Abraham Mateo

Abraham Mateo was born on 25 August 1998 in San Fernando, Cádiz, the younger child of Antonio Mateo, a construction worker and security guard, and Susana Chamorro, a housewife. He has an older brother, Tony, who also sings and plays music. Mateo was born into a family with musical roots; his maternal grandfather was a tenor soloist with a church choir, his paternal grandfather was a flamenco singer, and his mother sings Boleros and Spanish music. He started singing at the age of three by imitating the performances of the TV talent show Operación Triunfo. Mateo's first vocal coach was his mother Susana and he later continued his music education by attending singing lessons. He learned to play flute at age six, piano and keyboard at age eight, and acoustic guitar at age ten, teaching himself how to play by ear.

In 2006, at the age of seven, he was awarded with a special mention at the regional music competition for kids in Andalusia, organized by the Teresa Rabal Foundation. Two years later, he won the revelation award at the national competition. In 2008, he debuted in the children's television show "Menuda Noche" that airs on the Canal Sur TV of Andalusia. For over four years, Mateo starred as a regular in "Menuda Noche", where he performed songs by Nino Bravo, Rocío Dúrcal, Alejandro Sanz, David Bisbal, Miguel Gallardo, Sandro Giacobbe, David Bustamante, Melody and other Latin artists.

Early 2009, around age ten, he signed a recording contract with EMI Music Spain, releasing in December of the same year his self-titled debut album, Abraham Mateo. The album, recorded in Madrid, includes original ballads written by his producer Jacobo Calderon, covers of songs by Raphael, Alejandro Sanz, Laura Pausini, and Luis Fonsi, as well as a duet with the French singer Caroline Costa.

In 2009 he also debuted as actor in the TV miniseries Días Sin Luz, which recounts the search for the missing girl Mari Luz Cortes. Mateo played the younger brother of Mari Luz in the miniseries broadcast by Antena 3 in Spain. A year later, he portrayed Falín, the young Raphael, in the Antena 3 miniseries based on the life of the legendary Spanish singer.

After the release of his debut album, he continued covering songs in Spanish, Italian, and English (including a duet with Sabrina Carpenter) and then uploading the videos to YouTube. In November 2011, Mateo released "Desde que te fuiste", a Latin dance song written by himself, on ITunes.

In 2012 he signed to Sony Music Spain and to Rosa Lagarrigue, long-time manager of Alejandro Sanz, Miguel Bosé and Mecano.

The album's second single, "Girlfriend", written by Charlie Mason, was released early October 2013 and debuted within the top fifteen in Spain. The third single, "Lánzalo", written by Jacobo Calderón and Mateo himself, was released in March 2014 as a charity single, in support of UNICEF campaign for the children who suffer as a result of the Syrian conflict. The song debuted at number two on the Spain's Top 50 singles chart.

The AM tour started in February 2014 in Valencia and, after almost 40 concerts around Spain, ended in September 2014 in Málaga. In October 2014, Mateo headlined the "Coca-Cola Music Experience" concert at a sold-out 15,000-seat Sports Palace, in Madrid.

In November 2014, he gave his first concerts in Latin America: at Sala Omnium, in Santiago, Chile and at a sold-out 7,000-seat Luna Park arena, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In May 2014, he traveled to Los Angeles to work on his third studio album with Damon Sharpe, Lauren Christy, Andre Merritt and other songwriters. The album, titled Who I AM and released in Spain and Latin America in November 2014, is a collection of broken beats, throwback funk vibes, futuristic beats and organic arrangements. A special edition of the album followed in June 2015, featuring guest appearances by Dvicio, Critika & Saik and Lerica. Who I AM peaked at number one in Mexico and Spain and was certified Platinum by Promusicae.

In September 2014, he released the first single "All The Girls (La La La)", a song written by Lauren Christy, Jacobo Calderón and Mateo himself, which peaked at number 9 on the Spain's singles chart and topped the radio charts in Brazil. The music video for this song was chosen as the best Spanish music video of 2014 on the VEVO platform. The album also included the singles "Todo Terminó" and "Another Heartbreak" featuring Dvicio's vocalist Andrés Ceballos.

To promote Who I AM, he embarked on a tour to Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Dominican Republic and Mexico. In this last country, Mateo performed with Carlos Rivera at Teatro Metropólitan and with the Mexican boyband CD9 at Mexico City Arena. The Who I AM concert tour began in December 2014 in Barcelona and ended after nine months and almost 40 shows, including a big concert at Sports Palace, in Madrid. He held his first solo concerts in Mexico City, at Plaza Condesa, and Peru, and his second sold-out concert at legendary Luna Park arena, in Buenos Aires.

In November 2014, Mateo's first biography, I.AM. was published by Montena, an editorial part of Penguin Random House.

In January 2015 he received the "Premio a la identidad isleña" (Islander Identity Prize), which was awarded by the city hall of San Fernando, Cádiz, his birthplace.

In March 2015, he traveled to London and Los Angeles to write songs for a new album in collaboration with Poo Bear, Damon Sharpe, Jörgen Elofsson, Lindy Robbins, Talay Riley and Julian Emery. A year later, Mateo delivered his fourth studio album, Are You Ready?, which debuted at number 3 in Spain and at number 7 in Mexico. The album showcases Mateo's songwriting skills and stands out with its mixture of British pop vibe, reggae touches, R&B and mature lyrics. Included on the album were the singles "Old School", "Are You Ready", "Así Es Tu Amor", "When You Love Somebody", "Mi Vecina", and "Mueve", featuring Argentinian singer Lali.

In 2015, he performed the single "Mellow Yellow" by Donovan for the Spanish soundtrack of the Universal Pictures animated film, Minions. A year later, he made a cameo performance in the Portuguese teenage series Massa fresca, broadcast by Televisão Independente (TVI).

To promote Are You Ready?, Mateo traveled to Colombia, Chile, Portugal, Argentina, Peru and Mexico. In October 2016, he held his most important concert so far at a sold-out 10,000-seat National Auditorium in Mexico City, featuring guest appearances by CNCO, Dulce María, Mau & Ricky, and Rio Roma.

In 2017, with a view to the internationalization of his musical project, Mateo took on Armando Lozano (Ricky Martin and CNCO's former manager) and Edgar Andino (long-time manager of Wisin y Yandel) as new managers.

In December 2017, he released a second single called "Háblame Bajito" featuring rap legend 50 Cent and pop singer Austin Mahone. The music video for the song exclusively premiered on Billboard's website. "Háblame Bajito" peaked at number 17 on the Billboard's Latin Digital Songs chart and is now certified Gold in Spain, Argentina and US Latin

In March 2018, he released a third single called "Se Acabó El Amor" with Jennifer Lopez and Yandel.

In January 2018, Mateo appeared, along with Puerto Rican urban singer Lary Over, on Farruko and Jacob Forever's remix of "Quiereme".