Daniel Diges García (; born 17 January 1981) is a Spanish singer, pianist, composer and actor. Although born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

proper, he has spent all his youth in the neighbouring city of

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid. Straddling the Henares River, it is located to the northeast of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municipalities ...

Life and career

Diges began his acting career in a theatre company, Teatro Escuela Libre de Alcalá de Henares (TELA), in his native city, and after starring in several TV adverts, he rose to fame in the teen drama television series ''

Nada es para siempre "Nada Es Para Siempre" ( en, italic=yes, Nothing Is Forever) is a ballad written by Amaury Gutiérrez, produced by Sebastián Krys and performed by Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter Luis Fonsi, It was released as the first single from sixt ...

'' (1999–2000), playing the character of "Gato". Over the years he has also hosted children shows like "Megatrix" (2001–2002) and ''Max Clan'' (2003–2004) and has appeared in several TV series playing secondary roles: ''

Hospital Central ''Hospital Central'' ("Central Hospital"; previously ''Línea Roja'') is a Spanish television series that follows the professional and personal lives of the staff of the fictitious Hospital Central in Madrid. New episodes are shown by Telecinco ...

'' (2002), ''Ana y los siete'' (2003), ''

Aquí no hay quien viva ''Aquí'' ("Here") is the title of the debut studio album by Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas, released on March 24, 1997. It was well received by the public. The two singles released were "De Mis Pasos" and "Cómo Sé". Track listin ...

'' (2005) and ''Agitación +IVA'' (2005–2006).

2005-2010: Career in musical theatre

He debuted in big productions of

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

in 2005, playing the roles of Colate in ''En Tu Fiesta Me Colé'' and Mario in ''

Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar ''Hoy no me puedo levantar'' (''Today I Can't Get up'') is a Spanish jukebox musical, with music and lyrics by José María Cano and Nacho Cano, former members of the band Mecano. Based on 32 of the band's greatest hits and named after their fir ...

''. In 2007 and 2008 he played the role of Galileo in the Spanish production of ''

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at numbe ...

'', and he also starred in the Spanish stage adaptation of ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, th ...

'' as Troy Bolton (2008–2009). In 2009 and early 2010, he played the role of Sky in the Spanish production of '' Mamma Mia!''.

2010: Eurovision and first album

On 22 February 2010, Diges won the Spanish national final, ''Eurovisión: Destino Oslo'' and was chosen to represent Spain in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2010 The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "Fairytale (Alexander Rybak song), Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak. Organise ...

with the song "

Algo pequeñito "Algo pequeñito" (, "Something Tiny") is a song recorded by Spanish singer Daniel Diges. The song was written by Jesús Cañadilla, Luis Miguel de la Varga, Alberto Jodar and Daniel Diges himself. It is best known as the Spanish entry at the E ...

", composed by Jesús Cañadilla and arranged and produced by

Alejandro de Pinedo Alejandro Gil Pinedo, better known as Alejandro de Pinedo (born 1965 in Cadiz, Spain) is a Spanish musician, composer, author, music producer, chill-out music artist and CEO of the record company AGP Music. His music is heard in more than 170 c ...

. In March 2010, following his election as the Spanish Eurovision entrant, Diges was signed to

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

with the idea of recording an album in the style of a Spanish

crooner Crooner is a term used to describe primarily male singers who performed using a smooth style made possible by better microphones which picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to access a more dynamic range ...

. The album, self-titled ''Daniel Diges'' and produced by Óscar Gómez, was released on 18 May 2010. It includes mostly songs written by Diges himself, but also two versions of "

" and Spanish versions of " Just the Way You Are" (

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

), "

Everything Everything, every-thing, or every thing is all that exists; the opposite of nothing, or its complement. It is the totality of things relevant to some subject matter. Without expressed or implied limits, it may refer to anything. The universe is ...

" (

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

) and "

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

" (

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

). On 29 May 2010 in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, during his scheduled performance in the Eurovision final, his routine was interrupted by famous stage invader

Jimmy Jump Jaume Marquet i Cot (), more popularly known as Jimmy Jump (born 14 March 1976), is a streaker from Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain, known for interfering in several major entertainment and sporting events. Incidents Football On 4 July 2004, ...

, so according to the rules he was given the chance to perform again after all the other countries had performed. Diges finished on 15th position out of 25 entries.

2010-2012: ''Los Miserables'' and ''Póker de Voces''

After Eurovision, he was signed to play the role of revolutionary leader

Enjolras Enjolras () is a fictional character who acts as the charismatic leader of the Friends of the ABC in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. In both the novel and the musical that it inspired, Enjolras is a revolutionary who fights fo ...

in the Spanish production of 25th anniversary edition of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', that was staged at Teatro Lope de Vega in

(season 2010-2011) and at Barcelona Teatre Musical 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 ...

