Cristie | |
|---|---|
| Born | Cristina Sánchez Ruiz (1981-05-31)31 May 1981 (age 44) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | singer, songwriter, dancer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | O'Clock Music(2003), Major(2011), Independent(present) |
| Website | web |
Cristina Sánchez Ruiz (born 31 May 1978), known professionally asCristie, is a SpanishR&B,Pop andflamenco singer.
Since a very early age she was involved in music. In October 2002 she became one of the official contestants of the second series of the Spanish TV showOperación Triunfo. Years later she also took part onLa Voz. In January 2023 it was announced her appearance on the music TV showTierra de talento.[1]
She has released two albums as solo artist.
Cristina Sanchez was born on 31 May 1978 inFuengirola (Málaga), where she was raised by her father along her two brothers. When she was 16, she started pursuing her music career. She formed a music band with some friends and they played in different bars and pubs of her home town.
Her first contact with the music industry was in as part of a flamenco band calledCheli 3, where they experimented mixingflamenco,gospel andfunk.[2]
Later on she joinedCaste Huarochiri, where she became deeply involved in flamenco and dance. WithLos Activos, Cristie took part in some of the most prominent festivals in Spain includingEspárrago Rock,Festimad,The Festival of Autumn of Madrid, andThe Sea of Music. She also performed in other countries including theExpo 2000 inHannover, thePopkomm (Germany) and the theaterOuro Verde inSão Paulo,Brazil. In 2002, Cristie spent seven months acting at theBlue Note Tokyo.[3]
Back in Spain, José María Elegant (a prestigious classical flamenco guitarist) invited Cristie to joinLa Maestranza and to perform during theBienal de Flamenco in (Seville). That same month, Cristie took part on the castings for the second edition ofOperación Triunfo onRTVE. She became one of the chosen participants and she joined theAcademy of Artists.
Cristie was on the live television shows for six weeks. In one of the shows she collaborated on a duet withAntonio Orozco and his songDevuélveme la vida. That performance became one of the highlights of that season live shows.[4]
After that, all contestants recorded and released a single.[5] Those artists whose single reached the goal of 200,000 sold copies sold would sign a record deal.
Cristie's single,No quiero sufrir was very well received by fans and it got good reviews by the critics, but it only reached 76,000 copies, missing the goal. However, she signed a contract withO'Clock Music to release her first album.[6]
She started to work again with José María Elegant and there sertulst was the release of her debut album as a soloist:Puro teatro.The album was recorded betweenMadrid andBarcelona and produced by Sergio Castillo and Nacho Lesko. It included different styles of music, mostlyflamenco, but with a flavour ofR&B,Pop music andFunky.[7] "Puro Theatro" is the title track; its name is after a song of the great Puerto Rican musician and composer Catalino Curet Alonso.[8]
The specialized critic describedPuro teatro as Urban-Flamenco orNew Flamenco/Nuevo Flamenco. They emphasized the song called "Tonight" produced by Noel Pastor and Dioni Gómez. Pedro Javier Hermosilla and Mayan Juan collaborated on the trackSoleá, dedicated to her hometown,Fuengirola. Noel Pastor and Dioni Gómez (who had previously worked with artists such asTony Santos, Tony Aguilar and Austin) produced songs such asCambiar andTonight.
First single was "Pal Infierno", aflamenco fusion ofR&B andsoul.
Her second music album wasCon la suerte en los tacones, a fourteen tracks album (five of them written by Cristie). The style was described as fresh. She combined genres such asSoul,R&B,Salsa,Funky,Ballad, andflamenco.
In Cristie's own wordswith this new album I want to express myself as I am, without feeling pressured to be who I'm not.[9]
The first single wasMarbella and it videoclip was shorted in one of the most luxurious beaches of that city, the Ocean Club, which was turned into a massive filming set.
She collaborated with the also Spanish singerPablo López, who was her pianist and back vocals on her live shows during a period of time .[10]
Due to personal reasons she took a hiatus on her music career.
Between 2014 and 2015, Cristie joined theOrquesta Olympus and, in 2016,Nueva Alaska inZaragoza. One year later, in 2017, she joinedKubo Project.[11]
She decided to take part on the 2020 edition ofThe Voice in Spain, where she was praised byPablo López (formerly Cristie's pianist and back vocals),[12]Antonio Orozco,Alejandro Sanz andLaura Pausini.[13] She was on the show during eleven weeks as part of Pausini's team.[14]
Her live audition on this format ofCanal Sur television (Spain) was a real success as the four coaches pressing their star buttons and praising her performance ofAretha Franklin'sNatural Woman.[15]
| Year | Title | Details | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Puro teatro | O'clock Music (#35 Afyve). | |
| 2006 | Con la suerte en los tacones | Independent |
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | No quiero sufrir | Single |
| 2004 | Pal infierno | Puro teatro |
| 2004 | Ámame | |
| 2005 | Ámame (remix) | |
| 2006 | Marbella | Con la suerte en los tacones |
| 2006 | Apunta mi teléfono | |
| 2022 | Como una flor | Single |
| Year | Song | Role | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | No te dejaré jamás(Tony Santos ft. Cristie) | Dancer | Alma negra |