Everyone knows Rosalía, some even know a few smaller ones. But it is time to know some of the top 10 of most popular Spanish artists in the country right now.
Julio Iglesias, Raphael, Mecano and Alejandro Sanz are and will always be some of the greatest Spanish artists that this country gave birth. They are known around the globe. Therefore, there are some new names, main artists, you should definitely be familiar with. They probably are not known internationally for the moment. But without any doubts, it is time to discover them. Here is a list of five of the most relevant Spanish artists nowadays (alphabetically organized).
Aitana
Aitana is a 21 year old pop singer from Barcelona. Even though she is young, Aitana is very popular in the country, an absolute musical and social phenomenon. The artist usually reaches #1 in the Spanish charts. She participated in the Spanish TV show Operación Triunfo in 2017 and ended up in the second position. In 2018, she tried to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest, but she was finally not selected. A year later, Aitana released her first album ‘Spoiler’, which had a big reception from her fans. In 2020, she released her second album ’11 razones’ (11 reasons), collaborating with Sebastian Yatra, Beret and Cali y El Dandee. Because of her numerous songs with David Bisbal, she became this year his advisor in The Voice Kids in Spain. Aitana is also ambassador from brands such as Stradivarius, Yves Saint Laurent and Puma.
She has performed at festivals such as Starlite and Sun and Stars Festival in Spain. But she is more popular because of her participations at Los 40 Music Awards, La Noche de Cadena 100, Coca Cola Music Experience and more, all in Spain.
Estopa
Estopa is a rumba and flamenco group formed by two brothers from Barcelona. They started their music path in 1999. Since then, they became a classic in the Spanish scene. They have released 9 albums (one of them was a presentation), meeting success from the first one with the single ‘La raja de tu falda’. With their first album, they sold 2M albums, an absolute record from a debutant Spanish band in those days. Some of their most famous songs are ‘Como Camarón’, ‘Vino Tinto’ or ‘Pastillas de freno’. Along their career, Estopa has collaborated with Peret, María Jimenez, Los Chichos, Macaco, India Martinez or Rosario. They also received numerous awards such as Premio Amigo, Premios Dial and Premios 40 Principales, and nominated for 2 Latin Grammy Awards (2004 and 2010).
Apart from events like Starlite, Rio Babel or Weekendbeach Festival Torre del Mar, it is not common to see them at festivals. But it will be such a great time when you will live in one of their concerts.
Leiva
Leiva is a rock and pop singer and songwriter from Madrid. He started his career in 2001 with the band Pereza, a complete icon for a whole generation. They reached the top in a few years. In that moment, the Spanish artist started his own path when the band separated 10 years later. Then, he has released 4 albums, all of them were big success in Spain.
Even if Pereza was pure rock and roll band, Leiva changed into a more pop-rock with some romantic lyrics. Some of his most popular songs are ‘Como si fueras a morir mañana’, ‘No te preocupes por mi’ or ‘La llamada’. This last single was written for the play with the same name. Thanks to this, Leiva won a Goya Award for Best Original Song. In 2014, Leiva was invited to be the supporting band for The Rolling Stones in their concert in Madrid.
In the past years, Leiva has performed at Sonorama Ribera, Festival Portamerica, SanSan Festival and Lollapalooza Argentina. This year, he will join the line ups of Arenal Sound, Sonorama Ribera, Cooltural Fest, Festival Vive Latino and more.
Lola Índigo
Lola Índigo is a pop, trap and funk singer from Granada. Apart from her, the band is formed by four dancers. She also participated in Operación Triunfo, but she was the first to leave the academy. Despite this, Lola Índigo is one of the most popular artists from the reality show. Her first single was ‘Ya no quiero na’. Some people described the song as addictive. Everyone loved it, not only because of the rhythm but also for the feminist theme. Moreover, in 2019, she released her first album ‘Akelarre’. Some of her best singles are ‘Mujer bruja’, ‘Cómo te va?’ and ‘Lola Bunny’. She has collaborated with artists like Mala Rodriguez, Maikeldelacalle or Danna Paola. She also made the BSO single called ‘El humo’ for a Spanish movie. Lola Indigo has won Los 40 Music Awards and MTV Europe Music Awards.
She participated at Coca Cola Music Experience, Arenal Sound, Cabo de Plata and Pirata Rock Festival. This summer, she will be joining Conexion Valladolid Festival, Weekend Beach Festival Torre del Mar, Boombastic and more.
Pablo Alborán
Pablo Alborán is a pop Singer from Málaga. Without any doubts, he is the biggest artist at the moment in Spain and very important in Latin America. He was discovered when he uploaded the single ‘Solamente tú’ on Youtube in 2010. He has 5 albums, all of them reached big places in the charts. Pablo Alborán has beautiful songs such as ‘Prometo’, ‘No vaya a ser’ or ‘Te he echado de menos’. He is not the kind of artist that collaborate with others, but he has some with Alejandro Sanz, Ricky Martin or Estrella Morente. Pablo introduced some of his singles in a few movies and Latin American soap operas. Moreover, he has been nominated for Latin Grammy and a Grammy Award, and won a lot of awards since he started his career such as Los 40 Music Awards, Dial Awards and a Goya Award.
Pablo Alboran is an artist that schedules a lot of concerts in Spain and Latin America, most of them sold out. But he is not really into festivals. He performed at Premios Dial and Los 40 Music Awards.
Maybe you already knew any of them. But definitely you should get to know them better. They are some of the top Spanish artists at the moment. In case you want to know more, here is an article about C. Tangana, anther big artist in the country, and Hinds, very popular in the indie-rock scene in Spain and outside the country.