Spain is not a country primarily famous for its musicians, but like any other country, it has produced some incredibly talented people over the years. Many of these singers made it to the international stage, while others stayed famous within the country.
Spain has many talented men and women, but the singers on this list will highlight the female talent from the European country. Spanish female singers show their talent through different genres and avenues, but all hail from one country. These Spanish singers are strong, beautiful, and proud of their Spanish heritage.
Let’s dive into our list of 19 of the greatest and most famous female Spanish singers of all time!
1. Charo
Maria Rosario Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza, who is more popularly known as Charo, is an icon in Spanish music, classical guitar, and television. She’s an actress and comedienne, as well as a singer.
Charo started playing guitar when she was nine years old, training under the world’s best classical guitarist Andres Segovia. She has released guitar and vocal tracks since 1968, ranging from disco to flamenco.
Charo’s 1994 flamenco album, Guitar Passion, shot her to musical fame, although her years on American television had already cemented her place as a celebrity.
She is still active in the music world and is known for much more than her stint on American television.
2. Sara Montiel
Born María Antonia Abad Fernández, Sara Montiel was one of Spain’s most popular actresses and singer. Montiel was also considered the highest-paid star of Spanish cinema and made over 50 movies.
She began her acting career early, starring in her first movie at only 16 years old. She also made several films in Spain, America, and Mexico, shooting her to fame.
However, Montiel is also known for her angelic voice. At the end of her movie career, she used the musical movies she starred in to create a stage presence for herself. Using the songs she sang in these movies, Montiel performed live and recorded over 500 songs.
At one point being the highest-paid Spanish movie star, Montiel was fiercely independent and turned down an American movie contract because of stereotypical casting.
She was incredibly successful and a savvy businesswoman, creating her legacy as she acted and sang.
3. Belinda
Belinda Peregrín Schüll, more known as her stage name Belinda, is another musician who got her start acting.
Born in Madrid, Spain, she and her mother moved to Mexico City when she was very young. At the age of ten, Belinda was cast as a child actress in a telenovela, “Amigos x Siempre.” S. She used this money and childhood fame to springboard her musical career.
When she was 21, Belinda released a self-named album, which shot her to popularity and earned her the moniker “Princess of Latin Pop.”
Since then, she has also released several very successful singles and provided the soundtrack for some of Mexico’s most popular telenovelas. Her second album, Utopia, made platinum and won her two Latin Grammy nominations.
4. Lola Flores
Born María Dolores Flores Ruiz, Lola Flores was one of the most famous singers and actresses of her time.
She had a strong personality and used it to her advantage, in a time when women weren’t given many options. Eventually, Flores became the matriarch of a dynasty of well-known Spanish musicians.
Flores started performing young and was soon spotted by a Spanish film director. After that, Flores’s career took off and she starred in over 35 Spanish films. Most of these films depicted the Andalusian culture, and their popularity brought the culture into the limelight.
Lola Flores was a pioneer in music, dance, and film. She paved the way for other Spanish dancers and singers, including her daughters, to rise to fame.
5. Melody
Melodia Ruiz Gutiérrez, better known as Melody, has been a famous Spanish singer since the age of 10.
In 2001, she released “El Baile Del Gorilla,” which became one of the biggest hits of the year. Since then, Melody has released six different albums, varying from dance music to hip-hop.
Melody has been on Spanish reality television, participated in singing contests, and released multiple singles in addition to her albums. She has been nominated for two Latin Grammys and continues to release music and stay active on social media.
6. Rosario Flores
Following in the footsteps of her famous mother, Rosario Flores is another well-known female Spanish singer who made a made for herself. She is one of Lola Flores’s daughters, and she inherited her mother’s musical talent and strong personality.
Flores was born in Madrid in 1963 and was introduced to music through her mother. She has released albums in various genres, including jazz, flamenco, rock, and bossa nova music.
She has also won two Latin Grammys and has been nominated for seven altogether. Throughout her career, Flores has released 12 albums.
