Ivy Queen is one of the most popular Latin American reggaeton artists. She writes songs in Spanish and at the moment she has 9 full-fledged studio records on her account. In addition, in 2020, she presented her mini-album (EP) "The Way Of Queen" to the public. Ivy Queen is often referred to as the "Queen of Reggaeton" and it certainly has its reasons.
Early years and first two Ivy Queen albums
Ivy Queen (real name - Martha Pesante) was born on March 4, 1972 on the island of Puerto Rico. Then her parents moved to American New York in search of work. And after some time (at that time Martha was already a teenager) they returned back.
Young Martha, of course, absorbed the culture of the island during her entire stay in Puerto Rico. And there, Indian, African and European traditions are fancifully mixed. At the age of 18, Marta began collaborating with a Puerto Rican musician like DJ Negro, and then joined the reggaeton group The Noise (she was the only girl there).
At some point, the same DJ Negro advised Marta to try his hand at solo work. She heeded this advice and released her debut album, En Mi Imperio, in 1997. Interestingly, Martha appeared on its cover already under the pseudonym Ivy Queen. The lead single from the album was "Como Mujer". This song was really able to draw attention to the aspiring singer.
According to 2004 figures, "En Mi Imperio" sold over 180 copies in the United States and Puerto Rico. On top of that, in 000, the audio album was released digitally.
In 1998, Ivy Queen released her second album, The Original Rude Girl. The disc contained 15 songs, some of them in Spanish, some in English. The Original Rude Girl was distributed by Sony Music Latin. But, despite all efforts, the album was not a commercial success. And this eventually became the reason for the refusal of Sony to further support Ivy Queen.
The life and work of the singer from 2000 to 2017
The third album - "Diva" - was released in 2003 on the Real Music Group label. The album included 17 songs, including the quite well-known hit "Quiero Bailar" at the time. Plus, Diva was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and was also nominated in the Reggaeton Album of the Year category at the Billboard Latin Music Awards.
Already in the fall of 2004, Ivy Queen released her next album, Real. Musically, "Real" is a mix of different styles. Many critics praised him precisely for his experiments in sound (as well as for the bright, slightly hoarse vocals of Ivy Queen). "Real" peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart.
On October 4, 2005, the singer's 5th album, Flashback, went on sale. And a few months before its release, Ivy Queen's marriage to musician Omar Navarro broke up (in total, this marriage lasted nine years).
It should also be mentioned that the album "Flashback" includes songs composed back in 1995. But, of course, there were also completely new compositions. Three singles from this album - "Cuentale", "Te He Querido", "Te He Llorado" and "Libertad" - managed to enter the TOP 10 of several US charts specializing in Latin American music.
But then the singer began to release studio albums no longer with a frequency of once a year, but less often. So, let's say the record "Sentimiento" was released in 2007, and "Drama Queen" - in 2010. By the way, both of these LPs were able to get into the main US chart - Bilboard 200: "Sentimiento" rose to 105th place, and "Drama Queen" - up to 163 places.
Two years later, in 2012, another wonderful audio album appeared - "Musa". There were only ten songs on it, its total duration was about 33 minutes. Despite this, "Musa" managed to reach #15 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and #4 on the Billboard Latin Rhythm Albums chart.
Little about personal life
This year, another important event in the life of Ivy Queen happened - she married choreographer Xavier Sanchez (this marriage continues to this day). On November 25, 2013, the couple had a daughter, her name is Naiovi. And besides this, Ivy Queen has two more adopted children.
Finally, it is impossible not to tell about the ninth "studio" Ivy Queen - "Vendetta: The Project". It was published in 2015. "Vendetta: The Project" has an unusual format - the album is divided into four actually independent parts, each of which consists of 8 tracks and is made in its own musical style. More specifically, we are talking about styles such as salsa, bachata, hip-hop and urban.
In addition to the standard, there is also an extended version of this record. It includes a DVD with several clips and a documentary about the making of the albums.
And, summing up some results, it should be admitted: in the zero and tenth years, Ivy Queen really managed to build a very successful career in the music industry. And also to make a considerable fortune - in 2017 it was estimated at $ 10 million.
Ivy queen lately
In 2020, the singer showed great activity in terms of creativity. During this year she released 4 singles - "Un Baile Mas", "Peligrosa", "Antidoto", "Next". Moreover, the last three singles are absolutely new and are not included in any album. But the song "Un Baile Mas" can also be heard on the EP "The Way Of Queen". This six-song EP was released through NKS Music on July 17, 2020.
But that's not all. On September 11, 2020, a video for the song “Next” was published on the official Youtube channel of Ivy Queen (by the way, more than 730 people subscribed to it). In this clip, Ivy Queen appears as a shark. In a glamorous gray suit and an unusual headdress resembling a shark fin.
The text of the song "Next" deserves special attention. It suggests that there is nothing wrong and shameful for a woman to start a new, healthy relationship after leaving a toxic relationship. And in general, it should be added that Ivy Queen is known for her support of feminist ideas. She often sings and talks about the problems of women in modern society.
