Virginia Maestro

Virginia Maestro Díaz (born 29 September 1982) is a Spanish singer-songwriter. She is the winner of Operación Triunfo 2008, the Spanish version of Star Academy.

This is about artist also known as Virginia Labuat. For the musical project with The Pinker Tones, Risto Mejide and Virginia Maestro, see Labuat
Virginia Maestro
(Virginia Labuat)
Background information
Birth nameVirginia Maestro Díaz
Also known asVirginia Labuat, La Niña Azul, Viki
Born (1982-09-29) 29 September 1982
OriginLinares, Jaén, Spain
GenresPop, Indie, Jazz, Blues
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician
InstrumentsVocals, guitar
Years active2008–present
LabelsSony Music, Columbia Records
Websitehttp://www.labuat.com

In 2009, she associated herself with Labuat, a musical project with Risto Mejide, one of the judges of OT, and The Pinker Tones. Many of her recordings are thus credited to Virginia Labuat.

Biography

Influences and Early career

Virgínia has said in various interviews that she was exposed to a variety of music from an early age, especially those of her parents' adolescence. Nowadays, she takes most influence from the 1950s and 1960s, naming Eva Cassidy, The Beatles, Janis Joplin, Solomon Burke, Radiohead, Otis Redding, Ray Charles and Sam Cooke as her favorite artists.[1]

At the age of twelve, influenced by her sisters, she began teaching herself how to play the guitar and she wrote her first songs in a diary, to whom she called "Diario de Sensaciones" (Sensations' Diary). When she was fifteen, she entered in her first band and started to participe in jam sessions. Until her entrance in OT, she had been a part of Fundación Virginia, Little Vicky & the Shout Band, 7Funk, The Flik Flak Duo, Boogie Flu and had shared the stage with such bands as Black Jack Bob & the New Deal and Mingo & The Blues Intruders.[2] Aside from that experiences, she had also been a soprano at the University of Seville choir, where she studied music.[3]

Operación Triunfo 2008

After being turned down on the castings for the second and third series of the contest,[4] finally, in 2008, Virginia Maestro was cast to the sixth series of Operación Triunfo, (roughly Operation Victory) a talent show in Spain. She differentiated herself from other contestants with her distinctive style and song choices, preferring jazz-blues tunes over pop. She was almost voted off the show several times but was saved by the public, until she was named the winner in the finale. During the contest, she gained a fan base who began to call her "La Niña Azul" (the Blue Girl). Therefore, her fan base is often called "La Marea Azul" (the Blue Tide). She was the first contest in history of Operación Triunfo (also known as OT) to reach number one on the Spanish iTunes chart, which she accomplished with covers of "Creep", "My Baby Just Cares For Me" and "Moonlight Shadow".[5] While in the competition, she received support from Risto Mejide, the most opinionated member of the jury. He would later become the producer of Labuat.

Labuat
Main article: Labuat

After winning OT and earning a contract with Sony BMG, she became part of the musical project Labuat, which opened for Beyoncé in Spain in May 2009.[6] Her music video of Soy Tu Aire, the first single from the album, is an Internet sensation. On June 2009, "De Pequeño" was released as the second single. " She made an appearance in the sixth gala of OT 2009 singing the song. Also in June, it was announced that a second album is being prepared and that Risto Mejide would not be involved.[7] Carta de Otoño", the only song composed solely by her, was released as the third and last single on October 2009. The first album of the band was nominated for best album of the year.[8]
In March 2010, during an interview for OperacionTriunfo.com, Maestro announced that, due to time conflicts, the Pinker Tones will not produce the new album, leaving her as the only initial member of the band working on the second album. She has also confirmed the album will include her own compositions, in both Spanish and English.[9]

On October 2010, Maestro announced the title of the second album, "Dulce Hogar" (Sweet Home, in Spanish) and that she would use the moniker Virginia Labuat. The first single debuted on 25 January 2011 in Europa FM and was available for download on 8 February 2011, and the whole album was released on 29 March 2011. A limited special edition of the album includes an EP with a few rare songs she had performed live during the previous years, as well some Spanish versions of the English songs. Shortly after the release, the album was already on Spanish Top Charts.

Personal life

In Operacion Triunfo, Virginia confessed she has never been able to quit smoking. When she entered to the academy, she had a boyfriend, but they broke up soon after. There have been rumors she was dating Risto Mejide, which has been denied by both.[10]

Discography

Albums

As part of Labuat

Year Album Chart positions
SPA
2009 Labuat 2

Solo

Year Album Chart positions
SPA
[11]
2011 Dulce hogar 11
2013 Night & Day 11
2015 Blue Bird 41
2019 Del Sur 88
[12]

Singles
as part of Labuat
Year Single Chart positions Album
SPA
2009 "Soy Tu Aire" 34 Labuat
"De Pequeño" –
"Carta De Otoño" –
Solo
Year Single Chart positions Album
SPA
[11]
2011 "The Time Is Now" 8 Dulce hogar
"Circus" 27
2012 "I Call Your Name" –
2013 "Dream Man" 31 Night & Day
"Night & Day" –
2015 "Make It Alright" 42 Blue Bird
2016 "Loneliness" –

References
  1. "Virginia Maestro: perfil y trayectoria artística". Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
  2. "Virginia Maestro: perfil y trayectoria artística". Archived from the original on 23 March 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
  3. Ficha de Virginia Maestro Archived 28 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine Operación Triunfo.com
  4. Entrevista a Virginia Maestro (26/09/2008) -parte I-
  5. Virginia arrasa en Itunes Archived 22 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine Corazón digital.com
  6. Labuat será telonera de Beyoncé en España
  7. "Labuat anuncia nuevo disco". Los40.com.
  8. http://www.labuat.com/labuat-mejor-disco-ano-2009-tve
  9. "Todo sobre el segundo disco de Labuat".
  10. "Mi vida privada no se mezcla con la de Risto".
  11. SpanishCharts.com: Virginia Labuat discography
  12. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 41: del 4.10.2019 al 10.10.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
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