Her sister Lolita and her brother Antonio were also part of the musical dynasty of the Flores family.
7. Natalia Jiminez
Natalia Altea Jiménez Sarmento, simply known as Natalia Jiminez, is one of the greatest female Spanish singers working today.
Jiminez started performing at age 15, busking near the subway lines of her native Madrid. Her big break came when Sony offered her a deal, allowing her to join a singing group.
After becoming the lead singer of a band for eight years, Jiminez released her first solo album in 2011. Since then, she’s jumped to fame, winning multiple Latin Grammys and Grammys.
Jiminez has worked with some of the biggest names in Spanish music, from Marc Anthony to Ricky Martin.
8. Rosalia
Rosalia Vila Tobella, known internationally as Rosalia, has reached fame for her collaborations with American artists like Bad Bunny and Travis Scott. However, she is a worthy musician in her own right, having graduated with honors from Catalonia College of Music.
Rosalia rose to fame with her first album, Los Ángeles, a collaboration with Spanish musician Raul Refree. She is famous for flamenco pop, and her Urbano music has become internationally famous with a reggae-based track.
She continues to release albums and just recently put out her third solo album in March of 2022.
9. Marta Sanchez
The daughter of opera singer Antonio Sánchez Camporro, Marta Sanchez was one of the most popular Spanish female singers of the 1980s.
After being discovered and asked to join the Spanish pop band, Ole Ole, Sanchez rose to stardom and became a national sweetheart. Not soon after, Sanchez decided to leave the band and pursue a solo career.
Thanks to her success with Ole Ole, her first solo album had three incredibly popular hits: “Desesperada,” “Tal Vez,” and “De Mujer A Mujer.” She hit the top ten in Spain and Latin America, and her solo career took off.
Since then, Sanchez has collaborated with artists like Sting and DJ Sammy. She’s recorded a song for a Quentin Tarantino movie, released several more albums, and remains popular to this day.
10. Lolita Flores
Born from a family of musicians, Lolita Flores is the younger sister of Spanish singer Rosario Flores and the daughter of yet another famous singer Lola Flores. With her brother, singer Antonio Flores, she completes the Flores family dynasty.
While she has not been as prolific as her mother and sister, Flores has created her own musical and acting legacy. Many of Flores’ albums accompany her telenovelas and movies. Some of these songs include “Si La Vida Son Dos Días,” “Sarandonga,” and “Lo Voy A Dividir.”
In 2002, she even won a Goya award for Best New Actress and wrote some songs on the soundtrack.
Her daughter, Elena, carries on the tradition and is also a Spanish actress.
11. Montserrat Caballe
Of course, not everyone on this list is famous for being a Spanish pop star. Montserrat Caballe is one of the most famous female opera singers of all time, and her specialty was opera.
Caballe was born in Barcelona and rose to fame as a Verdi performer. She was already a famous soprano when asked to perform the 1992 Olympic theme, “Barcelona,” with superstar Freddie Mercury.
Caballe won multiple awards and Grammys throughout her career. By the time of her death in 2018, she was proclaimed one of the greatest singers in Spanish history. Her voice remains a legacy for Spain and the entire world.
12. Isabel Pantoja
Born to a family of artists in Seville, Spain, Isabel Pantoja is another big name in the Spanish music industry.
She began singing early in her life. By age 7, she was performing with her cousins, and at age 17, she released her first song. From there, her fame only increased, and she is now known in Spain as “La Pantoja.”
Pantoja rejuvenated a dying Spanish music genre called “Copia.” Focused on stories of marginalized characters and love gone wrong, these ballads represent the less-talked-about side of Spanish culture.
Because of her popularity, Pantoja has become an icon of Copia and Spanish pop. She paved the way for younger female artists to sing Copia and has released more than a dozen albums over the years.
13. Monica Naranjo
Having one of the most powerful vocals in both Spain and Latin America, Monica Naranjo knew from a very early age that she loved music.
She was gifted with a voice recorder at age 14 and enrolled in music school. From that moment on, Naranjo started composing and recording her songs.
