Noelia Lorenzo Monge (born August 31, 1979^[3][4] in San Juan, Puerto Rico),^[1][5] mostly known as Noelia, is a Puerto Rican pop singer who rose to fame in 1999. She is the first daughter of Puerto Rican singer Yolandita Monge.

Her self-titled debut album was certified as a gold album in the United States. During her career she has had ten Latin Billboard Top 40 hits. A Latin Billboard Award Winner.^[6]

Musical career[link]

Noelia started working on her first full-length album in 1998. The self-titled album was finally released in 1999, making her debut at the Madison Square Garden. The album produced the hit single "Tu", written by Estéfano. In total, Noelia has sold almost 4 million copies, including almost 1 million in the U.S. from her debut album that was certified gold by in the U.S.^[6]

In 2000 she released her second album, Golpeando Fuerte.

Her third album, Natural, released in 2003 featured another hit song, "Clávame Tu Amor", which peaked at #5 on Billboard Hot Latin Tracks.^[7] The album also featured songwriting contributions from her then boyfriend, Alexis Grullón.^[8]

In 2004, she surprised with her fourth studio album titled Melao, which was a fusion of pop with reggaeton.^[9] The album was produced by reggaeton producer, DJ Eric, and features Yamil sharing lead vocals with Noelia. They also co-wrote most of the songs of the album.^[10]

In 2006, she returned to her musical roots with the album 40 Grados, produced by Adrián Posse. The album featured the single "Como Duele", which was nominated by Billboard as Pop Song of the Year.^[11] The song was also chosen as the theme for the Mexican telenovela Barrera de Amor and peaked at #8 on Billboard Hot Latin Songs.^[12]

In 2007, she released her sixth full-length album titled Volverte a Ver.

She has been working on two albums, her first English single for the European market was titled Caribbean Queen. It was released in May 2009 mostly in Italy. The song is a cover version of Billy Ocean's hit song of 1984 with added Lyrics by Noelia.

In 2009 Actress and model Elisabetta Canalis released in Italy a compilation album "TOP HITS by Hollywood-Milano" (2009, Sony-BMG). This album inlcluded top singers from America in Europe, including Katy Perry, Pink and Lady Gaga. The compilation was certified platinum during the first week of sales.^[13]

In mid-2011 Noelia broke a record for Hispanic online audience in the U.S. with her online concert produced by Hispanic Media Giant Univision. The concert attracted more than 3.5 million viewers.^[14]

In 2012 Noelia released the single " Kiss Me !, which was premiered in Univision.com and Peopleenespanol.com and was in the Top 40 Hot Latin Track according to Billboard Magazine of March 2012. Noelia was featured in the cover of Billborad Magazine during the first week of march 2012. In March 2012, Noelia started working with producer and singer Timbaland on the upcoming new English tracks of Noelia.

On April 2, 2012, Noelia's single “Kiss Me” appeared in the Billboard Charts both in the Dance and Latin Hot Track categories.^[15]

Personal life[link]

Noelia, the first daughter of Puerto Rican singer and actress Yolandita Monge and Uruguayan businessman Alfredo Lorenzo,^[16] showed interest in music from childhood.^[17] Noelia has two half-siblings from Monge's subsequent marriages, sister Paola and brother Imanol.

Noelia has been romantically involved to show business personalities throughout her career. She had a four-year relationship with former MDO member, Alexis Grullón.^[18] In 2004, she also had a brief relationship with rapper Yamil, with whom she worked on the album Melao. Since 2005, she is in a relationship with Mexican-American aviation entrepreneur and producer Jorge Reynoso, who is also managing Noelia's international career.^[19] Rumors have circulated about them getting married, but both have denied it.^[20]

Controversies[link]

In June 2007, an anal sex tape of Noelia and her ex-boyfriend Yamil was leaked on the Internet.^[21][22][23] In August 2007, Noelia accused her stepfather and former manager, Topy Mamery, of sexually assaulting her back in 2003; she claimed to have filed a lawsuit, calling singer Ricardo Montaner as a witness.^[24] However, Mamery denied having received any lawsuit,^[25] and Montaner denied ever having been called to testify. During an interview with Primer Impacto, Montaner was asked about this and he said, "I have never seen anything weird (between Noelia and Mamery). Mamery is a gentleman that has loved Noelia as his daughter."^[26]

