In television, she appeared in episodes of Spanish soap operas such as Robles Investigador Privado, Policías, Periodistas and El Comisario. In 2001, Beatriz was chosen to star in Un paso adelante, along with actors like Mónica Cruz, Silvia Marty, Pablo Puyol, Dafne Fernández or Lola Herrera, which made her very well-known in Spain, Europe and some South American countries; it was here that the musical group Upa Dance was born. Upa Dance sold more than 600,000 copies of their first record.
In spite of the big success of Upa Dance and the amount of their concerts, Beatriz has wanted to develop new musical and creative interests, reason by which she began to imagine her artistic proposal.
In 2005 she released her debut-solo album, "Mi Generación", under Universal Music label, and was recorded between Spain, Belgium and the United States. The album is purely a R&B/Pop album, mixing some flamenco beats.
In early 2005, she released the first single from the album, "Mi Generación", but failed to make impact on the Spanish charts, despite peaking at #4 on the Airplay chart.
She won the prize "Better Musical Future", and she was chosen by the Spanish audience to represent Spain at the "Wanadoo Discoveries" in Nice, France, and she was 2nd. She was also nominated to the MTV European Music Awards celebrated in Lisbon. She was invited in 2005 to the Grammy Awards and in 2006 to Cannes Festival in France.
The second single lifted from the album was "Go Away", a song written by American Pop star Justin Timberlake, and peaked at #1 on the Spanish Singles Chart. The third and final single was "Hit Lerele", a R&B song which managed to peak at #4 in Spain.
The album only peaked at #20 in Spain, and went to sold in excess 30,000 copies, somewhat a commercial failure for Beatriz and her label, because she is very known in Spain. "Mi Generación" had also an exclusive release in France, via FNAC stores, and peaked at #4 on the FNAC Top 20, without any forms of promotion.
In 2006, after the success of "Un Paso Adelante" in France, Universal released an edition of "Mi Generación" there, called "BL". The lead single was "Hit Lerele", and peaked at #14 in France, and sold more than 90,000 copies there, becoming a great start for the singer. The second single was "Escape", and did also well on the charts, peaking at #14, and selling again 90,000 copies.
The album was released in mid-2006, and peaked at #7, selling 130,000 copies and being certified as Gold, enjoying great success in France. The third and final single lifted from "BL" was the untempo R&B song "May Yo Lo", featuring Ruzzo from Orishas. However, this single was only a promo single for French music stations, and did well in some radio stations.
This album managed to peak at #58 on the European Top 100 Albums Chart, and the single "Hit Lerele" was also a Top 50 hit on the European Hot 100 Singles Chart.
In addition, Beatriz has a School of Dance in Madrid.
After three years outside the music scene, she got back with a new album early 2008. The album was entirely recorded in France, and it is called "Carrousel".
The album was produced by Yotuel Romero and Andrés Levín, and Beatriz wrote all the lyrics. The album is a mixture of various rhytmes, from flamenco to R&B and Adult-Contemporary Pop. The album was released on May 4, 2008, via Universal Music Spain.
Àfrica
Beatriz Luengo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
sabor a bailey's.
La noche pone el fin
y empiezas tú.
En un mundo en el que niebla-nieve
te confunden si lo quieres tú.
Y ahora su vida se va entre la gente.
No sé si podré salir, huir.
No sé si tal vez seguir aquí.
huma huma amalaya é calina soccoe himalaya
esshoe cumba ssale combu e calina
yaleiccolou atalá iu
Por cada hora más se va tu mente.
Cada minuto más, tu tentación.
Un mundo tan virtual, lo que tú sientes.
En tres segundos vas sin elección.
Y ahora su vida se va entre la gente.
Y ahora su vida se va sin vuelta atrás.
No sé si tal vez, seguir, huir.
No sé si tal vez no estoy aquí.
Cuando empieza a anochecer,
nadie sabe lo que hacer.
Todo el mundo se da cuenta,
que no hay nada que contar.
Sexo, droga y malgastar,
pero a nadie le interesas.
huma huma amalaya é calina soccoe himalaya
esshoe cumba ssale combu e calina
yaleiccolou atalá iu
Hoy vuelva a ser aquel día
en que mal acabas.
Hoy vuelva a ser aquel día
en que no eres tú.
Hoy vuelva a ser aquel día
de madrugada.
Hoy vuelva a ser aquel día
negro y sin luz.
huma huma amalaya é calina soccoe himalaya
esshoe cumba ssale combu e calina
yaleiccolou atalá iu
The lyrics to Beatriz Luengo's "Africa" are about a sense of disorientation and loss, both in terms of personal identity and in relation to the wider world. The opening lines describe a new morning beginning with the taste of Bailey's, suggesting some sort of escapism or self-medication. The night comes to an end, and the singer is left to face themselves in a confusing world where things like fog and snow can become indistinguishable from each other.
The repeated lyrics in the middle of the song, which blend together syllables from a variety of languages, add to the sense of disorientation and disconnect. In this world, the singer's mind is slowly slipping away, becoming more temptable and more focused on a virtual reality where even three seconds can change everything. The final lines of the song return to a sense of hopelessness and despair, describing a world where everyone is lost and no one is really interested in each other.
Overall, the lyrics of "Africa" suggest a feeling of being adrift in a fast-paced, incomprehensible world, where the only refuge may be in temporary pleasures or escapes.
Line by Line Meaning
Hoy vuelva a amanecer sabor a bailey's.
Today I wake up again with the taste of bailey's, as if I never went to bed.
La noche pone el fin y empiezas tú.
The night ends and you begin, as if it's a new day.
En un mundo en el que niebla-nieve te confunden si lo quieres tú.
In a world where fog and snow can confuse you if you let them.
Y ahora su vida se va entre la gente.
And now your life is slipping away among the people.
Y ahora su vida sin más pierde su luz.
And now your life loses its light without warning.
No sé si podré salir, huir.
I don't know if I can escape.
No sé si tal vez seguir aquí.
I don't know if I should stay here.
Por cada hora más se va tu mente.
For each passing hour, your mind drifts further away.
Cada minuto más, tu tentación.
Each passing minute, your temptation grows stronger.
Un mundo tan virtual, lo que tú sientes.
A world so virtual that what you feel may not be real.
En tres segundos vas sin elección.
In three seconds, you have no choice but to go.
Y ahora su vida se va sin vuelta atrás.
And now your life disappears without any way to turn back.
No sé si tal vez, seguir, huir.
I don't know if I should stay, or if I should run away.
No sé si tal vez no estoy aquí.
I don't know if I'm really here.
Cuando empieza a anochecer, nadie sabe lo que hacer.
When night falls, nobody knows what to do.
Todo el mundo se da cuenta, que no hay nada que contar.
Everyone realizes that there's nothing to tell.
Sexo, droga y malgastar, pero a nadie le interesas.
Sex, drugs and wasting time, but nobody really cares about you.
Hoy vuelva a ser aquel día en que mal acabas.
Today is like that day when things went wrong.
Hoy vuelva a ser aquel día en que no eres tú.
Today is like that day when you didn't feel like yourself.
Hoy vuelva a ser aquel día de madrugada.
Today is like that early morning when you couldn't sleep.
Hoy vuelva a ser aquel día negro y sin luz.
Today is like that dark day without any light.
Contributed by Elliot P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.