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Diego Torres is a three-time Latin Grammy-winning Argentine pop singer, songwriter, musician, and actor who has explored many realms of Latin pop, tropical, and even rock & roll music. He is the son of the legendary Lolita Torres.

Torres formed his first band, Macca, while he was still in his teens. In 1989, he began his acting career by landing a role on the television series Nosotros y los Otros, which lasted for three years; he worked in other telenovelas as well. Although he was acting, he was still with Macca and trying to get a record deal. Due to internal tensions and the different career goals of its members, they split in 1991. Undaunted, Torres pursued a solo recording career and got a record deal a year later. Diego Torres was issued 1992 and sold 200,000 copies. Almost simultaneously, he was picked for a role in the play El Zorro that year alongside actor Pablo Rago. A holiday set, Diego Torres Sinfonico, showcased seasonal songs utilizing a full choir as well as a symphony orchestra.

He re-entered the studio and emerged with Tratar de Estar Mejor in 1994. It displayed his diverse talent in delivering reggae, ballads, and pop-funk. The title track, "Deja de Pedir Perdón," and the song "San Salvador" were hit singles. He promoted the recording by touring all over Spain and Latin America with several television appearances added to the mix. The album sold over 700,000 copies globally.

For his next project, he teamed up with producer Celso Valli. They recorded in cities as diverse as Los Angeles and Bologna. Luna Nueva was released in 1996. Before touring, he took a role in the Juan Bautista Stagnaro film La Furio; it became one of the most popular releases in Argentinian cinema that year, and with a promotional tour, the soundtrack sold over half-a-million copies.

Torres didn't record again until early 1999. Tal Cual Es featured the hit single "Qué Será." It didn't do as well commercially as its predecessors, but that was due to Argentina's economic troubles. The country entered a great depression in 1998 and didn't begin to emerge from it until 2002.

As an artist, Torres responded to the crisis with his most optimistic album in 2001. Recorded in Buenos Aires and Miami, Un Mundo Diferente was a collision of many Latin rhythmic styles all given a modern pop slant. It was buoyed by its infectious hit single "Color Esperanza," co-written with Cachorro López and Coti Sorokin. It hit the top spot in Argentina and the second spot in Venezuela. The track became an anthem of hope and was translated into several languages; it was sung by schoolchildren throughout Latin America.

In 2004, he released MTV Unplugged. Along with his own intimate performances and stories, it featured guest appearances from Julieta Venegas, Vicentico, and La Chilinguita.

Torres released the star-studded Andando in 2006. Recorded in Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, and the Dominican Republic, it featured guest appearances by Juan Luis Guerra Afo Verde, Joaquín Sabina, and Luis Cardozo, among others. Its title track single with Guerra helped to ensure its success. It sold over 600,000 copies.

The title of 2010's Distinto reflected a shift in direction. Torres more outwardly embraced rock and hip-hop without losing his signature pop sound. The album benefited from several guest appearances by Iberian rapper Mala Rodríguez on "Mirar Atrás," the Orishas' Yotuel on "Cuando No Queda Nada," and the legendary Argentine musician Kevin Johansen on "Bendito." He followed it with a long, grueling tour over the next two years that took him across the globe, and found him playing many European countries for the first time. He also appeared in the films Los Vecinos en Guerra and Papeles en el Viento and became a father in 2013. He spent most of 2014 at home with his wife and daughter.

In July of 2015, Torres issued a new single on Sony, "Hoy Es Domingo," a duet with the great salsero Rubén Blades. The tune combined tropical and Latin rhythms and placed inside the Top 20 on the Latin Pop Songs chart, as well as on the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Airplay lists. A second single, "La Vida Es un Vals," was released in September on the same date as the full-length, Buena Vida. The album spent seven weeks inside the Latin Top 25. In October, Torres was inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.

While Torres recorded singles over the next six years -- including the global smash "Un Poquito" with Carlos Vives -- he didn't release another studio album until Atlantico de Pie in 2021. Co-produced with Yadam Gonzalez Cardenas, the diverse 13-track set showcased a number of collaborations including "Este Corazon" with Fonseca, "Para Sentimente" with Rayko B and Natiruts, "El Rinconcito" with Florent Pagny, and the /cumbia fusion on "Veneno" with Conchita Buika. "Un Poquito" and its remix were also included in the track list. It peaked inside the Top Ten at streaming.

In August 2023, Torres issued the nueva cumbia single "Mejor Que Ayer," which received over 50 million streams and peaked at number five in Argentina, while its video registered views in the tens of millions. In March 2024, it appeared as the title track of Torres' tenth album. Its opener, "Las Leyes de La Vida," featuring niece, singer, and actress Angela Torres and singer/multi-instrumentalist nephew Benja Torres, offered an emotional reflection on time's passage and the importance of close relationships with family and friends. The set also included "Kapun," another duet with Vives. Virtuoso guitarist Berta Rojas appeared in a duet with Torres on the jazzy "Dignale." ~ Thom Jurek

Spanish pop duo Estopa, formed by brothers José and David Muñoz, made an impressive debut with their self-titled album in 2001, released by BMG-Ariola. Playing a mixture of flamenco-pop and rhumba-rock, Estopa became a top-selling act in less than a year; they were voted Revelation of the Year and Best Spanish Band at the 2000 Amigo Awards. In 2001, they released Destrangis and in 2004 the smash hit ¿La Calle Es Tuya?, which followed a cameo appearance on Antonio Mercero's film The 4th Floor. The duo's subsequent albums of the 2000s (2005's Voces de Ultrarumba, 2008's Allenrok, and 2009's X Anniversarivm) didn't quite match the success or sales of their first record, but December 2011's 2.0 saw a return to past glories -- ironically with an update and evolution of their rumba-rock sound. It hit number one, and remained on the charts for all of 2012. Esto Es Estopa, released in 2014 in audio and video packages, debuted at number one in Spain and spent several months within the Top Ten -- plus high chart appearances in Italy and Mexico. Not disappointing their fans in the slightest, the Muñoz brothers returned in 2015 with Rumba a lo Desconocido. ~ Drago Bonacich