Cristie

Cristina Sánchez Ruiz (born 31 May 1978), better known as Cristie, is a Spanish flamenco singer who became famous with her involvement in the reality TV series Operación Triunfo in the winter of 2002 and 2003.

Cristina Sanchez was born on May 31, 1978 in Fuengirola, Málaga. She and her two brothers were raised in Fuengirola by their father. She is not the only in her family, who is a singer, her cousin Anabel Conde came second in the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest. At 16 years old she stopped studying and dedicated herself to music. She had to work in a clothes store, but very quickly she formed a group with some friends and began to sing in bars and pubs of Fuengirola.

Her beginning in the music industry was in a flamenco band called Cheli 3, in which they made fusions of flamenco, gospel and funk. She then joined Caste Huarochiri, where she became more deeply involved in flamenco and dance, and then Los Activos. With them, Cristie travelled through the settings of the most prominent festivals of Spain including Espárrago Rock, Festimad, The Festival of Autumn of Madrid, and The Sea of Music. She also performed in other countries including the Expo of Hannover, the Pop Kom (Germany) and the theater Ouro Verde in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2002, Cristie spent seven months acting in the Blue Note of Tokyo.

On return to Spain, José María Elegant (the prestigious guitarist of classical flamenco) asked Cristie to form part of his group, La Maestranza, and to act in the Bienal of Flamenco of Seville. This same month, Cristie presented herself to the casting of Operación Triunfo, entering the Academy of Artists. When Cristie was voted out after 6 weeks, they started to work together again, which resulted in the release of Puro Teatro in 2004.

Albums

• Puro Teatro February 6, 2004 # 35 Lista Afyve
• Con La Suerte En Los Tacones Summer, 2006

Singles/collaborations

Spain positions: Lista Afyve, Los 40 Principales.

No Quiero Sufrir

Contestants of Operación Triunfo (a kind of Spanish Pop Idol), were offered the possibility to record a single, with the idea of reaching the goal of 200,000 copies sold. If any of the contestants did so, they would receive a record deal. Cristie, after she was voted off from the show, released her first single called "No quiero sufrir", ("I Want No More Pain"). The song was well received from fans, and had good reviews from the critics, but she only reached 76,000 copies, missing the goal. However, she got a recording contract with O'Clock Music, and early next year (2004), she released her first solo album Puro Teatro.

Puro Teatro

Puro Teatro was the debut album of Cristie. It's a CD with different styles of music, mostly flamenco, but with a flavour of R&B, Pop and a lot of songs of the style which in Spain is referred to as Funky. "Puro Theatro" is the title track; its name is after a song of the great Puerto Rican musician and composer Catalino Curet Alonso.

The CD was recorded in Spain, (Madrid and Barcelona), and produced by Sergio Castillo and Nacho Lesko.

This album was described by critics as Urban-Flamenco or New Flamenco/Nuevo Flamenco. They emphasize the song called "Tonight" produced by Noel Pastor and Dioni Gómez. The Soleá subject is dedicated to her hometown, Fuengirola. In Soleá, Pedro Javier Hermosilla and Mayan Juan collaborate in the track. Other producers that also participite in the commented disc are Noel Pastor and Dioni Gómez who have worked with artists like Tony Santos, Tony Aguilar and Austin. They have produced two subjects of the album Cambiar and Tonight. First single was "Pal Infierno", a flamenco fusion of R&B and soul.

Con La Suerte En Los Tacones

Her second album is Con la suerte en los tacones, which means "With the luck in stilettos". The disk has 14 songs, 5 which have been composed by Cristie. The style is very fresh, with use of such genres as Soul, R&B, Salsa, Funky, Ballad, and of course, flamenco. Cristie said: "With this new album I want to express myself as I am, without feeling pressured to be who I'm not".

The first single is called "Marbella". One of the more luxurious beaches of Marbella, the Ocean Club, was converted into a massive film set for the filming of the videoclip.

DVDs & videos

• 2003: DVD Gira Generacion OT
• 2004: DVD Cristie en Concierto

• 2002-2003: "Operación Triunfo 2"
• 2002: "No Quieto Sufrir"
• 2003: "Sigo Mi Camino" (with Tony Santos)
• 2005: "Amame Remix" (with Cristie & Band)
• 2005: "Host guest TNT" (program of Telecinco)
• 2005: "Camino De Belen" (with Lidia Reyes)
• 2006: "Marbella" (Released - On Rotation)
• 2006: "Apunta Mi Tleefono" (Not released)

• Cristie's cousins, Anabel Conde (2º finalist of eurovision 95) and Cristina Conde (grupo la fiesta) are also artists.
• The song "Se Que Estas" ("I Know You're There") is dedicated to her mother who died.
• Her life is divided between Casares and Fuengirola.