Melendi
Encyclopedia
Ramón Melendi Espina is a Spanish
pop
singer with rock
, flamenco
, and rumba
influences.
, Asturias
. He went to class with Formula One
race car driver Fernando Alonso
, to whom he dedicated the song "Magic Alonso". He also did racing for a while but he realized very quickly that he was not made for racing nor studying, but he was good at soccer. He played in the lower ranks of Astur CF
, at the time a reserve team for Real Oviedo
. Afterwards, he worked as a waiter in several bars and spent all night out, living experiences that would later go on to make up the lyrics of his songs. In 2001, he joined a group called "El bosque de Sherwood", and soon after recorded a demo with only three songs, "Sin noticias de Holanda", "El informe del forense", and "Vuelvo a traficar".
In February 2003, Melendi released his first solo disc, called "Sin noticias de Holanda
" with twelve songs. In December 2003, this disc was rereleased with two new songs, "Asturias" and "Moratalá". However, he reached true fame with the 2004 Vuelta a España
chose his song "Con la luna llena" as its official theme. In May 2004, he started a small tour around Spain, selling 50,000 copies of his CD, making it a Gold Album.
In 2005, he released his second solo CD, "Que el cielo espere sentao
", which has sold more than 200,000 copies. Later that same year, he rereleased the album with three new songs, "El Nano", "La dama, and "El vagabundo y Carlota", and a Live concert DVD recorded in Oviedo. He also became a father that year, and received the Onda award for Best Song of the Year for "Caminando por la vida".
In November 2005, he received seven Platinum Discs for his two albums. "Sin noticias..." received four and "Que el cielo..." three.
In 2006, it was announced that he would be one of the main stars in the PSP
game "Gangs of London
". Melendi played Mr. Big, an evil gangster. He also wrote the song "Gangs of London" for the occasion, going on to film a video amidst police lights and sirens. The videogame was launched on August 1 of that year in the UK
and on September 6 in Spain
; EMI
stepped in to distribute his CDs worldwide.
He also wrote the song "Volveremos" (We Shall Return) for Real Oviedo
. The singer is also involved in the production of the film "Vuelvo a traficar: The Film" (I'm Dealing Again).
"Mientras no cueste trabajo
" was released on November 13, 2006 in two formats: a normal CD with 12 songs, and a special edition, with 16 songs and a DVD with extras. The disc was rereleased on September 29, 2007 with four new songs, "Firmes", "El rey de la baraja", "La aceituna", and "Me gusta el fútbol".
In 2007, he received the "Best Tour" award from the "Premios de la Música" ceremony held in Cordoba
. He also did an advertising campaign for Canal+ Spain
entitled "Me gusta el fútbol" (I Like Football), for which he wrote a song of the same name.
In 2007, he stood trial for provoking an incident while under the influence of alcohol on a flight from Madrid
to Mexico City
that required the pilot to return to Madrid two hours after takeoff. He was released after testifying. Soon after, he was given the "Left Foot" award from Spanish radio station Cadena 100 for this incident.
Currently, Melendi directs his Blue Donkey Music company, helping young singers start their careers. He's offered contracts to four groups, Algunos Hombres Buenos, Rasel, La Dama y Belo, and Los Susodichos. This last group was nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Rock Vocals. Algunos Hombres Buenos left the label in 2008.
On August 9, 2008 he presented his new single, "Un violinista en tu tejado" from his album Curiosa la cara de tu padre
on Spanish radio station Los 40 Principales
. The album was released on September 16, 2008. On December 12, Los 40 Principales awarded him their award for this album.
On March 17, 2009 he released a new double CD, Aún más curiosa la cara de tu padre, including the original disc and another with nine new songs and links to exclusive content on his website.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer with rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, and rumba
Rumba
Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...
influences.
Biography
He was born on January 21, 1979 in OviedoOviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
, Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
. He went to class with Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
race car driver Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
, to whom he dedicated the song "Magic Alonso". He also did racing for a while but he realized very quickly that he was not made for racing nor studying, but he was good at soccer. He played in the lower ranks of Astur CF
Astur CF
Astur Club de Fútbol is a football team based in Oviedo in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded in 1923, the team plays in Primera Regional. The club's home ground is Hermanos Llana, which has a capacity of 1,200 spectators.- Season to season:...
, at the time a reserve team for Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, it currently plays in Segunda División B - Group 2....
. Afterwards, he worked as a waiter in several bars and spent all night out, living experiences that would later go on to make up the lyrics of his songs. In 2001, he joined a group called "El bosque de Sherwood", and soon after recorded a demo with only three songs, "Sin noticias de Holanda", "El informe del forense", and "Vuelvo a traficar".