(season 2011-2012)". In 2011, together with fellow male cast members of ''Los Miserables'' David Ordinas, Gerónimo Rauch and Ignasi Vidal, he created, produced and starred in the concert show ''Póker de Voces''. On 18 July 2011 Gerónimo Rauch was replaced by

Pablo Puyol Pablo Puyol Ledesma (born 26 December 1975) is a Spanish actor, dancer and singer. He is most known for appearing as Hugo in 45 episodes of '' Arrayán'' TV Series and in 24 episodes of ''Ciega a citas'' as Alberto. Biography He was born in M ...

and on 3 June 2012 Ignasi Vidal was replaced by Paco Arrojo. The last concert of ''Póker de Voces'' was held in

Xàtiva Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west ...

on 21 July 2012.

2012-2013: Second album, ''La Bella y la Bestia'', and ''Tu cara me suena''

His second studio album, released on 31 January 2012, was titled ''¿Dónde estabas tú en los 70?'' and consists of covers of famous hits from the 1970s like "

Eres tú Eres (English: "You Are") may refer to: * "Eres" (Alejandro Fernández song), 2008 * "Eres" (Café Tacuba song), 2003 * "Eres", a song by Anahí from her album ''Inesperado'', 2016 * "Eres", a song by José María Napoleón, 1975, later covered ...

". Diges played the role of

Gaston Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston ...

in the national tour of ''La Bella y la Bestia'' (''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'') which opened in September 2012 in

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

to visit 17 Spanish cities. On 27 August 2012, Diges was announced to join the cast of the second season of television show '' Tu cara me suena'' on Antena 3, in which celebrity contestants impersonate a different famous singer on stage in each episode. In the season finale that took place on 11 February 2013, he finished as the runner-up.

2013-2015: ''Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar'', ''Quiero'' and ''Los Miserables'' national tour

On 11 June 2013, Diges was announced to play the lead role (Mario) in the Madrid revival of ''

'', which opened on 12 September 2013 at the Teatro Coliseum. On 29 April 2014, Diges released his third studio album, titled ''Quiero''. Its promotional single was "Te llevas mi amor". In September 2014, Diges was announced to join ''Los Miserables'' again, on national tour, this time to lead as

Jean Valjean Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...

. In January 2015, Diges re-united with David Ordinas, Ignasi Vidal and

for ''Póker de Vocess new concert show. On 5 May 2015, Diges released the single "Te veo", composed by

Ruth Lorenzo Ruth Lorenzo Pascual (; born 10 November 1982), better known as Ruth Lorenzo, is a Spanish singer and composer, perhaps best known in the UK for coming fifth in the The X Factor (UK series 5), fifth series of the British TV talent show ''The X Fa ...

and Jacobo Calderón.

2015-2019: ''Calle Broadway'', ''Les Misérables Brasil'' and ''Les Misérables Mexico''

On 27 November 2015, Diges released his fourth studio album, his first with Universal Music, titled ''Calle Broadway''. It consists of versions of famous songs from

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals. The album was followed by a same-titled tour of concert-shows across the Spanish geography. Beginning in March 2017, Diges led as Jean Valjean in the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian production of ''

'' at the Teatro Renault in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

. On 29 November 2017, it was announced Diges would also lead as Valjean in the 2018 Mexican revival of ''Les Misérables'' at the Teatro Telcel in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. Diges was part of the Mexican production until March 2019.

2019-present: ''El Médico'' and ''Kinky Boots''

Beginning in September 2019, Diges led as Rob J. Cole in the Madrid musical ''El Médico'', at the Teatro Nuevo Apolo. In October 2021, the Madrid production of '' Kinky Boots'' opened at the Espacio Delicias with Diges as Charlie Price.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards

*Premio del Teatro Musical (''Musical Theatre Award'') for Best Breakthrough Actor for ''

'' (2007) *Premio Nacional de Teatro (''National Theatre Award'') for Best Actor in Musicals (2010) *Nominated – Premio de la Música (''Spanish Music Award'') for Best Breakthrough Songwriter for "

" (shared with Alberto Jódar Collado, Jesús Cañadilla Gómez and Luis Miguel de la Varga Velasco) (2011) *Nominated — Premio Dama de la Victoria for Best Lead Actor in a Musical for ''Los Miserables'' (Mexican production) (2019)

References

External links

*
Official WebsiteDaniel Diges at Warner Music Spain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diges, Daniel 1981 births Living people People from Alcalá de Henares Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2010 Spanish male musical theatre actors Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Spain Spanish pianists Latin pop singers Male pianists 21st-century pianists 21st-century Spanish male singers 21st-century Spanish singers