Ruth Lorenzo Pascual (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈrut ˈloɾenθo]; born 10 November 1982)[2] is a Spanish singer, composer and television personality, best known in the UK for coming fifth in the fifth series of the British TV talent show The X Factor in 2008. She represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Dancing In The Rain", scoring 74 points in the final and finishing in 10th place; the song peaked at #5 in the Spanish Singles Chart And also charted in the UK at #100.

Ruth Lorenzo
Lorenzo in 2014
Lorenzo in 2014
Background information
Birth nameRuth Lorenzo Pascual
Born (1982-11-10) 10 November 1982 (age 42)
Las Torres de Cotillas (Murcia), Spain
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active2008–present
LabelsVirgin/EMI Records (2009–2010)[1]
H&I Music (2012–2013)
Roster Music (2013–2017)
Raspberry Records (2017–present)
Binary Beryl Music (2022–present)
Websiteruthlorenzo.com

Artists such as Auryn and Dannii Minogue[3] have included compositions of hers in their albums.

Her debut single "Burn" entered the Spanish Singles Charts and reached number 16 when she released the single on 27 June 2011. She released her first UK single "The Night" on 15 June 2013, featuring a club remix by Almighty. [citation needed]

Her debut album 'Planeta Azul' was released on 27 October 2014, with number six single on the Spanish Single Charts ‘Gigantes’. In November 2017 ‘Good Girls Don't Lie’ was released as the first single of her second album 'Loveaholic' (9 March 2018). The song made it to number one iTunes Spain on the first 24 hours.[4] Loveaholic includes a collaboration of guitarist Jeff Beck.

She achieved a Guinness World Records in 2016 for performing in eight different Spanish cities in 12 hours, in a breast cancer awareness charity event.[5]

Early life

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Ruth Lorenzo was born on 10 November 1982 in the Region of Murcia, in south-eastern Spain. At a very young age she became a fan of the musical Annie and although she had no idea of what the words meant she would sing along to the songs in English. When she was six years old she discovered music by Catalan opera singer Montserrat Caballé, and after her mother bought her an album by Caballé, Lorenzo began to sing opera, imitating Caballé's vocals until she was pitch perfect. At the age of 12, Lorenzo's family moved to Utah in the United States and this was the first time she had the opportunity to be involved in music at school.[6] After much encouragement from her teachers, Lorenzo was entered into competitions and played lead roles in musical productions such as The Phantom of the Opera and My Fair Lady. When Lorenzo turned 16 the family returned to Spain and although having had singing lessons by this time, she had to cancel these lessons due to family financial difficulty and as a result Lorenzo gave up on her dream of becoming a recording artist. When Lorenzo was 19 she joined a rock band, which was a challenge for her as she had only sung opera music. She also made a big decision to quit her job in her family's business in order to pursue her dreams once again, but after three years of touring around Spain the group decided to split up. Ruth landed a contract at Polaris World where as well as performing, she worked as a PR consultant.

Career

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2008: The X Factor

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In 2008, Lorenzo auditioned for the fifth series of The X Factor in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh. She sang "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". She impressed the judges and made it through to the next stage of the show, "bootcamp". Lorenzo passed both stages of bootcamp and was sent to St. Tropez with the other successful contestants from the over-25s category. There she auditioned in front of Dannii Minogue who was her X Factor mentor. After an emotional performance of "True Colors", sung in Spanish, Minogue decided to pick Lorenzo for her final three who would proceed to the live shows. On the first live show she sang "Take My Breath Away" in English and Spanish. She had mainly good comments, especially from Cowell, who told her she should sing in Spanish more often. However, the next week Lorenzo sang "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" in English only, and ended up in the bottom two. She performed "Purple Rain" in the singoff, and it saved her into the next week. In Week 5, Lorenzo was in the bottom two again against one of the crowd favourites Laura White. This time she sang "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and was saved by Cowell, Minogue and Walsh. Her performance was overshadowed by the uproar over White's departure. Voting statistics revealed that White received more votes than Lorenzo meaning if Walsh sent the result to deadlock, White would’ve been saved. During Take That week, Lorenzo sang "Love Ain't Here Anymore". She received high praise for her performance, with Cowell saying it was sensational. By the quarter-final, Lorenzo was Minogue's last remaining act and she was eliminated after receiving the fewest public votes. Lorenzo bowed out with another performance of "Always". Former friend Alexandra Burke went on to win the show.

Performances on The X Factor

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2009–10: After The X Factor

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Lorenzo performed at gigs across the UK and Ireland in December 2008 and January 2009.[7] In February and March 2009, she joined the X Factor Live tour with fellow finalists. She also was nominated for three awards at the Digital Spy Reality TV Awards. Ruth officially confirmed her record deal with Virgin Records on May 6 with an interview with Xpose.

In 2010, Lorenzo was approached by Spanish TV Channel Cuatro and asked to write a song for their new fictional drama Valientes. She accepted and composed two songs for the show, one for the opening ("Quiero Ser Valiente") and one for the end credits ("Te Puedo Ver"). Ruth performed "Quiero Ser Valiente" on Friday 22 January on Spanish talent show Fama a bailar (which was also aired on Cuatro).[8] In July 2010 it was revealed that Lorenzo had written songs for Dannii Minogue's comeback album revealed on Dannii's ITV2 show Style Queen.[citation needed] Lorenzo confirmed in a blog posting that she parted away from Virgin Records/EMI due to "creative differences"[1] and that she would continue working on her album as an independent artist.

 
Ruth performing live in Ayr, Scotland

2011–13: The Raspberry Pattern

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She signed up to website indiegogo.com where fans helped to fund her debut single. The funding was for airplay, the video shooting, marketing and PR services.[9] The CD version included "Burn", an acoustic version of the song and "Eternity".[10] The Raspberry Pattern became the name of her band.[11] Lorenzo was booked for more dates around the United Kingdom for the summer and autumn of 2011. Ruth released a free track download titled "The Night" for her Facebook fans in August 2012 which was officially released in June 2013 with a videoclip. On 11 November a lyric video for her single "Love is Dead" was uploaded to Ruth's YouTube channel. The single was released under the independent H&I Music on digital platforms, including the song "Pain" as a B-side. At the end of 2013 Ruth signed with a new record company, Spanish company Roster Music and unveiled her new website.

During 2013 she took part on the Celebrities On Ice tour in the UK.[12]

2014: Planeta Azul and Eurovision Song Contest

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Lorenzo at a rehearsal in Copenhagen for Eurovision 2014

Her website announced the upcoming release of her first studio album.[13] She left to Los Angeles, California to record various tracks for her album, to be titled Planeta Azul.[14]

On 20 January,2014 Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) selected Ruth Lorenzo as one of the potential five candidates to represent Spain at Eurovision Song Contest.[15] Months earlier the eurovision-spain.com website made a survey known as "La Elección Interna" among Eurovision fans and international juries from thirteen different countries to check who could be the ideal Spanish candidate to represent Spain. Ruth came second in the list among one hundred different Spanish candidates[16] In February the song "Dancing In The Rain" was released[17] as one of the Spanish pre-selection entries for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. The song was released on 18 February and it became number one on iTunes Spain. On 22 February she won the Spanish national final. Therefore, she represented Spain in the contest with the song "Dancing In The Rain" on 10 May 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The song finished 10th during the grand final.

Her debut album Planeta Azul was released on 27 October 2014. The album contains thirteen new songs, and also a new version of "Dancing In The Rain". The release of the album was preceded by the release of its lead single, "Gigantes", on 7 October 2014,[18] which debuted at number six on the Spanish Singles Chart. The official video for the single was released on 22 October.

2015–2016: After Eurovision, Tu Cara Me Suena

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In 2015, Lorenzo served as a judge in the Spanish talent show Levántate (Spanish version of Stand Up for Your Country), aired on Telecinco from 10 February 2015 to 17 March 2015.[19] She also served as a member of the Spanish jury in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.

On 16 October 2015, a special repackage of her debut album Planeta Azul was released, which includes new tracks and some songs she had recorded previously in English language. One of the new tracks, titled "99", was released as a single on 28 August 2015.[20][21]

On 30 July 2015, Lorenzo was announced to join the cast of the fourth season of spanish version of the television show Your Face Sounds Familiar, in which celebrity contestants impersonate a different iconic music artist on stage each week.[22] The season premiered on 18 September 2015 on Antena 3.[23] In the season finale that took place on 29 January 2016, she was declared winner with 47% of the televote.[24]

Performances on Tu Cara Me Suena

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Voces Tour

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After a short break from television, the artist focused on music, recording her new album between Berlin, Stockholm, Madrid, Barcelona and London.