In February 2003, Melendi released his first solo disc, called "Sin noticias de Holanda
Sin noticias de Holanda
Sin noticias de Holanda is Spanish pop singer Melendi's début album. It sold over 400,000 albums, and was later reissued with three new songs.- Track listing :# "Mi rumbita pa tus pies"# "Desde mi ventana"# "Sé lo que hicistes"...
" with twelve songs. In December 2003, this disc was rereleased with two new songs, "Asturias" and "Moratalá". However, he reached true fame with the 2004 Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
chose his song "Con la luna llena" as its official theme. In May 2004, he started a small tour around Spain, selling 50,000 copies of his CD, making it a Gold Album.
In 2005, he released his second solo CD, "Que el cielo espere sentao
Que el cielo espere sentao
Que el cielo espere sentao is Asturian pop singer Melendi's second album. It sold more than 200,000 copies, and was later rereleased with three new songs.- Tracklist :# Caminando por la vida# Billy el pistolero# Como dijo el rey...
", which has sold more than 200,000 copies. Later that same year, he rereleased the album with three new songs, "El Nano", "La dama, and "El vagabundo y Carlota", and a Live concert DVD recorded in Oviedo. He also became a father that year, and received the Onda award for Best Song of the Year for "Caminando por la vida".
In November 2005, he received seven Platinum Discs for his two albums. "Sin noticias..." received four and "Que el cielo..." three.
In 2006, it was announced that he would be one of the main stars in the PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
game "Gangs of London
Gangs of London
Gangs of London received mainly negative reviews, though it received some praise for its graphics. Sound, voice acting and gameplay were harshly criticised, the worst being the voice acting, described as being on the verges of pantomime....
". Melendi played Mr. Big, an evil gangster. He also wrote the song "Gangs of London" for the occasion, going on to film a video amidst police lights and sirens. The videogame was launched on August 1 of that year in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and on September 6 in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
; EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
stepped in to distribute his CDs worldwide.
Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, it currently plays in Segunda División B - Group 2....
. The singer is also involved in the production of the film "Vuelvo a traficar: The Film" (I'm Dealing Again).
"Mientras no cueste trabajo
Mientras no cueste trabajo
Mientras no cueste trabajo is Asturian pop singer Melendi's third studio album.The disc includes the song Arriba Extremoduro, which was an homage that Extremaduran group, and though it isn't a remake, it does sample the song La vereda de la puerta de atrás.In 2007, it was rereleased with four new...
" was released on November 13, 2006 in two formats: a normal CD with 12 songs, and a special edition, with 16 songs and a DVD with extras. The disc was rereleased on September 29, 2007 with four new songs, "Firmes", "El rey de la baraja", "La aceituna", and "Me gusta el fútbol".
In 2007, he received the "Best Tour" award from the "Premios de la Música" ceremony held in Cordoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
. He also did an advertising campaign for Canal+ Spain
Canal+ Spain
Canal+ 1, formerly known simply as Canal+ is a Spanish commercial television channel, launched in September 1990 on terrestrial television frequencies. The channel is operated by Sogecable. The main staples of Canal+ 1 are Spanish football, bullfighting and recent movies.In 1997 new channels using...
entitled "Me gusta el fútbol" (I Like Football), for which he wrote a song of the same name.
In 2007, he stood trial for provoking an incident while under the influence of alcohol on a flight from Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
that required the pilot to return to Madrid two hours after takeoff. He was released after testifying. Soon after, he was given the "Left Foot" award from Spanish radio station Cadena 100 for this incident.
Currently, Melendi directs his Blue Donkey Music company, helping young singers start their careers. He's offered contracts to four groups, Algunos Hombres Buenos, Rasel, La Dama y Belo, and Los Susodichos. This last group was nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Rock Vocals. Algunos Hombres Buenos left the label in 2008.
On August 9, 2008 he presented his new single, "Un violinista en tu tejado" from his album Curiosa la cara de tu padre
Curiosa la cara de tu padre
Curiosa la cara de tu padre is Spanish pop singer Melendi's fourth album, produced by José de Castro. It was released September 16, 2008, and its first single was "Un violinista en tu tejado"- Credits :...
on Spanish radio station Los 40 Principales
Los 40 Principales
Los 40 Principales is the main musical radio station in Spain with more than 4,000,000 listeners. The station was founded in 1966 and in 2006 the station celebrated its 40th anniversary...
. The album was released on September 16, 2008. On December 12, Los 40 Principales awarded him their award for this album.