Topy Mamery claims that he was not the first person Noelia had accused of sexual assault. In the last five years, the singer had pointed the finger at Guillermo Santiso, former president of Fonovisa (her old record label), and singer Alejandro Montaner, son of Ricardo Montaner.^[27]

It was speculated that Topy Mamery was the person who leaked the private video of the star in 2007.^[28] Weeks later, Mamery sued Noelia and Jorge Reynoso in Federal Court for defamation and libel.^[29] In February 2008, Noelia's lawyer decided to quit representing Noelia in the defamation lawsuit against her.^[30] In May 2008, the judge José A. Fusté did an annotation of defiance to the singer Noelia and to her partner and manager, Jorge Reynoso, in favor of the petition presented by Mamery, who sued the couple for defamation for knowingly making a false declaration that he had sexually assaulted Noelia.^[31] However, on June 13, 2008, Fusté dismissed the case by declaring that there was no defamation or libel since Mamery was a public figure. Fusté concluded that "although it is true there might be some indication that Reynoso could be connected to the website where the video was sold, the court could not say for sure if he was the one that put it" up for sale. Fusté also reprimanded both sides for public airing of their personal issues.^[32]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 1999: Noelia
• 2000: Golpeando Fuerte
• 2003: Natural
• 2004: Melao
• 2005: 40 Grados
• 2007: Volverte a Ver

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Allmusic page
• Spanish article about Noelia in Primera Hora about her cover appearance in Maxim magazine.
• [1]
• [2]

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

Nino Bravo
Background information
Birth name	Luis Manuel Ferri Llopis
Born	(1944-08-03)August 3, 1944 Aielo de Malferit, Valencia,
Died	April 16, 1973(1973-04-16) (aged 28) Villarrubio, Cuenca, Spain
Genres	Easy Listening
Occupations	Singer
Labels	Fonogram, Polydor
Associated acts	Los Hispánicos, Los Superson
Website	www.ninobravo.net

Luis Manuel Ferri Llopis (August 3, 1944 — April 16, 1973), better known by his stage name Nino Bravo, was a Spanish pop singer.

Early life[link]

Bravo was born near Valencia. His father, Luis Manuel, a salesman, moved the family to Valencia, in search of better opportunities, when Bravo was three years old.

Nino Bravo was a shy child. He had a tendency to befriend older people, and, in 1958, he met bassist Vicente López. López introduced Bravo to other Valencian musicians, including the legendary Paco Ramón.

It had never occurred to Bravo, before he met López, that anyone would enjoy listening to him sing. Bravo realized that he could sing while he was on a trip with López and Ramón. López later recalled that he was surprised, upon waking up from a nap, to hear Bravo singing Domenico Modugno's hit "Libero". Deeply impressed, Lopez predicted that Nino Bravo would become a superstar.

Meanwhile, Bravo took a job as a jeweler, and also worked for his mother, who owned a supermarket. When he was sixteen, he became a fan of the famous Chilean singer Antonio Prieto, whose song, "La Novia" ("The Bride"), had become a number one hit in Spain. Bravo and his friends formed a band, "Los Hispanicos", and made a cover recording of "La Novia".

Singing[link]

Bravo also enjoyed Rock & Roll music. He began singing at a hotel, where he sang his favorite English song, "Only You".

Eventually, Bravo was approached by a recording company agent who tried to convince him to sign with his label. Bravo declined because the projected contract would not include the entire "Los Hispanicos" band.

In 1964, "Los Hispánicos" changed their name to "Los Superson". At the same time, their luck changed. They won a local radio contest, then moved on to Benidorm, where they became quite popular.

Shortly thereafter Bravo was called up for military duty. Suffering from depression during his military service, Bravo contemplated quitting his singing career.

While Bravo was away in the military, López befriended Miguel Siuran, a radio personality, who was impressed by Los Superson's sound and wanted to help them get a recording contract, and wanted to include two of the band's songs on another singer's LP. López declined the offer, because he felt that Bravo should be included on the album as well.

