Yuridia

Sonoran Yuridia answers to the name of Mexican pop vocalist Yuridia Gaxiola. A commanding, emotionally charged theatrical alto defines her instrument, and its poised phrasing together with refined productions has yielded commercially dominant albums and singles. Her 2005 debut La Voz de un Ángel earned triple-platinum status. Habla el Corazon, issued the next year, achieved multi-platinum certification both in Mexico and the United States. Three hit singles propelled 2007’s Entre Mariposas to comparable multi-platinum figures. She resurfaced in 2009 with the top-selling Nada Es Color de Rosa, which spotlighted the chart duet “Todas Las Noches” recorded with Italy’s Sonohra, and followed it with the triple-platinum Para Mí in 2011. The hits package Lo Esencia de Yuridia surfaced in 2013 and gave way two years later to 6. Primera Fila, a live anthology, arrived in 2017, while 2022 brought Pa’Luego es Tarde, her inaugural collection of Mexican Regional Music.

Born Yuridia Francisca Gaxiola Flores on October 4, 1986, in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, she performed throughout childhood and adolescence. Second place on the fourth generation of La Academia, the Mexican singing competition and reality program, launched her career. Although she did not win, Yuridia has far surpassed the program’s victor, Erasmo Catarino, in both audience esteem and record sales; all six of her studio albums have reached number one on the Mexican album charts and entered the Top Ten of the U.S. Latin Pop charts. Anchored in Latin pop, she gravitated toward dance-club-flavored material that showcased her forceful, theatrical interpretations. Her precocious vocal strength and command earned her the sobriquet “La Voz de un Ángel,” which became the title of her 2005 debut. Composed of covers she had performed on La Academia, the record was driven by her version of Robbie Williams’ “Angel,” her most successful single to date. At nineteen she ranked among Mexico’s best-selling acts, her debut attaining diamond certification—an achievement matched in the preceding decade only by Luis Miguel.

Late 2006 brought the equally successful cover set Habla el Corazón, certified platinum within weeks. Her third album, Entre Mariposas, appeared at the end of 2007 and marked her first foray into original songs, contributed by Reyli, Ilan Chester, Mario Domm, and Yuridia herself. After the 2008 remix collection Remixes, she returned in 2009 with the ballad-centered Nada Es Color de Rosa, another platinum-selling chart-topper. Two years later she issued her fifth studio album, Para Mi, her strongest seller since Habla el Corazón and ultimately moving more than 200,000 copies in Mexico alone; it contained the number-one single “Ya Te Olvidé.” Lo Esencial de Yuridia, her first greatest-hits compilation, followed in 2012 and reached the Top Ten of the Mexican album charts. After several inactive years she resurfaced in 2015 with 6, another chart-topping release. A subsequent Mexican tour preceded an extended personal hiatus.

Sony Music International issued the live set Primera Fila in 2017 as an interim release; unlike many peers, Yuridia has exercised restraint in issuing compilations. Five further years elapsed before she delivered the unexpected Pa’Luego Es Tarde, her first Mexican Regional Music album. Several of Mexico’s leading songwriters contributed, among them Eden Muñoz, who also served as music director, Horacio Palencia, José Luis Roma, Pepe Aguilar, Maria Elena Terrazas Gonzalez, and Oscar Ivan Calderon Gonzalez. The project featured duets with Angela Aguilar on “Qué Agonia,” Banda MS de Sergio Lizarraga on “Y Que Tal Si Funciona,” and Muñoz on “Me Hace Tanto Bien.” Shortly before its October release, Yuridia announced the Pa' Later Es Tarde USA Tour. Beginning in November, the itinerary included Laredo and Houston in Texas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Washington, D.C., with additional dates confirmed for 2023.