Ilona (born January 24, 1985) is a singer-songwriter born and raised in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. Her beginnings in music were through presentations on the

public transport bus service Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications ...

in Bogotá when she was 15 years old, and her surprised audience gave her money. Ilona played with her guitar on public places and eventually established a band with a bassist and a drummer with whom she performed regularly in bars in the city. At 24, Ilona released her first

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, entitled ''Desde Mi Ventana'' ("From My Window"), produced by

Cachorro López Gerardo Horacio López von Linden (born 3 March 1956), known professionally as Cachorro López, is an Argentine record producer, musician and songwriter. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he enrolled in various musical ensembles, including Zas and ...

, gaining momentum, and receiving a

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

nomination for

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

. Her debut album sold 15,000 units in Colombia earning the singer a Gold album certification. Ilona caught the attention of Argentine musician

León Gieco Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, pseudonym, better known as León Gieco (born on November 20, 1951 in Cañada Rosquín, Argentina) is an Argentine folk rock performer, Music composer, composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular Folklore, ...

and agreed to do a duet with her on the song "En La Zona". English

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

also recorded with Ilona the song "

One Love One Love may refer to: Music * One Love (record producer), Timothy Sommers, American record producer, half of the duo Kinetics & One Love * '' One Love: The Bob Marley Musical'', a 2015 stage musical Albums * ''One Love'' (Blue album) or the tit ...

". In 2004, Colombian singer

Soraya Soraya ( fa, ثریا) is a feminine Persian name. It is derived from the Arabic name for the Pleiades star cluster, ''Thurayya'' ( ar, ثريّة). The name is also popular in Europe due to its association with Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, th ...

, during her promotional tour in Chile, sponsored Ilona, who was visiting the country on a promotional plan on radio stations and newspapers. Upon learning of her presence in Chile, Soraya invited her as the

opening act A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...

of her concert at the Teatro Providencia. Three years later, Ilona released her second album, ''

Allá En El Sur ''Allá En El Sur'' ("Back in the South") is the second studio album released by Colombian singer-songwriter Ilona (singer), Ilona on February 12, 2008. The album received a nomination for a Latin Grammy Award for Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop ...

'', a '

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

' focused album produced by

Benny Faccone Benny Faccone is a recording engineer, mixing engineer, and record producer known for his work with Ricky Martin, Santana, Luis Miguel, Maná and Marco Antonio Solís. He has won 5 Grammy Awards and 12 Latin Grammy Awards. Biography Faccone wa ...

. The album was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album at the 8th Latin Grammy Awards, losing to '' Yo Canto'' by Italian performer

Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with her debut single "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an internat ...

. Ilona acknowledges as an influence to her music the work of

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...

and

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

Discography

* ''Desde mi Ventana'' (2005) * ''

Allá en el Sur ''Allá En El Sur'' ("Back in the South") is the second studio album released by Colombian singer-songwriter Ilona (singer), Ilona on February 12, 2008. The album received a nomination for a Latin Grammy Award for Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop ...

'' (2007) * ''Aquí y Ahora'' (2013) * ''Viajera'' (2017)

Awards and nominations

Latin Grammy Awards

A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the

Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences pt, Academia Latina da Gravação , image = Latin_grammy_logo_(2022).png , image_border = , size = 150px , caption = , map = , msize = , mcaption = , motto = , formation = , extinction ...

to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Ilona has received an award from three nominations; this award was won by the children's album with various artists. , - ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, , Ilona , ,

, , , - ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, , ''

'' , , Best Female Pop Vocal Album , , , - ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , ''

Pombo Musical ''Pombo Musical'' is a Children's music, children's album produced by Colombian recording artist Carlos Vives, as a musical tribute to the Colombian writer and poet Rafael Pombo. It was released on August 13, 2008, under Vives' label Gaira Música ...

'' , , Best Latin Children's Album , , , -

Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica

Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica Premios MTV Latinoamérica (previously known as MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica or VMALA's) was the Latin American version of the Video Music Awards. They were established in 2002 to celebrate the top music videos of the year in Latin Ameri ...

or VMALA's is the Latin American version of the Video Music Awards. Ilona received a nomination in 2006. , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, , Ilona , , Best New Artist — Central , , , -

Premios Shock

Shock Awards are the most important awards in Colombia. Ilona received an award in 2005. , - , 2005 , , Ilona , , Best New Artist, , , - , rowspan="3", 2007 , ''Allá en el Sur'' , Record of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", Ilona , Voice of the Year , , - , Best Artist or National Association , , - , 2013 , , "Tu Mal Me Hizo Bien" , , Best Female Soloist, , , -

Premios Nuestra Tierra

Premios Nuestra Tierra The Premios Nuestra Tierra (Our Country Award) are a recognition that is given to Colombian and some International artists. They have a format similar to that of the Grammy Award, Grammy awards, but restricted to the Colombian scope. History The ...

is an annual awards show honouring the creativity and drive of Colombian artists since 2007. , - , rowspan="2" align="center", 2008 , rowspan="2" , Ilona , Best Pop Solo or Group of the Year , , - , Best Colombian Artist Website , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilona Living people 21st-century Colombian women singers 1985 births Singers from Bogotá Women in Latin music