Falete

Falete was born in 1978 to a musical family in Sevillas, Spain. His father was a member of the celebrated group Cantores Hispalis. Very dedicated to the arts from an early age, Falete was given his first opportunity to perform professionally at the age of 17, singing for La Chunga at Seville's Lope de Vega Theatre. A number of local and national performances soon opened up opportunities to perform and tour internationally with some of Spain's most famous musicians, including Juanito Valderrana, Jose Menese, and José Manuel Soto. The mid- to late '90s were filled with performances all over Europe, the U.S., and Japan. Falete's career broke open in 2004 with the release of his first solo record, Amar Duele, which saw him become an overnight success with his powerful voice, traditionalist flamenco style and flamboyant, larger-than-life stage presence. Falete's debut record spent 39 weeks on bestseller lists in Spain, eventually reaching gold record status. 2006 brought about a collaboration with Manuel Alejandro, potentially the most important songwriter in modern Spanish music. The record, Puta Mentira (Damn Lie), unsurprisingly did quite well and marked Falete as a unique talent in Spanish music. On the next two albums, 2007's Coplas Que Nos Han Matao and 2008's ¿Quién Te Crees Tú?, he continued to evoke some of the classic names of flamenco in his trademark fashion; while 2012's Sin Censura, his debut for EMI, written and produced by Victor Daniel, was his biggest-sounding album to date and saw him embracing other styles such as bolero and rancheras with a symphonic, fully orchestrated backing. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi