Melody

Biography

Melodía Ruiz Gutiérrez (born 12 October 1990), best known by her stage name Melody, is a Spanish singer, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. Melody became famous at the age of 10 with her song "El baile del gorila", one of the biggest summer hits of 2001 in Spain. She has released six albums and numerous successful singles in the Spanish and Latin American markets. She represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song "Esa diva", finishing in 24th place overall with 37 points.

== Early life == Melodía Ruiz Gutiérrez was born on 12 October 1990, in Dos Hermanas (Seville), Andalusia. Her family has strong ties to music; her father and some other family members played in a Sevilla fiesta band called Los Quillos or Los Kiyos, a Jackson 5-like group of child singers. Melody learned to sing before she could talk. At six, she declared (to her mother) that she was born to sing and dance. Her mother tried to discourage her, saying music was a difficult profession, but she persisted.

== Career ==

=== 2001: De pata negra === Melody was discovered by rumba flamenca veteran and producer El Fary after her father sent him a demo tape of her singing. El Fary was impressed and asked her to come to Madrid to record an album. In 2001, at the age of 10, Melody released her debut album De pata negra. The album was produced by Gustavo Ramudo at El Fary's Carabirubí Producciones and released through Epic Spain (Sony Music Entertainment Spain). The lead single "El baile del gorila", which was written and composed by José Antonio Benítez Serrano, became a big summer hit in Spain. It reached number one in Spain for the week of 21 July. Melody became a child prodigy of Spanish music. The song "De pata negra" was released as the second single from her debut album; it debuted at number 18 in Spain for the week of 15 September 2001 and peaked at number 12 three weeks later. Melody's debut album sold between 500,000 and 600,000 copies (2004). By October 2001, it had been certified double platinum in Spain for selling 200,000 copies. On 30 October, it was released in the United States and in Latin America. In May 2002, it was certified gold and then platinum (Latin) in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America. The same year, it received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Children's Album at the 3rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards.

=== 2002: Muévete === On 21 February 2002, Melody performed at the Viña del Mar music festival. On 10 June 2002, she released her second album, Muévete, also produced by Gustavo Ramudo. The title track "Muévete" debuted at number 11 in Spain for the week of 2 June 2002, peaking at number 7 one week later. The album sold 50,000 copies.

=== 2003: T.Q.M. === In early 2003, Melody's first album De pata negra was a finalist for the Billboard Latin Music Award in the category "Latin Pop Album of the Year, New Artist". Her third album T.Q.M. was released on 23 June 2003. It was produced by Luis Gómez-Escolar and Julio Seijas. The first single was "Será". The song "Dabadabadá" was featured on the Spanish soundtrack for the Brazilian telenovela Mulheres Apaixonadas. The soundtrack album, which also includes tracks by Jon Secada, Gloria Estefan, Huey Dunbar, and other well-known Spanish-language artists, went on sale on 23 March 2004. "Dabadabadá" was released as a single and debuted at number 9 in Spain for the week of 14 September 2003. Melody's third album sold 30,000 copies. In November 2003, Melody appeared on the Disney DVD Ellas & magia, a compilation of Disney princesses' songs performed in Spanish by famous artists including Pastora Soler, Marta Sánchez, and Bellepop. Melody sang "No diré que es amor" from the animated film Hercules. Profits from the DVD went to the Fundación de Ayuda contra la Drogadicción.

=== 2004: Melodía === On 18 October 2004, Melody released her fourth album Melodía, which saw her move towards a teenage audience. The album was produced by Danilo Ballo and a team led by Emanuele Ruffinengo. The first single was "Y ese niño", which was composed by Lucas González Gómez from the duo Andy y Lucas. The album debuted at number 15 in Spain for the week of 30 October 2004. That year, Melody also released a duet with Greek tenor Mario Frangoulis. The song, titled "Cu'mme", was part of Frangoulis' second international album Follow Your Heart, which was released on 9 November 2004, on Sony Classical.

=== 2005–2008: Urban legend === By 2005 Melody had disappeared from the media and waited three years to release another record, dedicating that time to her personal development and finishing her studies. Due to her complete disappearance from the media, a rumour that she had died began circulating. An urban legend claimed she was killed in an airplane accident. Another version of her death myth, presented by a blog titled Los Corotos, alleged she committed suicide while suffering from depression, but it turns out it was another person named Melody (not Melodía, which is the singer's real name) who died. Melody dismissed the rumours when she released her fifth album Los buenos días in 2008.