On March 17, 2009 he released a new double CD, Aún más curiosa la cara de tu padre, including the original disc and another with nine new songs and links to exclusive content on his website.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| Sin noticias de Holanda Sin noticias de Holanda Sin noticias de Holanda is Spanish pop singer Melendi's début album. It sold over 400,000 albums, and was later reissued with three new songs.- Track listing :# "Mi rumbita pa tus pies"# "Desde mi ventana"# "Sé lo que hicistes"... |
|
11 |
| Que el cielo espere sentao Que el cielo espere sentao Que el cielo espere sentao is Asturian pop singer Melendi's second album. It sold more than 200,000 copies, and was later rereleased with three new songs.- Tracklist :# Caminando por la vida# Billy el pistolero# Como dijo el rey... |
|
1 |
| Mientras no cueste trabajo Mientras no cueste trabajo Mientras no cueste trabajo is Asturian pop singer Melendi's third studio album.The disc includes the song Arriba Extremoduro, which was an homage that Extremaduran group, and though it isn't a remake, it does sample the song La vereda de la puerta de atrás.In 2007, it was rereleased with four new... |
Capitol Records Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine... |
2 |
| Curiosa la cara de tu padre Curiosa la cara de tu padre Curiosa la cara de tu padre is Spanish pop singer Melendi's fourth album, produced by José de Castro. It was released September 16, 2008, and its first single was "Un violinista en tu tejado"- Credits :... |
|
1 |
| Volvamos a empezar |
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies... |
2 |
Extended plays
| Title | Album details | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| Aún más curiosa la cara de tu padre |
|
— |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Mi rumbita pa tus pies" | * | Sin noticias de Holanda Sin noticias de Holanda Sin noticias de Holanda is Spanish pop singer Melendi's début album. It sold over 400,000 albums, and was later reissued with three new songs.- Track listing :# "Mi rumbita pa tus pies"# "Desde mi ventana"# "Sé lo que hicistes"... |
| "Desde mi ventana" | |||
| "Sé lo que hicisteis" | |||
| 2004 | "Con la luna llena" | ||
| "Hablando en plata" | |||
| 2005 | "Caminando por la vida" | Que el cielo espere sentao Que el cielo espere sentao Que el cielo espere sentao is Asturian pop singer Melendi's second album. It sold more than 200,000 copies, and was later rereleased with three new songs.- Tracklist :# Caminando por la vida# Billy el pistolero# Como dijo el rey... |
|
| "Con sólo una sonrisa" | |||
| 2006 | "Novia a la fuga" | — | |
| "Kisiera yo saber" | 17 | Mientras no cueste trabajo Mientras no cueste trabajo Mientras no cueste trabajo is Asturian pop singer Melendi's third studio album.The disc includes the song Arriba Extremoduro, which was an homage that Extremaduran group, and though it isn't a remake, it does sample the song La vereda de la puerta de atrás.In 2007, it was rereleased with four new... |
|
| 2007 | "Calle la Pantomima" | — | |
| "Por amarte tanto" | — | ||
| 2008 | "Un violinista en tu tejado" | 6 | Curiosa la cara de tu padre Curiosa la cara de tu padre Curiosa la cara de tu padre is Spanish pop singer Melendi's fourth album, produced by José de Castro. It was released September 16, 2008, and its first single was "Un violinista en tu tejado"- Credits :... |
| 2009 | "Piratas del Bar Caribe" | 33 | |
| 2010 | "Como una vela" | 13 | Aún más curiosa la cara de tu padre |
| "Barbie de extrarradio" | 10 | Volvamos a empezar | |
| 2011 | "Canción de amor caducada" | 10 | |
| "Perdóname ángel" | 22 | ||
- No reliable data before 2006.
Collaborations
- Los ChunguitosLos ChunguitosLos Chunguitos are a Spanish rumba group from Vallecas, Madrid, formed in 1973.The group's nucleus was the three brothers Juan, Manuel, and Jose Salazar, whose uncle was the flamenco singer Porrina de Badajoz...
"Con la luna llena" (2004) - Los Galván "Por eso canto" (2004)
- Pablo Moro "María" (2005)
- Algunos Hombres Buenos "Salta" (2007)
- Rasel "Mil Razas" (2007)
- GuaranáGuaranaGuarana , Paullinia cupana, syn. P. crysan, P. sorbilis) is a climbing plant in the maple family, Sapindaceae, native to the Amazon basin and especially common in Brazil. Guarana features large leaves and clusters of flowers, and is best known for its fruit, which is about the size of a coffee bean...
"De lao a lao" (2008) - PignoisePignoisePignoise is a Spanish pop rock band comprising three members: Álvaro on guitar and vocals, Polo on drums, and Pablo on bass.-Beginnings:After Álvaro, a former soccer player for teams such as Getafe CF and Real Madrid, suffered a serious injury, he began to play guitar and compose songs during his...
"Estoy enfermo" (2009)