Amaia Montero

Amaia Montero was La Oreja de Van Gogh's lead singer for 11 years. She loaned her girlish, ingenue-in-training voice to the group starting way back in 1996 when the band first got together to play for fun in college. A slew of platinum-selling albums later, the band was one of Spain's top-selling pop/rock acts. L.O.V.G. announced they would go on hiatus in 2007 after releasing 2006's platinum-selling Guapa, prompting Montero to leave and pursue a solo career. (Interestingly, L.O.V.G. didn't seem to actually go on hiatus -- they released A las Cinco en el Astoria with a new singer just a year later.) Meanwhile, Montero's self-titled solo debut dropped in early 2009, riding the crest of her record-breaking No. 1 single "Quiero Ser." The singer-songwriter had penned all the songs on the album -- including one dedicated to her father, who was struggling with cancer at the time. He died shortly after the album released, forcing Montero to cancel international promotions.