Amaia
Amaia in 2022
Born
Amaia Romero Arbizu

(1999-01-03) 3 January 1999 (age 25)
Pamplona, Navarre, Spain
Other namesAmaia de España
Alma materConservatori Superior de Música del Liceu
Occupations
  • Singer
  • pianist
  • songwriter
  • actress
Years active2010–present
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • guitar
  • ukulele
Labels

Amaia Romero Arbizu (born 3 January 1999), known mononymously as Amaia, is a Spanish singer-songwriter, pianist and actress.[1] After participating in many talent shows, she gained national recognition after winning series nine of musical television contest Operación Triunfo, later representing Spain alongside fellow competitor Alfred García at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest with "Tu Canción".[2][3] Romero later signed with Universal Music and released her debut album Pero No Pasa Nada in 2019.

Early life

Romero was born on 3 January 1999 in Pamplona, Navarre.

Daughter to Ángel Romero and Javiera Arbizu, Amaia belongs to a family of musicians. Her uncle, Joaquín Romero, was the manager of the Orfeón Pamplonés concert choir from 2008 until 2016, as well as the Pablo Sarasate Orchestra for two years.[4] It was her uncle who discovered that, even as a child, Amaia had absolute pitch.[4][5]

On her mother's side, Amaia is the niece of Carmen Arbizu, professor of singing at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Navarra since 1990.[4] In 2019, Amaia completed her musical studies and got her degree in piano at this conservatory.[6][7]

Career

2010–2016: Beginnings

Romero debuted in television in 2009 when she appeared on TVE's television news playing the piano at age ten as part of a children talent contest, where she ended third in her instrument's category.[8] Romero participated in the televised talent show Cántame Una Canción on Telecinco, where she sang alongside David Civera and Sergio Rivero a year later.[9] In 2011, she was the winner of a scholarship to Rock Camp 2011, and participated in the camp in 2011 and 2012.[10] In 2012, she took part in series one of the talent show El Número Uno. She was eliminated in week six of the series.[11] The jury in the show was made up of David Bustamante, Ana Torroja, Miguel Bosé, Natalia Jiménez and Mónica Naranjo.[12] Romero and Naranjo would meet again on series nine of Operación Triunfo, as Naranjo went on to be part of the jury. In 2012 she also met Felipe VI and Letizia Ortiz, who would become King and Queen consort of Spain. They both told Amaia that she "had a future" after they saw her perform in Pamplona with the Pablo Sarasate Orchestra.[13]

In 2016, Amaia collaborated with the Navarrese band Lemon y Tal on the song "Cicatrices de mi realidad".[14]

2017–2018: Operación Triunfo and Eurovision

In July 2017, Amaia auditioned in Bilbao for the revival series of the reality television music competition Operación Triunfo.[15] On 23 October 2017, she was selected to enter the show's "academy" on the season premiere. After performing David Bowie's "Starman", Amaia was not selected by the show's jury, but was saved by the academy's staff of teachers instead.[16] In January 2018, Amaia became a finalist in the competition after being awarded a perfect score of 40 points from the jury –the highest score in the history of the competition–. Distinguished for her naivety, diverse musical taste and humor, she was proclaimed the winner of the series with 46% of the final votes from the public.[17][18] After her win, she signed a pre-contract with Universal Music. Romero consequently co-headlined an indoor arena tour with her fifteen talent show companions during 2018. The tour (named OT 2017 en concierto) began on 3 March 2018 at the Palau Sant Jordi and ended ibid on December 28 of that same year, comprising 23 concerts.[19] It was attended by 300,000 people.[20]

Additionally, due to being one of the final five finalists on Operación Triunfo, Amaia was a candidate to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. For the special Eurovision selection show that was held on 29 January 2018, she was allocated three songs: "Camina", which she performed as part of a group made up of the five finalists; "Al Cantar", which she performed solo; and "Tu Canción", composed by Raul Gómez and Sylvia Santoro, which she sang as a duet with her then-boyfriend Alfred García.[21] The latter was selected with 43% of the public vote, representing the country in the 2018 contest, held in Lisbon, Portugal.[22] Amaia and Alfred were the second to perform at the Eurovision final.[23] They placed twenty-third out of the 26 participating countries with 61 points: 43 from the professional juries and 18 from the televote.[24] After being asked about the result she stated "its a shit, but we are happy".[25]

Amaia & Alfred rehearsing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 stage.

