María José

Born on January 12, 1976, as María José Loyola and long based in Mexico City, the Mexican pop singer launched her recording path inside the Latin pop sextet Kabah before stepping forward as a solo act with her self-titled debut album in 2007 and later claiming the top of the charts with the 2009 smash “No Soy una Señora.” Kabah itself had formed in 1992; its first release, the 1994 album Kabah, was followed by the international breakthrough La Calle de las Sirenas in 1996 and further long-players that sustained more than ten years of strong sales. The group finally disbanded once El Pop appeared in 2005 and its farewell tour ended on December 31 of that year. Immediately afterward the members pursued separate routes, and José began her solo association with Warner Music. Her initial full-length project, the 2007 album María José, was produced and chiefly composed by the Mexican hitmaker Aureo Baqueiro, a prior Kabah collaborator; although it yielded the singles “¿Quien Eres Tú?,” “Me Equivoque,” and “¿Donde Está?,” the set itself fell short of major commercial impact. Far greater success arrived with her sophomore effort, Amante de Lo Ajeno (2009), which climbed to number two on the Mexican albums chart. Fashioned from stylish covers of 1980s tracks first made famous by female artists such as Daniela Romo, María Conchita Alonso, and Lucía Méndez, the collection opened with the chart-topping single “No Soy una Señora,” originally recorded by Melissa, and also features a duet with Edith Márquez on “Cosas del Amor,” first popularized by Ana Gabriel and Vikki Carr.