music inspires life!

Music inspires life! The slogan of Los 40 has been one of my favorites for a while. Los 40 is originally only a radio station from Spain. By now, it equals the Billboard list and every Saturday they release the Top 40 Songs voted by their audience. Many Latin American countries have their own stations like Mexico, Argentina, Columbia, Chile or Ecuador. Most of the songs they play are from Spain or Latin America but also American / British. So usually it is exactly what I like to listen to.

Last year they had a stage in Madrid and hosted a huge show at Plaza Mayor to present their new logo with many artists that performed life at the Primavera POP festival. Some from Spain but also from all over Europe. And I have been there by accident! It was a great night and luckily we got there early because they had to close down the Plaza later during the night. It was completely crowded and they did not let more people enter. This year they celebrate summer in different towns around Spain and one of them is in Finestrat at the beach! I got to see some of the following bands live on stage with my feet in the sand and the Sea behind me. My first beach concert :).

This is why I decided to write about some of my Spanish favorites. Most of them are Pop Songs and get stuck in your head easily. Every year people come back from their vacation with a Spanish song that might get annoying. But still, everybody knows it. This year it seems like there are more Spanish songs that everyone knows, like DESPACITO (especially with the Justin Bieber Remix it became the most streamed song of all times) or the love declaration ME ENAMORÉ by Shakira. I love both songs and they remind me of the first time we went apartment hunting here in Benidorm.

In Germany, I used to listen to many Latin Playlists and mixtures of Electro Latino, Reggaeton and Latin Pop. Some Spanish music is way too soft for me but there are also some songs I like. One band I recently discovered is called Morat from Columbia. Event thought I’ve listened to one of their songs already they have released a new album in 2017 with some cool summer songs, like „Amor Con Hielo“, or „Yo Contigo, Tú Conmigo“ with Alvaro Soler which is the title song of Despicable Me 3 and on the radio once every hour… A really quite song I like is „Ladrona“ (about a girl stealing the guy‘s heart, soul and mind). The Spanish singer (and actress…) Ana Mena is only 20 years old but has already had some hits here in Spain like „Ahora lloras tú“ feat. CNCO (Now you’re the one that’s crying) or „Se Fue“.  Álvaro Soler is a German /Spanish singer so he is also known in Germany but his music is also popular here in Spain. His best known songs were „Sofia“ (2016) and „El Mismo Sol“ (2015). This summer he released „Animal“.

The Spanish Trio Bombai also released a summer song called „Solo si es contigo“ featuring Bebe, that has been number 1 at the Los 40 playlist.

The Columbian singer Maluma was also Numer 1 at Los 40  with his song „Felices los 4“. Maybe he is more known due to his collaboration with Shakira for the song „Chantaje“ in 2016. And then of course people love all the well known artists like Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, David Bisbal and the Spanish singers Pablo Alboran and Malú.

I personally like Juan Magan and everything that includes Daddy Yankee or Pitbull. Juan Magan has recently released „Rápido, Brusco, Violento“ and canceled his show in Benidorm that we had tickets for… Oh well. He combines many different styles like Dance, Electro, Reggaeton, Latino and Pop and works with many different artists. The genre Electro Latino is aparently „created“ by him, because he already released the first songs in 2008 before it became famous in 2011.

David Otero and Melendi are two artists I only got to know here in Benidorm. David Otero because his new video was partly filmed in Benidorm and Villajoyosa. It is the main theme for a beer commercial and was a huge success in Social Media. Fans of the page were asked to vote on the locations and the goal was to show the spirit of Spanish summer life. He also stayed at a hotel close by and plays at the summer tour of Los 40. Funny side note, the advertised beer is Amstel Radler and Radler is the (Southern) German term for beer and lemonade… Now the term is also used in Spanish… And Melendi played one of his shows of the „Quítate las Gafas“-Tour in Benidorm and the posters were everywhere. One of the songs from the album is „La Casa No Es Igual“ .

One of our favorite „kitsch“ songs since we moved to Spain is the new release of „Y, ¿Si Fuera Ella?“. It is originally from Alejando Sanz in 1997. This year he made a re-release with many different Spanish-speaking artists and when you listen to it, it feels like one of the „Do They Know It’s Christmas Time“-recordings. Alejandro Sanz asked colleagues like Pablo Alborán, Shakira, David Bisbal, Laura Pausini, Juanes, Pablo López, Malú, Antonio Carmona, Manuel Carrasco, Jesse & Joy, Vanesa Martín, India Martínez, Antonio Orozco, Niña Pastori, Abel Pintos, Rozalen, y Tommy Torres (unfortunately they don’t appear in the video, but it’s hard to miss Shakira at 1:30… And the video is following a really sweet idea with different children representing the singers). Really recommended love song with piano bridge and lots of emotions!

Listen to it!