On 14 May, she joined the television show Objetivo Eurovisión to discuss about the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 and the Spanish candidate.[25]

In September 2016, she announced that on 19 October she would achieve a Guinness World Record with the goal of getting funds breast cancer cause. The record consisted in holding eight concerts in eight different Spanish towns in less than twelve hours (Un Récord Por Ellas - a Guinness Record Award for Women).

 
Ruth Lorenzo receiving the World Guinness Records Certificate

At the end of 2016, she started the Voces Tour touring Spain, visiting some cities as Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Murcia.

2017: Entrepreneurial projects

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On 13 October 2017 and after a little break from music industry, Lorenzo released "Good Girls Don't Lie", the first single of her upcoming second studio album Loveaholic.[26]

She also worked on a collaborative cover of the Spanish hit song "¿A quién le importa?", originally performed by Alaska y Dinarama, as the anthem for WorldPride Madrid 2017, with other famous Spanish singers such as Marta Sánchez, Rosa López, Vicky Larraz, La Terremoto de Alcorcón, Soraya Arnelas and Nancys Rubias, among others.[27]

On 29 September 2017, Lorenzo announced "Good Girls Don't Lie", the first song of Loveaholic. The song was released on the 13 October 2017, reaching number one in sales on the main digital platforms such as iTunes, Google Play Music and Amazon. The song became trending topic on Twitter during that first weekend, and it also aired on main Spanish radio stations. Soon after that she announced The Loveaholic Tour for 2018.

Record label: Raspberry Records

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After declining an offer from Virgin EMI Records, being part of Roster Music from 2013 and releasing a charity single with Universal Music.Due creative differences, Lorenzo decided to create her own record label, Raspberry Records, and release her music under this label.

White Lion

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Lorenzo announced the creation of her own clothing line, White Lion. The name was chosen in homage to the name given to her fans (lions).

2018–2019: Loveaholic, La Llamada, new single, and television projects

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Her second album, Loveaholic, was released on 9 March 2018; the album includes a collaboration with Jeff Beck. It peaked at number 9 on the Spanish Albums Chart.

In December 2018, Lorenzo debuted in musical theatre with the role of God in La Llamada, at the Teatro Lara in Madrid.[28]

On March 29, 2019, she performed at the sold out Festival Mil·leni at the Teatro Coliseum in Barcelona.

In May 2019, Lorenzo starred in an episode of the La Sexta travel show Viajeras con B.

In June 2019, she released the single "Underworld". Its official music video was directed by Pablo H. Smith and produced by The Panda Bear Show.

During the summer of 2019, she toured Spain with La Llamada: Musical.

In November 2019, she starred in the multimedia event show El gran secuestro for Playz.[29][30]

2020–present: Crisálida, Veo cómo cantas and Benidorm Fest

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In June 2020, Lorenzo released "Miedo", the first single from her third studio album, to be titled Crisálida.[31] A second single that precedes the album, the same-titled "Crisálida", will be released on January 29, 2021.[32]

In 2021, Lorenzo joined the Antena 3 music game show Veo cómo cantas (the Spanish version of I Can See Your Voice) as a panelist.[33] In 2022, she was guest judge on season 2 of Drag Race España.[34] Lorenzo was also a contestant on the seventh season of reality television cooking show MasterChef Celebrity.[35]

In January 2023, she was confirmed as the main host of the RTVE singing competition series Cover Night, along with Ana Guerra and Abraham Mateo.[36][37]

In January 2024, she was announced as one of the hosts of Benidorm Fest 2024, the Spanish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, alongside Marc Calderó and Ana Prada.[38]

On 12 September 2024, she was revealed to be one of the presenters of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024, along with Melani García and Marc Clotet.[39]

Discography

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Studio albums
Extended plays
  • Burn (2011)
  • The Night (2013)
  • Love Is Dead (2013)
  • Dancing In The Rain (Cahill Remixes) (2014)
  • Renuncio (Remixes) (2015)

