María José Loyola Anaya (born January 12, 1976), known professionally as María José, is a Mexican singer, ballerina, flamenco dancer, athlete and television personality. Her career started at age 15, in the 1990s, when she joined the Mexican band Kabah as a vocalist. After leaving the band in 2006, she continued her solo career and has released six studio albums.
María José received a B.A. in communications[citation needed] before becoming a well-known and established vocalist during the time when she was part of Kabah, from the mid- to late-1990s.
Her first experience on stage was at age 14, as a dancer in the Spanish Dance Company led by Maria Elena Anaya. She remained in the company participating with flamenco songs as well.
During 2007, María José posed for the cover of MAX magazine, the equivalent of Maxim in the US.[citation needed]
She opened for Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape Tour in Mexico.[1] This part of the tour included concerts in Arena Monterrey in Monterrey and in Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City.[2] She also appeared in the Reventour, a series of concerts in several places in Mexico, both as a singer and as a host.[3]
In late July, she was part of an American tour with Lu and Motel and announced the release of her first album in August in the United States, which she promoted extensively. She was also invited to participate in Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar, the Mexican musical based on the career and songs of the Spanish pop group Mecano.[citation needed]
She was nominated for Best New Artist in the Premios Oye!, the Mexican equivalent of the Grammys. She participated in El Show de los Sueños from September 30 to October 19, 2008,[4] finishing in fourth place. In the first show, along with her counterpart Thalía, she sang "Tocando Fondo". In the following show the two sang "Te Aprovechas". In the third show they sang "No me quedas mas" and in the fourth show they sang "Quererte a ti". In the fifth show "Amores Extranos" followed by the sixth show with "Amiga Mia".
On February 6, 2010, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors proclaimed February 6 as "María José Day" during her club performance in the city.[citation needed]
In 2007, her first solo album, María José, was announced and the first single "Quien Eres Tu?", featuring Trey Songz and of dance and hip-hop influences, started to receive airplay in Mexico.[citation needed]
Two weeks after its release, the album reached number 84 in the Mexican charts.[5] This song also appeared on iTunes as a free single during the week of January 11, 2008.[citation needed]
She has said in various interviews that she expected the second single to be "Mas de ti" or "Habla menos". "Me Equivoque", another track from the album, had major digital sales in Mexico.[citation needed]
In late August, "Me Equivoque", along with its video, was released. "¿Donde Esta?", the third and final single of the album, was officially released in April 2008. The song's video was filmed in Mexico City at Estudios Churubusco. 20 fans, who were chosen after winning a contest, were invited to attend the filming.[6]
María José announced on April 18, 2008, that she had officially left Warner Music. No explanation was given, but her third single was released as an independent artist and not with the help of Warner Music.[7]
Promotion of her second album began with a short performance as the opening act of Rihanna's Disturbia tour in Mexico City on January 24, 2009.[8] She premiered the song "No soy una señora" during the show.
Amante de lo ajeno was released on May 12, 2009.[9] It consists of 11 songs that had been hits by pop divas in the 1980s.
"No soy una señora" was released as the first single on March 2, and became very popular in Mexico, especially among teenagers.[8]The follow-up singles were "Mi Amor, Amor" and "Adelante Corazón", both of which experienced success in Mexican charts. The fourth single was planned to be "Sola No, Yo No Se Estar", but was scrapped due to the release of her third album.[citation needed]
María José released her third album, Amante de lo Bueno,[10] on November 9, 2010. It is another compilation of hits from the 1980s. The first single, "La Ocasión Para Amarnos", was released in October.[11] The single became another huge success in Mexico.[citation needed]
María José released her fourth album, De Noche worldwide[citation needed] on iTunes on August 15, 2012.[12] It was her second album with all new songs. The first single, "Tú Ya Sabes a Mí", was released in June 2012. "Extraña" was released as a single in Spain.[citation needed]
María José released her fifth album, Habla Ahora worldwide on iTunes on October 21, 2016. It is her third album to feature original content. The first single, "Las Que Se Ponen Bien La Falda", featuring Puerto Rican rapper Ivy Queen, was released on May 13, 2016. The title track "Habla Ahora" was released as the second single from the album preceding the release of the album.[13]
In 2019, María José released a live album, Conexión.[14] It was released on June 7, 2019, by OCESA Seitrack.[15] The album was recorded in front of a selected audience at the concert in Mexico City.[15] In celebration of the tenth anniversary of her breakout album Amante de lo Ajeno, the album celebrates José's trajectory as a solo artist. The album includes material from her previous five studio albums as well as eight newly-recorded songs.[16] Featured guests include Ha*Ash, Yuri, Carlos Rivera and Vanesa Martin.[17] In 2019, she became a judge of TV Azteca's México tiene talento and also became a host of Televisa's new drama series Esta historia me suena with Jen Carlo Bautista, in which she also appeared as an actress in a few episodes.[18] On January 21, 2020, it was announced that she would return to TV Azteca, as a coach of La Voz with Ricardo Montaner, Belinda and Christian Nodal.[19] She later returned for her second and final season in 2021 with Miguel Bosé, Edith Marquez, and Jesús Navarro.
María José has said many times that a few of her major influences are Mariah Carey, Rocío Dúrcal, Mecano, Moenia, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Eugenia León and Boyz II Men.[citation needed]