Maria José - Habla Ahora (2016)

María José is a Mexican pop singer who was a member of the group Kabah prior to making her eponymous solo album debut in 2007 and topping the charts a couple years later with her smash hit "No Soy una Señora." Born María José Loyola on January 12, 1976, and based in Mexico City, Mexico, she began her recording career as a member of the Latin pop group Kabah. Founded in 1992, the sextet made its eponymous album debut in 1994 with Kabah, followed by the international breakthrough follow-up, La Calle de las Sirenas (1996), and several additional albums. After over a decade of commercial success, Kabah dissolved after the release of their album El Pop (2005) and a farewell tour that concluded on December 31, 2005. The bandmembers split up and went their own way immediately thereafter, with José mounting a solo recording career in association with Warner Music. She made her full-length debut in 2007 with the eponymous album María José. Produced and largely written by Mexican hitmaker Aureo Baqueiro, who had previously worked with Kabah, the album spawned a few hits ("¿Quien Eres Tú?," "Me Equivoque," "¿Donde Está?") but wasn't itself a blockbuster success. José's second album, Amante de Lo Ajeno (2009), proved considerably more successful, going all the way to number two on the Mexican albums chart. Comprised of fashionable cover versions of '80s favorites originally popularized by women including Daniela Romo, María Conchita Alonso, Lucía Méndez, and others, Amante de Lo Ajeno spawned the chart-topping smash hit lead single "No Soy una Señora," originally popularized by Melissa, and includes a duet with Edith Márquez on "Cosas del Amor," originally popularized by Ana Gabriel and Vikki Carr. ~ Jason Birchmeier.