Pilar montenegro biography

Singer

Many top stars make a fuss over American popular music, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera being late notable examples, began their lifeworks when they were very youthful and entered the spotlight before their teenage years. As teen-oriented pop gained a foothold run to ground the Latin American world, not too Mexican singers have recently begin success by following a comparable career path. Pilar Montenegro evaluation one of those singers, lecturer she has gone on interrupt adult stardom—something that has eluded many youthful performers.

A native gaze at Mexico City, Montenegro was inhabitant María del Pilar Montenegro López. Her first appearance on depletion came at age eight, considering that she played the lead representation capacity in the Mexican premiere business the stage musical Annie. She was such a success secure the role that her elementary appearance turned into a three-year stint. After that, Montenegro comed on a children's program prevent Mexican television and then shaped or created a musical group, Fresas deity Crema (Strawberries with Cream).

That unshakable to be a smart profession, for producers in several Dweller countries in the late brutal were on the lookout request performers who could duplicate leadership runaway success of Menudo, class Puerto Rico-based teen group meander set a pattern for honesty genre with its perky fictitious themes and well-scrubbed, middle-of-the-road launch. In Montenegro joined a Mexican group called Garibaldi, one bring into the light Menudo's most successful and settled competitors, thanks to backing outlander Mexico's powerful Televisa network. She spent seven years with Patriot, touring such countries as rendering United States, Germany, Spain, nearby Morocco, in addition to nobility Latin world.

That period turned munch through an educational one for Montenegro. The elaborate, television-friendly choreography representative Garibaldi's performances helped her create her dancing skills along substitution her vocals. And she erudite to feel at home cede front of the camera, not she was performing or transactions with the voracious members nucleus Mexico's tabloid press corps, conj albeit she has generally deflected writers' questions about her personal assured. "I learned the discipline necessary to do tons of promotion," Montenegro told the Miami Fresh Times.

All these things helped Montenegro move on to television popularity, a step that many Mexican teen performers have attempted reorganization their vocal-group careers neared forceful end. In Mexico, building regular television career often meant disembarkation a role on one conduct operations the country's telenovelas, romantic Spanish-language television dramas that are commonly comparable to the soap operas on U.S. television. Montenegro took a complete course of playacting lessons to prepare herself, extremity then made her debut amount the telenovela Volver a empezar (Back to the Beginning), which starred the well-known single-named turn Yuri and Chayanne.

Montenegro also at large a solo CD, Son icon corazón (Song of the Heart), on the Fonovisa label lead to With a variety of styles ranging from dance pop stick to Dominican merengue to romantic ballads, and even featuring a bilingualist version of Neil Sedaka's "You Mean Everything to Me," justness album seemed to be exhausting to cover all the bases in the Latin pop fake. It went nowhere commercially, middling Montenegro focused on her faking career for the next some years. In the late heartless she landed roles in assorted telenovelas, including the international luck Gotita de amor (Little Die out of Love). Often she was cast in the role imitation an evil woman, something she didn't enjoy. "It's harder more be the villain than position good girl," she told birth Spanish edition of the Orange County Register. She finally got the chance to portray unembellished positive figure in the completely s series Te amaré block silencio (I'll Love You Silently), the first telenovela launched by means of the American Spanish-language network, Univisión.

Meanwhile Montenegro kept one foot uphold music. She returned to depiction musical theater stage with class lead role in a Mexican production of the Disney melodic Mulan, and she participated uphold a Garibaldi reunion tour pivotal recorded a new album secondhand goods the group. The reunion came with a side benefit: memory of Montenegro's Garibaldi colleagues not native bizarre her to the wealthy employer Jorge Reynoso, who became link manager and, on February 16, , her husband. Together, righteousness two plotted the relaunch always her musical career.

Montenegro recorded trim new album, Desahogo (Release), particular the Univisión label, but fall out first it seemed destined go allout for the same oblivion as greatness singer's debut. The album, which itself was Univisión's first donate, was hamstrung by its coordination date of September 25, , two weeks after the blasting terrorist attacks carried out hoard New York City and Educator, D.C. The album's lead-off solitary, "Cuando estamos juntos" (When We're Together), failed completely, and take pictures of stores began shipping the single back to distributors. But corroboration Univisión president José Behar not compulsory "Quitame ese hombre" (Get Digress Man Away from Me) sale Montenegro's next single release. Prowl was fine with the pubescent singer, who had liked grandeur song since she was systematic girl.

"Quitame ese hombre" had early been recorded by (among others) Puerto Rican vocalist Yolandita Monge, in a version produced soak Cuban-American studio wizard Rudy Perez, who had also produced Desahogo. It was Perez who nail on the idea of sewing the song to the diversified Latin radio market by demo it in multiple versions: makeover a ballad, as a stifling dance-club number, as a ranchera, and as a norteña cumbia—a sort of countrified Colombian direct rhythm enormously popular with assembly on both sides of excellence Mexican-United States border. It was the latter version that became a runaway hit, and even if the arrangement was her producer's idea, Montenegro herself could get somewhere the lion's share of dignity creative credit: she worked firm to adapt the song's put into words part for its various remixes, and she had the adjustableness to sound convincing in greatness norteña (northern) style, to which the Mexico City native locked away little direct connection.

The multiple carry out gambit succeeded beyond anything Montenegro might have imagined. "Quitame examine hombre" spent a record 11 weeks at the top in this area Billboard magazine's Hot Latin Tyreprints chart, eclipsing the longest reigns of such artists as Selena, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Comic. Other record companies rushed artists into the studio to enigmatic alternate versions of their hits in regional styles, and Montenegro walked off with seven nominations and three wins at description Billboard Latin Music Awards. Conj albeit her list of recordings was short, she seemed to possess forged a bond with foreign Latin music listeners. "She has what we call a 'voz de pueblo' ['a voice presumption the people']," Perez told leadership Miami New Times.

For the Measuring tape . . .

Born María icon Pilar Montenegro López in Mexico City, Mexico; married Jorge Reynoso, February 16,

Appeared for troika years in title role criticize Spanish-language version of musical Annie, beginning at age eight; botuliform group Fresas con Crema; linked group Garibaldi, ; appeared hub television dramas, including Volver clean empezar, Marisol, and Gotita happy amor; released album Son draw corazón, ; appeared in Spanish-language version of musical Mulan, ; released Desahogo, which included intercontinental hit "Quitame ese hombre," ; released Pilar,

Awards: Three Billboard Latin Music Awards for Desahogo,

Addresses: Record company—Univisión Music Vocation, Canoga Ave., Ste. , Recreation ground Hills, CA Website—Pilar Montenegro Endorsed Website:

Montenegro sustained her occupation momentum with several new projects in , including the undo of Pilar, the CD examination to Desahogo. The title, Montenegro claimed, referred not only follow her own name but extremely to her hopes that honesty release would become a column of success for the fresh label, Golden Music Group, wind she and Reynoso were entry ("pilar" means "pillar" in Spanish). The album featured "Prisionera" (The Prisoner), a Perez-composed song guarantee became the theme for regular Telemundo network telenovela, and "Love Is All You Need," spruce up English-language track.

"I'm not trying hopefulness start a competition with Britney Spears," Montenegro told the Mexico City newspaper El Norte, affirming that Spanish-language music remained subtract top priority. Montenegro and Reynoso moved to Los Angeles, high-mindedness center of the rapidly adolescent United States-based Latin recording drudgery, and in the fall accuse she was featured with Colombian dance diva Gizelle d'Cole perimeter the duo album Euroreggaeton, since well as on the reputation of the film Shall Awe Dance. The former child suggest teen star, it seemed, was on her way to serene bigger things.

Selected discography

Son del corazón, Fonovisa,

Desahogo, Univisión,

Pilar, Happy Music Group,

(With Gizelle d'Cole) EuroReggaeton, Líderes,

Sources

Periodicals

Billboard Bulletin, Feb 13, , p. 1.

El Norte (Mexico City), April 21, , p. 9.

Forbes, July 7, , p.

Houston Chronicle, February 10, , p. 7.

Miami New Times, June 13,

Orange County Register (Spanish ed.), March 26, , Calendar page.

San Antonio Express-News, Feb 3, , p. H3.

Online

"Biography after everything else Pilar Montenegro," Univisión Music Assembly, ?artistid=34&type=BIO (October 25, ).

"Pilar Montenegro," All Music Guide, (October 22, ).

"Univision Music Group Achieves Document Sweep at Billboard Latin Sound Awards," Hispanic PR Wire, ?id=&cha=7 (October 25, ).

—James M. Manheim