2018–2020: Pero No Pasa Nada

Amaia made her first steps as a solo artist in mid-2018. She relocated to the Eixample district in Barcelona and completed her degree in classical piano at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu.[26] Amaia also toured Spain with The Free Fall Band throughout the year, visiting Madrid, Pamplona, Sitges and the Primavera Sound music festival.[27] The setlist included traditional Spanish pop songs as well as other songs in indie pop genre.[28] In September 2018, she sang Ivor Cutler's "Women of the World" with U2 at their concert in Madrid.[29] She also began shaping her upcoming studio album, which was recorded between New York City, Barcelona and Buenos Aires.[30] On 18 December 2018, Romero released a 90-second promotional single titled "Un Nuevo Lugar", which was produced by Raül Refree.[31] The song peaked at 37 on the PROMUSICAE sales chart.[32] A month before the promotional single's release Spanish rock band Carolina Durante released a collaboration with Amaia titled "Perdona (Ahora Sí Que Sí)".

In January 2019, Amaia announced that she would go on a promotional festival tour in the summertime.[33] The tour began in Murcia in May and concluded in August in Peñíscola.[34][35] After working with Argentine singer-songwriter Santiago Motorizado throughout 2019, Romero finished recording her debut album Pero No Pasa Nada. Its lead singer "El Relámpago" was released on digital platforms in May 2019, peaking at number 24 on the PROMUSICAE chart and staying on the list for over three weeks.[36] A limited hard CD and LP version was released alongside the promotional single "Nadie Podría Hacerlo" for Record Store Day.[37] The album spawned other three singles: "Quedará en Nuestra Mente", "Quiero Que Vengas" and "Nuevo Verano". Pero No Pasa Nada saw light on September 20, 2019, topping the Spanish albums chart in its debut week despite receiving mixed reviews.[38][39] Romero's first solo concert tour, the Pero No Pasa Nada Tour, began in October and concluded in September 2021 after being partially canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[40][41]

The singer parallelly participated in the third season of Spanish Netflix series Paquita Salas covering the jota "Tan Pequeñica Y Sincera" by Marisol, which premiered on Spotify on September 19.[42] She also sang the closure song for the thriller film Legado en los Hueso, "Luz y Sombra".[43] In January 2020, Amaia took part in a tribute to Marisol at the 34th Goya Awards, performing "Canción de Marisol" to critical acclaim.[44] She later took part on the soundtrack of the television series Veneno, where she covered "Pongamos Que Hablo de Madrid" as well as "The House of the Rising Sun".[45][46] In August 2020, two self-written songs "Cosas Interesantes Para Decir" and "La Victoria" were released online as promotional singles recorded in a lo-fi studio in Barcelona to close this musical era.[47]

On 1 May 2020 Amazon Prime Video premiered Una Vuelta Al Sol, a documentary film that shows the making of the album as well as a brief look into the tour.[48] The documentary was nominated for Best Long Form Music Video at the 2020 Latin Grammy Awards.

2021–present: Cuando No Sé Quién Soy

In October 2020, Amaia collaborated with Alizzz on his song "El Encuentro", which met great commercial success and won the Premio MIN for Best Urban Recording.[49][50] Alizzz would serve as the key producer for the singer's upcoming studio album Cuando No Sé Quién Soy, whose lead single "Yo Invito" was released a year later to critical and popular acclaim.[51][52] Amaia was later featured on the respective projects of Los Hermanos Hubero and Mikel Erentxun. In November 2021, "Quiero Pero No" featuring vocals by Spanish singer Rojuu, was released as the album's second single. "Yamaguchi", a folk song about childhood and growing up that references the Pamplona park and the Japanese city of the same name, was released in January 2022 as its third single. The single later released "Bienvenidos al Show" two months later to general acclaim. "La Canción Que No Quiero Cantarte", featuring longtime friend and singer Aitana, was released on 10 May. The singer's second studio album was released on 13 May and debuted at number two on the Spanish Albums Chart.[53] On January 3, 2022, Amaia released the single "Yamaguchi". She chose her birthday to pay tribute to her favorite place, Yamaguchi Park, in her hometown of Pamplona, in the form of a modern jota mixing melodic pop.[1]

In 2023, Amaia debuted as an actress with a role in the drama television series La Mesías.[54] She earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series for the 11th Feroz Awards.[55]

Discography

Main article: Amaia discography

Studio Albums

Singles

Promotional singles

Filmography

Film

Year Film Notes
2019 Legado en los Huesos Soundtrack
2020 Una Vuelta al Sol Documentary film

