Mónica Naranjo

A pop diva with a big voice and even bigger personality, Mónica Naranjo is a full-fledged icon both in her native Spain and across Latin America. ∙ Though she was born and raised in Spain, Naranjo first found fame in Mexico, where her 1994 self-titled debut album sold 900,000 copies in that country alone. ∙ Palabra de Mujer made her an international pop star in 1997, particularly back home in Spain, where it has since become one of the country’s top-selling albums of all time. ∙ Named Best Spanish Female Artist at the 1998 Amigo Awards (a Spanish Grammy equivalent now known as the Odeón Awards), she has also won three World Music Awards. ∙ She first hit No. 1 on the Spanish album charts with 2000’s Minage and repeated the feat with subsequent studio LPs Tarántula (2008) and Lubna (2016). ∙ Naranjo is an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights, and many of her songs—especially the disco smash “Sobreviviré”—have become queer anthems and favorites of the drag community. ∙ A reality TV regular, she has been a judge on such shows as Tu Cara Me Suena and Operación Triunfo, and she hosted Spain’s first season of Temptation Island.