jardin". These songs are part of the soundtrack of the Spanish Barbie movie "Y La Magia De Pegaso". Her third album Capricornio was released on 21 November 2006 and has been a huge success. It is a double disk set which also includes a DVD with all of her videoclips and extras.

Her fourth studio album is a collection of songs from the soundtrack of her first movie, Ángeles SA. Due to management and release problems, Ángeles SA entered the Spanish charts at number 35, however in the week commencing 20/12, it peaked at number 11, certifying it gold. Maria Isabel has listed her hobbies as playing with friends, trying cosmetics,singing and putting her hair into cute styles at the hairdressers.

Discography

Albums

Year Information Chart positions Sales and certifications
SPA GER TUR
2004 No Me Toques Las Palmas Que Me Conozco
  • First studio album
  • Released: 2 November 2004
  • Format: CD
1
23
 500.000 (5x Platinum)
2005 Número 2
  • Second studio album
  • Released: 2 October 2005
  • Formats: CD
1
300.000 (3x Platinum)
2006 Capricornio
  • Third studio album
  • Released: 21 November 2006
  • Formats: CD
5
80.000 (1x Platinum)
2007 Ángeles S.A.
  • Fourth studio album
  • Released: 27 November 2007
  • Format: CD
1
100.000 (1x Platinum)
2009 Los Lunnis con María Isabel
  • Soundtrack with new songs of María Isabel
  • Released: 10 November 2009
  • Format: CD

* Current in chart

Singles

Dubbing

Year Film Role Notes
2007 Ángeles S.A. Herself Lead Role

References

  1. ↑ Caballero, Javier (18 December 2005). "La "sencilla" vida de María Isabel". El Mundo magazine (in Spanish) (325) (Madrid: Mundinteractivos, S.A). Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  2. ↑ "History : Kyiv 2009". Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Staff (22 November 2004). "María Isabel vuelve a España como ganadora del Festival de Eurovisión para niños". ELPAÍS.com (in Spanish) (Madrid: Edicíones El País). Retrieved 13 August 2010.
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Preceded by
Dino Jelusić		 Winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
2004 		Succeeded by
Ksenia Sitnik