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2008 The X Factor Herself / contestant 5th place
The Xtra Factor Herself
2014 Mira quién va a Eurovisión Herself / Contestant Winner
Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Herself / Spanish entrant 10th place
2015 Levántate Herself / Judge
2015–2016 Tu cara me suena Herself / Contestant Winner
2019 El gran secuestro Herself Multimedia event
2020 Operación Triunfo Herself / Stand-in Judge 1 episode
2021–2022 Veo cómo cantas Herself / Panelist
2022 Tu cara me suena Herself / Stand-in Judge 1 episode
Benidorm Fest 2022 Herself / Guest performer Semi-final 2
Drag Race España Herself / Guest judge 1 episode
MasterChef Celebrity Herself / Contestant 3rd evicted
2023 Cover Night Herself / Main host
2024 Benidorm Fest 2024 Herself / Main host
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 Herself / Main host
TBA El Piano Herself / Host

Guinness World Records 2016

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On 19 October, International Breast Cancer Awareness Day, she performed in 12 hours in eight different Spanish cities, achieving the Guinness World Records for this special cause. The name of the event was "Un récord por ellas".[40]

Awards and nominations

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Year Category Award Results
2008 Award nomination for Sexiest Female on a Reality TV Show Digital Spy Nominated
Award nomination for Best Contestant on a Reality TV Show Digital Spy Nominated
Award nomination for best moment on a Reality TV Show (singing Purple Rain when in the Bottom Two) Digital Spy Nominated
2009 Award nomination for Best British Single, "Hero". (X Factor 2008 Finalists — «Hero») Brit Award Nominated
2014 Spanish national final for Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Mira quién va a Eurovisión (TVE) Won
"Hechicero" - Best Original Song Goya Awards Pre-selection
2015 "Hechicero" - Best Documentary Song Hollywood Music Awards in Media [41] Nominated
Ruth Lorenzo - Best Singer Premio ESAEM [42] Won
2016 Un Récord Por Ellas Guinness World Records[43] Won
2018 Best National Live Performance Yudeo Awards 2018[44] Won
Best National Front Cover "Loveaholic" by Juanka Campos Yudeo Awards 2018 Won
Bop of the year "Good Girls don't lie" Yudeo Awards 2018 Won
Best soloist with "Good Girls Don't Lie" Yudeo Awards 2018 Won
Best National Album "Loveaholic" Yudeo Awards 2018 Won