Television

Year Show Notes
2010 Cántame una canción Contestant
2012 El Número Uno Contestant
2017-2018 Operación Triunfo Contestant
2018 Eurovision Song Contest 2018 Contestant
2019 33rd Goya Awards Performer
Paquita Salas Soundtrack
2020 34th Goya Awards Performer
Veneno Soundtrack
2021 Pongamos Que Hablo de Camela Performer
Porta Ferrada Guest appearance
Una Navidad con Samantha Hudson
2023 That's My Jam España 1 episode
La Mesías Actress

Tour

Headlining

Co-headlining

Awards and nominations

Year Organization Category Nominee/work Result Ref.
2020 Premios Odeón Best Female Artist Amaia Nominated [56]
Latin Grammy Awards Best Long Form Music Video "Una Vuelta al Sol" Nominated [57]
2021 Premios MIN Song of the Year "El Encuentro" (with Alizzz) Nominated [58]
Best Urban Recording Won
Best Production in a Song Nominated
Best Music Video Nominated
2024 Feroz Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Series La Mesías Nominated [59]
Premios de la Academia de Música Best Alternative Song "Fiebre" Pending [60]

References

  1. ^ a b Doria, Javier (January 27, 2018). "El éxito de Amaia en 'Operación Triunfo' no es una casualidad". El País (in Spanish). Pamplona. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  2. ^ Ortiz, Laura (February 6, 2018). "Amaia gana 'OT 2017'". Formula TV (in Spanish). Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  3. ^ Adams, William Lee (January 30, 2018). "Spain: Alfred & Amaia win OT Eurovision Gala with "Tu canción"". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Fernández, Eva (11 November 2017). "La familia de Amaia Romero nos acerca a su lado más desconocido". diariodenavarra.es (in Spanish). Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  5. ^ Méndez, Jesús. "Operación Triunfo: conocer el cerebro de Alfred a través del jazz". heraldo.es (in Spanish). Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  6. ^ "La pamplonesa Amaia Romero participa en la nueva edición de 'OT'". Noticias de Navarra (in Spanish). January 30, 2018. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  7. ^ Doria, Javier (January 27, 2018). "El éxito de Amaia en 'Operación Triunfo' no es una casualidad". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  8. ^ Operación Triunfo - Amaia ya maravillaba al Telediario con 10 años (in Spanish), 2017-11-15, retrieved 2019-10-05
  9. ^ "Amaia ya conquistó a Noemí Galera en el 'Cántame una canción' de Pilar Rubio". El Huffington Post (in European Spanish). January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  10. ^ Miguel, Héctor (October 27, 2017). "Amaia Romero en Operación Triunfo" (in European Spanish). Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  11. ^ Santos, Elena (January 15, 2018). "Amaia ya conquistó a Noemí Galera en el 'Cántame una canción' de Pilar Rubio". Huffington Post (in Spanish). Retrieved February 7, 2018.
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  13. ^ "Ficha Amaia 'OT': antes de ser la 'Amaia de España' ya había salido en televisión". El Huffington Post (in Spanish). 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
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  20. ^ RTVE.es (2018-09-19). "OT 2017 realizará su último concierto el 27 de diciembre en Barcelona". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-10-06.
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  22. ^ "Amaia Romero y Alfred García llevarán 'Tu canción' a Eurovisión. Republica.com". Republica.com (in European Spanish). 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  23. ^ Redacción (11 May 2018). "Amaia y Alfred serán los segundos en actuar en el Festival de Eurovisión". Diari de Terrasa (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  24. ^ "Lisbon 2018 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Amaia, sobre su posición en Eurovisión: "Pues una mierda"". abc (in Spanish). 2018-05-13. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  26. ^ "Amaia, la ganadora de 'OT', sin prisas para sacar su primer disco". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  27. ^ Bianciotto, Jordi (2018-05-31). "Así fue el bautismo 'indie' de Amaia en el Primavera Sound". elperiodico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  28. ^ Navarro, Fernando. "Amaia actuará en el Primavera Sound". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  29. ^ "Amaia canta un himno feminista junto a U2". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  30. ^ "Amaia de 'OT' graba su primer disco: conoce todos los detalles". Mundo Deportivo. 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  31. ^ "Amaia Romero anuncia el lanzamiento de su primer single, "Un nuevo lugar", el martes 18 de diciembre" (in Spanish). FormulaTV.com. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  32. ^ "Los primeros singles de los triunfitos de 'OT 2017', de peor a mejor". Odi O'Malley (in Spanish). 2019-01-06. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  33. ^ Lema, Katy (2019-01-15). "Amaia, cabeza de cartel del WARM UP 2019". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  34. ^ Lema, Katy (2019-01-15). "Amaia, cabeza de cartel del WARM UP 2019". