| Leiva | |
| Birth Name: | José Miguel Conejo Torres |
| Birth Date: | 28 April 1980 |
| Birth Place: | Madrid, Spain |
| Origin: | Madrid, Spain |
| Genre: | Rock and roll |
| Years Active: | 2001–present |
José Miguel Conejo Torres (born in Madrid, 28 April 1980), better known by his artistic name Leiva, is a Spanish singer, musician and songwriter. Between 2001 and 2010 he led with Ruben Pozo the Spanish rock band Pereza, with which he recorded 6 albums. After the dissolution of the band, he started a solo career[1] with 3 charting solo albums: Diciembre in 2012, Pólvora in 2014[2] and Monstruos in 2016.
Leiva was born and raised in the neighborhood of Alameda de Osuna, in the northeast suburbs of Madrid. His great love of football coupled with his strong resemblance to Leivinha, a Brazilian footballer who at the time played for Atlético de Madrid, earned him the nickname Leiva. He would later use it as his stage name.
His first musical activity was in 1994, as he became part of the Malahierba band in which he was a drummer. In 1998 he formed a trio band together with Rubén Pozo and drummer Tuli with the intention of making cover versions of Leño. Subsequently Malahierba would evolve and become the band Pereza. The band released its debut album in 2001, but without much success. From the second album, Algo para cantar in 2003, the formation became a duo of Leiva and Ruben. With Animales in 2005, they gained great fame and consolidated their position as one of the most important Spanish pop rock bands. Pereza had three more albums, Los amigos de los animales in 2006, Aproximaciones in 2007 and Aviones in 2009.
The duo split in September 2011 with Leiva continuing as a solo singer, songwriter and musician.
The first solo album of Leiva was Diciembre (2012), that was self-produced and received positive reviews and awards such as the Rolling Stone Award for best album of the year and two Latin Grammy nominations.
In January 2014 Leiva came out with his second solo album, titled Pólvora, a co-production with the Spanish musician Carlos Raya and Joe Blaney as soundman.
Both albums have proven very successful with Leiva releasing three singles charting singles on the Spanish singles market, and charting in PROMUSICAE charts, namely "Eme", "Afuera en la ciudad" and "Terriblemente Cruel" the latter two making it to positions 6 and 5 respectively on the Spanish charts.'Eme' is a song which was dedicated to Michelle Jenner after a tough breakup. The singer express the left of her girlfriend, his feelings and his thoughts, hoping that she would come back.
In 2016 Leiva came out with "Monstruos". Is a record in which he explains the monsters the common social fears at bedtime.
| Year | Album | Peak positions | Certification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPA [3] | ||||
| 2012 | Diciembre | 3 | ||
| 2014 | Pólvora | 1 |
| |
| 2016 | Monstruos | 1 |
| |
| 2019 | Nuclear | 1 |
| |
| 2021 | Cuando Te Muerdes el Labio | 1 |
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| Award | width=3% | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goya Awards | 2017 | Best Original Song | "La Llamada" from Holy Camp! | [9] | ||
| 2023 | "Sintiéndolo Mucho" from Sintiéndolo Mucho | [10] | ||||
| Latin Grammy Awards | 2012 | Best Pop/Rock Album | Diciembre | [11] | ||
| 2013 | Best Short Form Music Video | "Vis a Vis" | [12] | |||
| 2017 | "Sincericidio" | [13] | ||||
| 2018 | Best Rock Song | "La Llamada" | [14] | |||
| 2019 | "Godzilla" (featuring Enrique Bunbury and Ximena Sariñana) | [15] | ||||
| Best Pop/Rock Album | Nuclear | |||||
| Los 40 Music Awards | 2014 | Best Spanish Act | Himself | [16] | ||
| Best Spanish Rock Act | ||||||
| Best Spanish Album | Pólvora | |||||
| Best Spanish Song | "Terriblemente Cruel" | |||||
| 2016 | Artist of the Year | Himself | [17] | |||
| Critic Award | ||||||
| Album of the Year | Monstruos | |||||
| Video of the Year | "Sincericidio" | |||||
| 2017 | Artist of the Year | Himself | [18] | |||
| Song of the Year | "La Lluvia en los Zapatos" | |||||
| Video of the Year | ||||||
| Tour of the Year | Gira Monstruos | |||||
| 2018 | Song of the Year | "La Llamada" | [19] | |||
| 2019 | Artist of the Year | Himself | [20] | |||
| Album of the Year | Nuclear | |||||
| Video of the Year | "No Te Preocupes por Mí" | |||||
| Festival, Tour or Concert of the Year | Tour Nuclear | |||||
| 2022 | Golden Music Award | Himself | [21] | |||
| Album of the Year | Cuando Te Muerdes el Labio | [22] | ||||
| Best Collaboration | "Premio de Consolación" | |||||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | 2014 | Best Spanish Act | Himself | [23] | ||
| 2015 | [24] | |||||
| 2016 | [25] | |||||
| 2020 | [26] | |||||
| Premios Odeón | 2020 | Album of the Year | Nuclear | [27] | ||
| Best Male Artist | Himself | |||||
| 2021 | Best Rock Artist | [28] | ||||
| Best Rock Album | Madrid Nuclear | |||||