Francisca Valenzuela

Francisca Valenzuela is an American-born Latin pop singer, songwriter, and pianist from Chile who broke through to mainstream success there in 2007 with the smash hit single "Dulce." Born March 17, 1987, in San Francisco, CA, she began studying music at a young age, learning both classical piano and acoustic guitar. She also began writing at a young age; most notably, a book of her poems, Defenseless Waters, was published in 2000 by El Andar Books with a prologue by famous Chilean author Isabel Allende. Around the same time her book was published, Valenzuela moved with her family from the United States to Chile. In 2004, as she was completing high school, she began performing her music in the clubs of Santiago. A couple years later she began hosting her music on MySpace, and one of her songs, "Peces," was picked up for radio airplay. Meanwhile, she was offered a recording contract with the label Feria Music and collaborated with producers Mauricio Durán and Francisco Durán of Los Bunkers on her full-length debut album, Muérdete la Lengua (2007). On the heels of "Peces," the single "Dulce" was given an official release in December 2006; moreover, its promotional video was released in January 2007 and eventually picked for rotation on MTV Latin America in March. One of the most popular songs of 2007 in Chile, "Dulce" went all the way to number two on the national singles chart. A series of follow-up singles was released in its wake, including the Top Ten hit "Muérdete la Lengua," the Top 30 hit "Afortunada," and "Muleta." In 2008, amid the continued success of Muérdete la Lengua and its long run of hit singles, a deluxe edition of the album was released with a bonus track remix of "Muleta" by Jorge González of Los Prisioneros and a bonus DVD comprised of promotional videos and live recordings.