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  35. ^ Ajuntament. "Amaia a la 57a edició del Festival Porta Ferrada". www.guixols.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  36. ^ "Amaia publica 'El Relámpago', un adelanto de su primer álbum". ABC (in Spanish). Vocento. Europa Press. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  37. ^ Redacción Yotele (12 June 2019). "Amaia anuncia el lanzamiento de 'Nadie podría hacerlo', el nuevo single de su esperado disco". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  38. ^ "Amaia anuncia Pero no pasa nada, su álbum de debut, junto a las primeras 14 fechas de presentación" (in Spanish). Europa Press. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  39. ^ "Amaia Romero, número uno de ventas y streaming con "Pero no pasa nada"". El Televisero (in Spanish). 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  40. ^ "Pero no pasa nada: Amaia presenta la portada de su álbum debut". 100x100 Música (in Spanish). 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  41. ^ "Amaia llenará el Gran Teatro del Liceu el próximo 20 de diciembre". La Vanguardia. 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  42. ^ "Amaia lanza una versión de la jota aragonesa 'Tan pequeñica y sincera'". EuropaFM (in Spanish). 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  43. ^ SensaCine. "'Legado en los huesos': Amaia compuso la canción para que tuviese un significado abierto". SensaCine.com. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  44. ^ Moda, S. (2020-01-26), La emotiva interpretación de Amaia en el homenaje a Marisol de los Goya (in Spanish), retrieved 2020-08-11
  45. ^ vertele.eldiario.es (2020-09-23). "VÍDEO - Amaia canta en el avance del capítulo 4 de 'Veneno' que llega este domingo". vertele (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  46. ^ LOS40 (2020-10-13). "Amaia y Álex de Lucas cantan juntos 'La casa del sol naciente'". LOS40 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-10-14.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  47. ^ Pizá, Carlota (2020-08-11). "Amaia estrena las versiones en estudio de dos temas inéditos de la gira". El Rescate Musical (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  48. ^ 20minutos (2020-04-27). "Amaia Romero anuncia el estreno de un documental sobre la grabación de su disco". www.20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-04-28.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  49. ^ ""El encuentro", el nuevo hit instantáneo de Alizzz y Amaia". MondoSonoro (in Spanish). 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  50. ^ Moda, S. (2020-10-23). "Amaia cambia de registro, canta con Alizzz y homenajea 'La ruta del bakalao' en su nuevo single | Actualidad, Moda". S Moda EL PAÍS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  51. ^ Musical, El Rescate (2021-10-01). "Amaia regresa con "Yo invito", su nuevo single". El Rescate Musical (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  52. ^ Noticias, Diario de. "Amaia Romero: "El nuevo disco será más pop; a partir de otoño veremos cosas"". www.noticiasdenavarra.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  53. ^ "Top 100 Albums – Semana 20: del 13.05.2022 al 19.05.2022". Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  54. ^ Agencia EFE. "Los Javis y Amaia, que debuta como actriz, presentan 'La Mesías' en el Festival de San Sebastián". diariodenavarra.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  55. ^ "'La Mesías', 'Cerrar los ojos' y '20.000 especies de abejas' lideran las nominaciones de los Premios Feroz 2024". Cinemanía. 23 November 2023 – via 20minutos.es.
  56. ^ Basanta, Carmen (2020-01-15). "Premios Odeón: Aitana, Rosalía, Beret y Don Patricio, favoritos en las nominaciones". Europa FM (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  57. ^ Grammys, Latin (September 29, 2020). "THE LATIN ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTS & SCIENCES, INC. 21st Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards® FINAL NOMINATIONS" (PDF). Latin Grammy. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  58. ^ "Nominados". Premios MIN 2021 (in Spanish). 2017-03-09. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  59. ^ Sánchez Casademont, Rafael (27 January 2024). "Palmarés completo de los Premios Feroz 2024: 'La mesías' sigue arrasando y los Goya ganan emoción con unos premios muy divididos en cine". Fotogramas.
  60. ^ "Listado de Nominados a los Premios de la Academia de la Música de España 2024" (PDF). Academia de la Música de España (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-03-23.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amaia Romero.
Awards and achievements Preceded byManel Navarrowith "Do It for Your Lover" Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018(with Alfred García) Succeeded byMiki Núñezwith "La venda" Preceded byNahuel Sachak Operación Triunfo winner Series 9 Succeeded byFamous Oberogo
Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Operación Triunfo
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