This talent didn’t go to waste, because when she was just 20 years old, Naranjo released her first album. It was a hit in Mexico, featuring songs that ranked on the charts such as “Fuego De Pasión,” “El Amor Coloca,” and “Sola.”
This eventually enabled her to release more albums that met commercial success. Palabra de Mujer, her second album, also became popular not just in Spain but also in North America, cementing Naranjo’s fame.
Monica Naranjo is still working and has collaborated with famous singers such as Luciano Pavarotti and Mina Mazzini.
14. Bebe
Maria Nieves Rebolledo Vila is better known by her stage name, Bebe. Born in Valencia, Spain, Bebe’s parents were folk singers her entire childhood. She follows in her parents’ legacy but puts her spin on it with her Latin pop music.
Bebe started singing early and has released two albums and multiple singles. She’s been nominated for a Grammy and won a Latin Grammy.
Her two most famous solos “Malo” and “Ella” are what brought her from a local celebrity to an international star.
Bebe’s two albums came several years apart due to her intentional break. She wanted to focus on touring and promoting her album well before releasing a new one.
15. Raquel del Rosario
Known as the lead singer for the Spanish band El Sueño de Morfeo, Raquel del Rosario didn’t get her start by knowing anyone famous.
Instead, she was a self-taught musician, writing her songs by age 14. When she was 17, she met professional singer David Feito and joined his group. It was this move that vaulted Rosario into fame and made her a household name in Spain.
Although Rosario had her start, she grew even more famous when she competed in several band competitions and reality singing competitions. She is still a member of the band El Sueño de Morfeo as of this writing.
16. Edurne
Edurne García Almagro, more well-known as simply Edurne, is a Spanish pop and dance singer who got her start by singing in televised competitions.
She was a child actress on soap operas and telenovelas throughout her youth and auditioned for multiple television shows. She didn’t start a musical career until 2006.
Edurne took part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015, representing Spain. Her solo albums have done pretty well in her home country and abroad, with her first single “Despierta” becoming more popular in Mexico than it was in Spain.
Edurne has released 7 albums to date and continues to make music and tour.
17. Aitana
The youngest singer on this list, Aitana Ocaña Morales came to fame through a television singing contest. More known simply as Aitana, she was the runner-up, but her song “Lo Malo” became a number one hit in Spain for several weeks.
“Lo Malo” was not the only one of Aitana’s songs to hit #1. Her next hit, “Telefono” broke many records and was the #1 song streamed in Spain in 2018.
Aitana continues to release music through her contract with Universal Music. Her most recent album has included the top five singles on the charts.
18. Carmen Sevilla
A trailblazer for women in film and on stage, María del Carmen García Galisteo is more popularly known as Carmen Sevilla.
She was one of the most popular Spanish actresses and female singers in the 1960s and is the image of a classic starlet. Her career has spanned movies, television, stage shows, dancing, and of course, singing. Sevilla has truly done it all in her long career.
Although Sevilla is mostly famous for acting, she used her television and film career as a springboard for dancing and singing. The musical films she acted in were part of how Sevilla was able to release her records.
Through this fame, she released several records, toured, and performed on live television many times.
19. Bad Gyal
Born Alba Farelo I Solé, Bad Gyal has chosen a stage name that reflects her anti-establishment, pop-trap music style. She became famous after releasing a cover of Rihanna’s “Work” in her native language of Catalan.
Since then, Bad Gyal has become a fixture in the hip-hop, EDM, and dance hall scene. Her catchy tunes and danceable beats make her music popular in clubs and dance halls all over Spain.
She does more than write music and perform it; Bad Gyal is also an established DJ and model.
Final Thoughts On Our List Of Popular Spanish Female Singers
From opera to hip-hop, these women have risen to fame because of their musical talent. The younger generation builds off the hard work and trailblazing of the older generation to create a lasting legacy of Spanish female musicians.
It’s exciting to see what talent will emerge next!