When Bravo returned from the service, López talked to him enthusiastically about the contract, however Siuran scornfully asked if Bravo could sing like Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck or John Rowles. Once Siuran heard Bravo's voice, however, the radio man was deeply impressed.

Siuran Miguel Siurán took Bravo to a music festival. Although Bravo did not win at the festival, Siurán became convinced that it was time for Bravo to become a star, and, soon afterwards, Siurán came up with the artistic name of Nino Bravo.

Bravo and Siurán first tried unsuccessfully to get a contract with RCA. They then went to Fonogram in Madrid.

Bravo and Siuran returned to Valencia, where Siurán published an newspaper ad announcing "Nino Bravo y Los Superson". Shortly thereafter, Fonogram called to offer a contract for an album with Bravo and Los Superson.

In March 1969, shortly after their album hit the market, Bravo sang before a live audience for the first time. After the concert, frenzied admirers tore down Bravo's concert posters.

Marriage[link]

On April 20, 1970 he married María Amparo Martínez Gil and their first daughter, Amparo, was born on January 1972. He also had a second daughter, Eva, who was born after he died.

Fonogram wanted Bravo to go solo, and in 1970, Siurán was replaced by José Meri as Bravo's manager.

Fame[link]

In that same year, Bravo participated for the first time in the prestigious Barcelona Music Festival. He would not gain international acclaim until two festivals later, however. After Bravo received favorable reviews from a festival audience in Athens, Greece, he went on to impress festival goers at the Rio de Janeiro Festival.

After being exposed to international audiences in Europe and Latin America, Bravo and Meri parted ways, and Bravo took on a new manager. Bravo's first solo album was soon released, and the song "Te quiero, te quiero", by the composer Augusto Algueró, became an international hit, which is now considered a classic by many Hispanic music critics. Bravo's first album, "Tu Cambiarás" ("You Will Change"), sold well, particularly in Colombia, where Bravo became very popular.

Bravo then sang on the Spaniard television contest show, "Pasaporte a Dublín" ("Passport to Dublin)" in which the winner would represent Spain in 1971's Eurovision.

After the show, Bravo then went on tour in Colombia and Brazil, where he participated, for a second time in the Rio de Janeiro Festival.

Also in 1971, Nino Bravo recorded his second album, which went untitled. The album would later be posthumously released, in CD format, entitled "Puerta de amor" ("Love's Door").

Third album[link]

In 1972, Bravo released his third album, "Libre" ("Free"). "Libre" proved to be both a huge success and a very controversial album for Bravo, as many Latin American dictators of the time banned the album's title song from being played in their countries, such as Cuba. As a consequence, Bravo was also banned from singing his banned songs in certain countries. His success, however, was such that he was widely known in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Republica Dominicana, Peru, and among the Hispanic population of the United States. In Chile, the title song from the album, became a unifying element for all the followers of the new military regime which came into power on September 11, 1973, when Bigote Arrocet sang "Libre" in honour of Bravo during 1974 Festival de la Canción de Viña del Mar, in front of Augusto Pinochet and his wife.

In January 1973, Bravo's first daughter, Amparo, was born. A second daughter, Eva, would later arrive, but Nino never got to see her.

Bravo's words in a 1973 interview would prove to be prophetic: speaking of his last Latin American tour, he referred to a song named "Noelia" as "(his) last song". Another song that he released that same year, "Un beso y una flor" ("A Kiss and a Flower") became one of Bravo's greatest international hits.(Loosely translated, the song's chorus was "in departure, a kiss and a flower"). On March 14 of that year, Bravo performed his last concert, before his Valencia fans.

Death[link]

On April 16, 1973, Bravo was driving his BMW 2800 along with the Humo duo and Miguel Diurni when his car was involved in an accident about 100 km southeast of Madrid. He died on the way to the hospital as consequence of his injuries. He had just signed a five year record deal with the European record label Polydor. At the time of his death, Nino Bravo was just 28 years old.

References[link]

External links[link]

• (Spanish) Un beso y una flor
• (Spanish) Nino Bravo En Libertad
• (Spanish) Por siempre Nino Bravo