Pastora Soler is a famous Spanish artist who gained popularity after performing at the international Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. Bright, charismatic and talented, the singer enjoys great attention from the audience.
Childhood and youth Pastora Soler
The real name of the artist is Maria del Pilar Sánchez Luque. The singer's birthday is September 27, 1978. Hometown - Coria del Rio. Since childhood, Pilar has taken part in various music festivals, performed in the flamenco genre, light pop.
She recorded her first disc at the age of 14, often covering famous Spanish artists. For example, she liked the work of Rafael de Leon, Manuel Quiroga. She also managed to collaborate with celebrities: Carlos Jean, Armando Manzanero. The singer took the pseudonym Pastora Soler for better memorization.
Pastora Soler's performance at Eurovision
In December 2011, Pilar took part in the qualifying rounds for Eurovision from Spain. And as a result, she was chosen as the representative of the country in 2012. "Quédate Conmigo" was chosen as the entry for the competition. The competition was held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
The competition is largely recognized as near-political, image-building for European countries. Artists of a fairly high level of fame or little known, but gifted and potentially sympathetic to the audience, are usually chosen as national representatives. Pastora Soler has already established a certain reputation in Spain as a talented singer with several hits.
The Eurovision final took place on May 26, 2012. As a result, Pastora took 10th place. The sum of points for all votes was 97. In Spanish-speaking countries, the composition was very popular, it occupied leading lines in the charts.
Musical activities of Pastora Soler
To date, Pastora Soler has released 13 full-length albums. The singer's first disc was the release "Nuestras coplas" (1994), which included cover versions of the classic tracks "Copla Quiroga!". The release took place on the Polygram label.
Further, the career developed steadily, albums were released almost annually. These are "El mundo que soñé" (1996), where classical and pop were combined, "Fuente de luna" (1999, Emi-Odeón label). The hit, released as a single - "Dámelo ya", took one of the first places in the charts in Spain. It was sold in the amount of 120 thousand copies, and in Turkey it became the first in the hit parade.
In 2001, the disc "Corazón congelado" was released, already the 4th full-length album. Produced by Carlos Jean, the publication received platinum status. In 2002, the 5th album "Deseo" appeared with the same producer. In this case, the influence of electronics was traced, and platinum status was also achieved.
In 2005, the singer released two releases at once: the personal album "Pastora Soler" (on the Warner Music label, gold status) and "Sus grandes éxitos" - the first collection. Creativity has undergone a slight evolution, the voice and melodies have acquired maturity and richness.
The listeners especially liked the version of the ballad "Sólo tú". The new albums "Todami verdad" (2007, label Tarifa) and "Bendita locura" (2009) caused a very positive reaction from the listeners. Although some noted the monotony, some monotony in the development of the song arsenal, the success was obvious.
"Toda mi verdad" included songs written mainly by Antonio Martínez-Ares. This album won the national Premio de la Música award for the best copla album. The singer went on a tour of Egypt, went on stage at the Cairo Opera.
Pastora Soler celebrated 15 years of creative activity with the release of the anniversary album "15 Años" (2010). After the release of "Una mujer como yo" (2011), she put forward her candidacy for Eurovision 2012. And in 2013, Pastora Soler released a new CD "Conóceme". The flagship track in it was the single "Te Despertaré".
Health issues and return to the stage
But in 2014, the unexpected happened - the singer had to interrupt her career due to stage fright. Symptoms of panic attacks and fear have already been observed before, but in March 2014, Pastora felt ill during a performance in the city of Seville. On November 30, during a concert in Malaga, the attack recurred.
As a result, Pastora temporarily paused her activities until her condition improved. She was tormented by anxiety attacks, in early 2014 she fainted on stage, and in November she simply went backstage during the performance under the influence of fear. Leaving for an unplanned vacation occurred at a time when the singer was about to release a collection for the 20th anniversary of her creative activity.
The return to the stage took place in 2017, after the birth of her daughter Estreya. The singer's activity reached a new level, she released the album "La calma". It is noteworthy that the album was released on the daughter's birthday, September 15th.
In 2019, the disc "Sentir" was released, produced by Pablo Sebrian. Before the release of the album, a promotional single "Aunque me cueste la vida" was launched. At the end of 2019, Pastora appeared in the festive edition of the Quédate conmigo program on La 1, gave an interview in honor of the 25th anniversary of her artistic activity.
Features of the work of Pastor Soler
Pastora Soler writes her songs and music herself. Basically, the discs contain author's compositions with the involvement of some other lyricists and composers. The performance style can be described as flamenco or copla, pop or electro-pop.
The singer's contribution to the development of the "copla" direction, which has a Spanish flavor, is considered especially valuable. In this genre, Pastora conducted many experiments. She was remembered by the audience as a bright and textured performer with her own unique mood. Also, the singer was involved as a mentor in the series "La Voz Senior" in 2020.
Personal life
Pastora Soler is married to professional choreographer Francisco Vignolo. The couple has two daughters, Estrella and Vega. The youngest daughter Vega was born at the end of January 2020.
