Alfred García Castillo (born 14 March 1997) is a Spanish singer-songwriter. He gained national recognition when he took part in series nine of the reality television talent competition ''

Operación Triunfo ''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements. Format There are many versions of t ...

'', where he finished in fourth place, and also represented Spain in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song " Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broa ...

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, alongside

Amaia Romero Amaia Romero Arbizu (born 3 January 1999), better known as Amaia, is a Spanish singer-songwriter and pianist. After participating in many talent shows, she gained national recognition after winning series nine of musical television contest ''O ...

, with the song "

Tu canción "Tu canción" () is a song performed by Spanish singers Amaia Romero and Alfred García, and written by Raúl Gómez and Sylvia Santoro. The performing duo is identified and credited as Amaia y Alfred. The song was released as a digital downloa ...

", finishing in twenty-third place.

Early life

García was born on 14 March 1997 in El Prat de Llobregat, Catalonia. He began formal training in vocals and trombone at the age of seven. García is also a self-taught guitarist, drummer, and keyboardist. He received musical training at the ''Unió Filharmònica del Prat''. García is studying for a degree in audiovisual communication, as well as being in his third year of a higher degree in music and jazz and modern music studies at the ''Taller de Músics'', a music school in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Career

2012–2016: Beginnings

At the age of fifteen, García released the self-produced and self-published album ''Beginning''. At the age of seventeen, thanks to the musical project La Capsa, he recorded his first single "She Looks So Beautiful", written by himself and produced by Argentine musician Esteban García. The single won the Audience Award at the Festival Cara B in

. García has also released a musical short film, ''A Free Christmas Story''. In 2016, García participated in season four of talent show ''

La Voz Media United States * ''La Voz Hispana de Virginia'', a magazine * ''La Voz de Houston'', a newspaper * ''La Voz'' (Phoenix), a newspaper * ''La Voz'', a publication in New York's Hudson Valley owned by Bard College Other media * ''La Voz ...

'', the Spanish version of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

''. He performed John Mayer's "

Waiting on the World to Change "Waiting on the World to Change" is a song by American singer-songwriter John Mayer. It was released as the lead single from his third studio album, '' Continuum'' (2006), on August 1, 2006. The song enjoyed commercial success as a single and won ...

" in the Blind Auditions, but none of the coaches turned for him. Also in 2016, García released the self-produced and self-published acoustic album ''Inblack (Volume One)''.

2017–2018: ''Operación Triunfo'' and Eurovision

In 2017, García auditioned for series nine of reality television music competition ''

''. On 23 October 2017, he was selected to enter the show's "Academy". On 29 January 2018, during the special live show "Gala Eurovisión" of ''Operación Triunfo'', he was selected by public vote to represent Spain in the

along with his then-girlfriend

, with the song "

". During the finale of ''Operación Triunfo 2017'' on 5 February 2018, García finished in fourth place. Amaia and Alfred were the second to perform at the Eurovision final, held on 12 May 2018 in

, Portugal. They placed twenty-third out of the 26 participating countries with 61 points: 43 from the professional juries and 18 from the televote.

2018–2019: ''1016''

Two days after returning from the Eurovision Song Contest, García started to record ''1016'', his first studio album with a major record label,

Universal Music Spain Universal Music Group owns, or has a joint share in, many of the record labels listed here. According to UMG official site, the main labels are Abbey Road Studios, Bravado, Capitol Music Group, Decca Records, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammopho ...

. The album was preceded by the ''1016 Is Coming'' tour in festivals across Spain in Summer 2018. In addition, García performed at a special charity concert of ''Operación Triunfo 2017'' at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...

in Madrid on 29 June 2018, and made special guest appearances at concerts by

David Bisbal David Bisbal Ferre (born 5 June 1979) is a Spanish singer, songwriter, and actor. He gained his initial fame as a runner-up on the interactive reality television show ''Operación Triunfo''. He has since released five studio albums, all of whi ...

Love of Lesbian Love of Lesbian is a Spanish indie pop band. They were nominated for the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Spanish Act at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards. Their album ''La noche eterna. Los días no vividos.'' reached number 1 in 2012. On March ...

, among others. "De la Tierra hasta Marte", the first single from '' 1016'', was released on 5 December 2018. The album was released on 14 December 2018 and debuted at number 2 on the Spanish Albums Chart. In support of his debut studio album, ''1016'', García embarked on the '' 1016 Tour'', which began on 28 February 2019 and ended on 9 November 2019.

2021: ''1997''

After a year-long hiatus, on 15 January 2021, García released "Los Espabilados", which served both as the first single from his upcoming studio album and the theme song for the

Movistar+ Movistar Plus+ (formerly Movistar+) is the trade name of the subscription platform for digital television owned by Telefónica, which operates in Spain. The service is distributed via optical fiber and ADSL and as well as with satellites such as ...

series '' Alive and Kicking''. Follow-up singles "Praia dos Moinhos" y "Toro de Cristal" were also included in the studio album ''1997'', released on 29 October 2021. The album debuted at number 5 on the Spanish Albums Chart.

2022–2023: Benidorm Fest and ''Tu cara me suena''

In September 2022, García was announced as part of the cast of the tenth season of reality television series '' Tu cara me suena''. In October 2022, García was selected to participate in the second edition of

Benidorm Fest Benidorm Fest is a Spanish song contest organised by the public communication company (RTVE) in collaboration with the to determine 's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, beginning with 2022. It is held in Benidorm, Valencian Community, at ...

, the song festival organised to determine 's entry for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, with the song "Desde que tú estás". He finished in fifth place in the second semi-final, one position short of advancing to the national final.

Discography

;Albums * ''Beginning'' (2012) * ''Inblack (Volume One)'' (2016) * '' 1016'' (2018) * ''1997'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Alfred 1997 births Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2018 Living people People from El Prat de Llobregat Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Spain Spanish pop singers English-language singers from Spain Operación Triunfo contestants Benidorm Fest contestants 21st-century Spanish singers 21st-century Spanish male singers