Luis Miguel is a legendary figure in the history of Spanish music and one of the most successful musical artists in Latin America. He was born in Puerto Rico, but he is sometimes called The Sun of Mexico because that is where he started his career and won his fame. The artist released his first album at the age of 12 and won his first Grammy Award at the age of 14 for the song “Me Gustas tal como Eres” (Borden). The professional accomplishments and musical style of Luis Miguel are discussed in this essay.
Miguel’s professional career has started early, and by the end of the 1990s, he had already released several chart-topping albums. The artist has not recorded any songs in English since he wanted to bring out more Spanish for the world. Luis Miguel has not only achieved fame in Latin America but also was successful in the US, Spain, Mexico, and Argentina. Another great accomplishment of the musician was a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which he received when he was 27. These facts make Miguel a leading male vocalist on the Latin music scene at the end of the 20th century.
Around the world, Luis Miguel is famous as a Latin pop artist, along with Thalía, Shakira, and Ricky Martin, to name a few. The genre is characterized by a strong influence of Latin culture and Spanish and Portuguese languages. However, the musical experience of Miguel is not narrowed down to just one musical style. He also performed in such genres as bolero, tango, ballads, and mariachi. Borden refers to him as “the standard-bearer of contemporary Latin music.” Miguel’s bolero songs and his album “Romance” were recognized as the reason that made the genre mainstream again. In the early 2000s, he released the album of mariachi songs that were a commercial success as well.
The cultural background of Miguel had a significant impact on his work. Latin music originates from Latin America and the Caribbean and is characterized by vivid rhythms of tango, salsa, samba, and reggae. The voice is the most prominent feature of the genre, and the musical style of Luis Miguel is not an exception. As can be seen from one of his most famous songs, “La Incondicional,” the singer’s voice is expressive and powerful in nature (Warner Music México). The Latin genre suits the artist’s unique vocal characteristics just perfectly. The instruments used for Miguel’s songs include piano, drums, guitar, bass, saxophone, and keyboard. The song “La Incondicional” is the first single in the second album “Busca Una Mujer,” released in 1988 (Warner Music México). It reached the top charts in Latin America and increased the sales of the album. The music video presents a story of a military man separated from his beloved woman (Warner Music México). The success of the song and the whole album strengthened Miguel’s leading position in the Latin music scene.
Luis Miguel deserves all the awards he has won and the success he has achieved during his musical career. The peak of his popularity occurred in the 1980s-2000s when Miguel was one of the best-selling Latin singers after his fabulous break in the music industry. His excellent vocals and Spanish lyrics made him stand out in the Latin pop scene and set a high standard for the quality and development of contemporary Latin music.
Works Cited
“Luis Miguel – “La Incondicional” .” YouTube. 2008. Web.
Borden, Timothy. “Luis Miguel.” Encyclopedia.com, 2020. Web.