References

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  1. ^ a b "'X Factor' Lorenzo splits from EMI". Digital Spy. 4 August 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  2. ^ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Dannii Minogue is releasing a new greatest hits and it'll feature a new song called "'Cos You're Beautiful' • Popjustice". 24 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo, número 1 en virales de Spotify en España". Jenesaispop.com. 18 October 2017.
  5. ^ "La cantautora Ruth Lorenzo establece récord con ocho conciertos en 12 horas a través de España para recaudar fondos para fundación para la cura del cáncer". Guinness World Records. 25 October 2016.
  6. ^ "La murciana que cabreó a Price". El País. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo compone e interpreta la cabecera y el cierre de 'Valientes'". FormulaTV. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo - Single Pre-Sales and VIP Exclusives". Indiegogo. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  10. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo - Single Pre-Sales and VIP Exclusives". Indiegogo.
  11. ^ "Entrevista con Ruth Lorenzo". Blogs.formulatv.com.
  12. ^ Laws, Roz (19 April 2013). "Q & A with Celebrities On Ice star Ruth Lorenzo". Birminghammail.co.uk.
  13. ^ "La Reina - Ruth Lorenzo". Ruthlorenzo.com. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  14. ^ Thorne, Liam (2 June 2014). "Ruth Lorenzo heads to Los Angeles to record new album". Wiwibloggs.com.
  15. ^ "TVE confirma a Ruth Lorenzo, Brequette, Jorge González, Raúl y la Dama para su preselección". Eurovision-spain.com. 20 January 2014.
  16. ^ "La joven promesa Roko se alza con el título de artista ideal de España para Eurovisión". Eurovision-spain.com. 29 September 2013.
  17. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo -"Dancing in the rain"". Rtve.es. 28 February 2014.
  18. ^ "Xavi Martínez presentará en exclusiva Gigantes, lo nuevo de Ruth Lorenzo". Los40.com. 30 September 2014.
  19. ^ "Manuel Villanueva: "Es un orgullo que 'Levántate' sea un formato español y que seamos la primera cadena en ponerlo en marcha"". Formulatv.com.
  20. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo publica hoy su nuevo single en inglés, '99'" (in Spanish). Europa Press. 28 August 2015.
  21. ^ "RUTH LORENZO - 99 (SONG)". Hung Medien.
  22. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo concursará en 'Tu Cara Me Suena'". 20 Minutos (in Spanish).
  23. ^ ""Tu cara me suena", un espectáculo total". La Razón (in Spanish).
  24. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo gana 'Tu cara me suena'". El Mundo (in Spanish).
  25. ^ "tour poster". Twitter.
  26. ^ Gregoris, Ángel M. (13 October 2017). "Ruth Lorenzo presenta Good girls don't lie, primer single de su esperado nuevo álbum". Eurovision-spain.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  27. ^ "'A quién le importa': Así suena el himno oficial del World Pride Madrid 2017". Lasexta.com. 28 June 2017.
  28. ^ "RUTH LORENZO SE SUMA A 'LA LLAMADA' DE LOS JAVIS". Los 40. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  29. ^ "#ElGranSecuestro, o cómo revolucionar la TV". Blog de José de Isasa (in Spanish). 24 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  30. ^ LaInformacion. "Un secuestro de culto, emitido en directo por RTVE". La Información (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  31. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo regresa cantando a sus miedos". El Día (in Spanish). 24 November 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  32. ^ "RUTH LORENZO ANUNCIA LA FECHA DE LANZAMIENTO DE SU NUEVA CANCIÓN: 'CRISÁLIDA'". Los 40 (in Spanish). 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  33. ^ "Manel Fuentes y los asesores de 'Veo cómo cantas' comparten fotos en el inicio de sus grabaciones". Eldiario.es (in European Spanish). 15 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  34. ^ @DragRaceEs (1 May 2022). "La semana que viene nos espera: · Lucha de sumos 🤼‍♀️ · Spots publicitarios para convencer a todas las drag queens del mundo que España es el mejor destino 😍 · @RuthLorenzo de jurado invitada 💫 👠 Directo ▶ http://atres.red/sj3ec #DragRace6" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 May 2022 – via Twitter.
  35. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo, tercera expulsada de MasterChef Celebrity 7". El Mundo (in European Spanish). 27 September 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  36. ^ "Exclusiva: Abraham Mateo presentará 'Cover Night' en TVE junto a Ruth Lorenzo y Ana Guerra". El Televisero (in Spanish). 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  37. ^ "Chanel, Mónica Naranjo y Juan Magán serán jurado de 'Cover Night', nuevo talent musical de TVE, con Miguel Bosé". Eldiario.es (in European Spanish). 4 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  38. ^ Solano, Cristhian; Mancheño, José Miguel (9 January 2024). "Ruth Lorenzo, Marc Calderó y Ana Prada serán los presentadores del Benidorm Fest 2024" [Ruth Lorenzo, Marc Calderó and Ana Prada will be the presenters of Benidorm Fest 2024]. ESCplus España (in European Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  39. ^ "The hosts of Junior Eurovision 2024 revealed". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  40. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo bate un récord Guinness al actuar en ocho ciudades en 12 horas". Europapress.es. 20 October 2016.
  41. ^ "2015 Music In Visual Media Nominees". Hmmawards.com. 2 November 2015.
  42. ^ "Ruth Lorenzo recibe Premio ESAEM 2015" – via YouTube.
  43. ^ "La cantautora Ruth Lorenzo establece récord con ocho conciertos en 12 horas a través de España para recaudar fondos para fundación para la cura del cáncer". Guinnessworldrecords.es. 25 October 2016.
  44. ^ "Premios Yudeo 2018 | Ruth Lorenzo arrasa (5) y Sergio Rivero da la sorpresa (3) en la categoría nacional o latina". Odiomalley.com. 1 August 2018.
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  Media related to Ruth Lorenzo at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
2014
Succeeded by
Preceded by Junior Eurovision Song Contest presenter
2024
With: Marc Clotet and Melani García
Succeeded by