Born to an Argentinian bullfighter and Spanish singer, Emmanuel released a string of albums towards the tail end of the ‘70s, before finding popularity with the full-length “Intimamente” in 1980. Written by Spanish ballad composer Manuel Alejandro alongside Ana Magdalena, the album spawned seven hit singles including “Todo Se Derrumbó Dentro De Mí”, “Queiro Dormir Candado”, and “Insoportablemente Bella”. The album catapulted Emmanuel to romantic ballad notoriety, however the singer began to expand his sound and explore the sensibilities of soul, R&B and gospel in aid of his emotive vocal delivery.
Emmanuel subsequently released the albums “Tú y Yo” in 1981, “En La Soledad” in 1983, the self-titled “Emmanuel” in 1984, and “Desnudo” in 1986. The latter of which, "Desnudo", topped the Billboard Latin Pop Albums Chart aided by the No. One Italian cover “Toda la Vida”, and marked Emmanuel’s most successful release of the 1980s. Like its predecessor, the full-length “Entre Lunas” topped the Billboard Latin Pop Albums Chart, and was later nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the 1st Lo Nuestro Music Awards.
The albums “Hay Que Arimar El Alma” and “Quiseiera” topped off a successful decade for Emmanuel, however the singer-songwriter was hardly going to rest on his laurels. The 1990s brought six more ballad-orientated albums, showcasing Emmanuel’s wearing of his heart on his sleeve, and perfectionist approach to production and songwriting. “Retro en Vivo” arrived in 2007, followed by his first released in eight years “Inédito” in 2015.
The Mexican singer/songwriter Emmanuel was the support artist for a show I recently went to see, but I must say, he completely stole the show with his strong power ballads, and emotional engagement with the audience. He’s had several number one hits in Mexico, and also in the US. His powerful and rich voice is incredibly captivating, and he had the entire audience swaying along with his melodies.
He opened his show with Quiero Dormir Cansado, and he managed to get everyone singing along, despite not speaking Spanish! I thought that it was incredible that although the majority of his lyrics were incomprehensible to his audience, I understood the narrative of every track, through his skilful storytelling. When he interacted with the audience, he spoke to us in a mixture of English and Spanish, and made several jokes which were great for keeping us engaged in the crowd. He even gave us the background to some of his songs, which was great to hear from the artist himself.
Emmanuel interacted really well with his talented band, and gave them opportunities to take solos, which was wonderful because they were a very talented set of musicians. Although his set was relatively short, he played a great selection of old and new tracks, and left everyone wanting more – a sure way to end a show to increase fan base!