La Oreja de Van Gogh

Recognized widely within Spanish pop and rock, La Oreja de Van Gogh stands among the genre’s top commercial successes, since every album they have issued has moved roughly a million copies around the world. Their sound, built around electric guitar and keyboard, remains immediately likable and approachable yet carefully assembled and distinctive, while the words focus chiefly on the intricacies of personal relationships and everyday social exchanges. The band’s first release, 1998’s Dile al Sol, led the Spanish album charts and received a seven-times platinum certification. Their follow-up, 2000’s El Viaje de Copperpot, dominated charts throughout Latin America and set the record for the highest-selling album ever in Spain.

Lo Que te Conté Mientras Te Hacías la Dormida, issued in 2003, produced three number-one singles, earned platinum or multi-platinum status in seven countries plus gold certification in four more, topped charts across Latin America, and entered the Top Ten on the U.S. Latin Albums chart. Cometas por el Cielo reached the summit in both Spain and the United States in 2011, whereas El Planeta Imaginario arrived inside the U.S. Latin Albums Top Ten in 2016 and ultimately secured gold certification. Un Susurro en la Tormenta, released in 2020, led streaming rankings across Latin America and appeared on Spain’s national album charts.

The group came together in 1996 when guitarist Pablo Benegas, bassist Álvaro Fuentes, keyboardist Xabi San Martín, and drummer Haritz Garde first crossed paths at a local university; vocalist Amaia Montero entered the lineup after Benegas invited her following a dinner-party introduction. From the start, San Martín, Benegas, and Montero have written the bulk of the band’s material.

After signing with Sony Discos, La Oreja de Van Gogh introduced themselves in 1998 via Dile al Sol, which generated several hit singles including “El 28” and “Cuentame al Oido” and brought the group an Ondas Award for Best New Act. Their second album, El Viaje de Copperpot (2000), achieved comparable results; singles such as “Cuídate” and “La Playa” now registered internationally, appearing on charts in Latin America and the United States.

Lo Que Te Conté Mientras Te Hacías la Dormida sustained the upward trajectory, placing eight singles on Spanish charts with four of them hitting number one and extending the band’s reach into Latin American territories and the States. By this stage the project had already enjoyed considerable acclaim, yet the album marked a decisive breakthrough on several fronts: the group mounted an extensive tour documented on the 2004 concert DVD En Directo: Lo Que Te Conté Mientras Te Hacias la Dormida, collected multiple honors including an Ondas Award for Best Album and an MTV Latin Award for Best Group, and achieved its first substantial sales in the Americas, exceeding 100,000 copies in the United States alone.

Marking their tenth anniversary, the band delivered Guapa in 2006. Although the record featured notably energetic guitar work and broader keyboard textures, it matched prior commercial benchmarks; its opening singles “Muñeca de Trapo” and “Dulce Locura” topped Spanish charts, while the album itself climbed to number five on the U.S. Top Latin Albums chart, the group’s strongest showing to that point, and earned a Latin Grammy for Best Pop Album by a Duo or Group with Vocals. A special double-disc edition titled Más Guapa appeared in Spain in December 2006, adding previously unreleased tracks and demos.

Amaia Montero departed in 2007 to pursue a solo career; Leire Martínez stepped in as the new vocalist. The refreshed lineup recorded its fifth album, 2008’s A las Cinco en el Astoria, which quickly attained platinum status in Spain. To affirm Martínez’s role, 2009 brought Nuestra Casa a la Izquierda del Tiempo, presenting fresh recordings of earlier material. In 2011 the band returned to the studio with producer Simon Nordberg to create its sixth studio set, Cometas por la Cielo. While the group toured in support, Sony issued the 2012 compilation Dos Clásicos and the 2013 live album Primera Fila, the latter produced by Áureo Baqueiro.

The band enlisted Baqueiro again for sessions that began in early 2016; advance single “Verano” charted in Spain that autumn, and the completed El Planeta Imaginario appeared in November, entering the Top Ten on international Hot Latin albums charts and claiming the top position on Spain’s best-selling albums list.

In winter 2020 the musicians resumed studio work with producer Paco Salazar. April saw the video single “Abrázame,” which surpassed ten million views and led streaming charts. Sony Music released the full-length Un Susurro en la Tormenta in September; it reached the summit of the Spanish album charts and topped streaming rankings in six Latin American countries.