Recording artist and Spanish heartthrob Manuel Carrasco was born the youngest of five in a working-class family in the small town of Isla Cristina. Selected to compete on the television program Operacion Triunfo, he ultimately placed second, which won him a management and recording contract in Barcelona. His debut disc, Quiereme (out on Vale Music/Universal), hit the shelves in April of 2003, selling 100,000 copies in its first week. The tour that followed brought Carrasco to Venezuela, where he would record a self-titled, more intimate follow-up project, featuring three songs of Carrasco's composition. The disc went platinum, opening the market wide for his third release, 2006's Tercera Parada. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez