RBD's music catalog is finally available on streaming platforms after several years

[PokemonSpears]

RBD was a very successful Mexican pop band that existed from 2004 to 2009. The group was formed as part of the story of the mega successful soap opera Rebelde, which was based on Argentinian series Rebelde Way. The Mexican "telenovela" was aired from 2004 to 2006, but the group remained active a few more years after it finished.

The members of the group were Anahí, Dulce María, Alfonso Herrera, Christopher Uckerman, Christian Chávez and Maite Perroni. Except for Anahí who had released a few solo albums before, and Dulce María who had been part of two minor pop bands, they didn't really have a singing background and they were mostly known by their acting gigs in television.

Thanks to the success of the telenovela which was broadcasted in many countries through Televisa network, including European ones where they don't even speak Spanish, like Turkey, they became one of the most successful Latin American groups ever, if not the most, by selling more than 10M records and 10M concert tickets around the world. The success was kinda unexpected, since previous teenage dramas had already counted with a musical group as well, but they were never really known outside the population that made up their viewership, and certainly their popularity never lasted after the soap opera came to an end.  Brazil in particular gave them their most diehard fans despite the language barrier, and RBD became the first Spanish-speaking act to headline and sell out the Maracaná Stadium in that country.

Besides Mexico and Brazil, they toured many other countries like Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Spain, Slovenia, Serbia, Romania and even the United States: they performed at the Coliseum in L.A. for 65K+ people, a show that was sold out in 30 minutes and holds the record as the second highest-income show in the venue's history, only behind The Rolling Stones. Their first tour in Mexico also stands as the 4th fastest selling tour in the country, only behind The Cure's 2004 Sing to the Deadly Mouse Trap Tour (#1), Britney Spears' 2002 Dream Within a Dream Tour (#2), and Backstreet Boys ' 2001 Black & Blue Tour (#3).

At the peak of their success though, on August 15, 2008 they announced through a press release that the group would disband on March 10, 2009. I would dare to say, after they disappeared, no other pop act in Mexico, solo or group, has had any success remotely comparable to theirs, and it definitely marked the beginning of the death of pop in Mexico, taking the urban music their spot in the mainstream music. At more than 10 years of their disbandment, they've refused to come back or reunite as many other groups have done in the past. There were even strong rumors that they would reappear at the Brazil 2014 World Cup ceremonies, but that ultimately didn't happen. 

Due to legal and contractual issues, their music was removed from digital platforms, and has been gone for many years now. Fans, especially those from Brazil have been very insistent, and many attempts had been done to bring their videos and albums, even through fan accounts on YouTube, but they're always removed due to copyright. Last month, however, Spotify finally announced that their music is coming to the platform on September 3, and there's now an official RBD YouTube account that is expected to upload their music videos as well.

They also launched a countdown for a mysterious event that is happening on October 4.

 

Update: it's here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The telenovela that started it all, is currently being aired (for the millionth time) and they upload summaries of the episodes on YouTube every day.

 

[PokemonSpears]

Rebelde (2004)

Rebelde was the first album they released, it belongs to the Latin Pop, Teen Pop and Pop Rock genres, was produced by Carlos Lara, Max di Carlo and Armando Ávila.

It went #1 in Mexico for more than 550K copies, and in the United States it topped the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and it was #2 on the Latin Albums in general. It even peaked on the Billboard 200 at #95. With over 400K copies sold in the US, it was certified 4x platinum, and overall, it has sold 5M copies around the world.

It counts with a Portuguese edition.

It counted with 4 singles:

1. Rebelde
2. Sólo Quédate en Silencio
3. Sálvame
4. Un Poco de Tu Amor

 

 

Portuguese version:

 

 

 

 

 

[PokemonSpears]

Nuestro Amor (2005)

The album was released on September 22, 2005 in Mexico, selling over 127K units in its first seven hours of release in the country, and 160,000 in the first week, enough for it to be certified Platinum almost instantly. It was eventually certified 3× Platinum and Gold in Mexico. In the United States, the album was released on October 4, 2005 and peaked at #88 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also spent three weeks in a row at #1 on the Top Latin Albums chart, selling over 100K units just in its first week of release. The album was released in Spain on October 30, 2006 and has been certified 2x Platinum. The album was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the "Best Pop Album by a Duo/Group with Vocals" category at the 2006 Latin Grammy Awards.

The group eventually recorded a Portuguese-language version of the album for their fanbase in Brazil; this edition was released on May 22, 2006 and was titled Nosso Amor Rebelde.

As of 2011, Nuestro Amor has sold 12 million copies worldwide, making it RBD's best-selling album.

The singles were:

1. Nuestro Amor
2. Aún Hay Algo
3. Tras de Mí
4. Este Corazón

 

 

Portuguese:

 

 

 

 

 

[PokemonSpears]

Celestial (2006)

In the United States, the album reached number one on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums and Top Latin Albums charts. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200.

The album reached positions #2 and #9 in the albums charts of Spain and Mexico, respectively, and sold 40,000 copies in the former country and 150,000 in the latter, gaining Gold certification in Spain and being certified Platinum + Gold in Mexico. In Brazil, the album reached position #3, while in Ecuador, Romania and Chile the album was certified Gold, with sales of 5,700, 10,000, and 12,000 copies, respectively. The album also charted at #37 in Croatia.

The lead single of the album Ser o Parecer, became their first #1 hit on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, and it also peaked at #84 on the BBH100.

The singles were:

1. Ser o Parecer
2. Celestial
3. Bésame Sin Miedo
4. Dame

 

 

Portuguese:

 

 

 

 

 

[PokemonSpears]

Rebels (2006)

This was their first English-language studio album that they released. It came out in late 2006. The album contains songs from the group's previous studio albums that were translated into English for the release, as well as new songs that were recorded exclusively for the album. Rebels falls into the genres of Latin pop and pop rock, with dance-pop and R&B stylings, which were new music styles for the group.

On March 21, 2007, a deluxe edition of the album, titled We Are RBD, was released only in Japan. The deluxe edition included two new cover tracks: Let the Music Play and Gone which was previously recorded by Kelly Clarkson for her 2004 album, Breakaway.

RBD member Christian Chávez mentioned that Rebels would be re-released in late 2007 or early 2008 and that the new version would contain new songs and a collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas on one of the tracks. The group's next single off the album was expected to be featured on this future re-release. Billboard magazine even published that the re-release would happen in early 2008 and it would feature three hip hop-influenced songs. When the group disbanded in 2009, nothing about the re-release was announced, so it is assumed to be cancelled. More than 2,500,000 copies of the original album were sold worldwide.

It peaked at #40 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The singles:

1. Tu Amor
2. Wanna Play
3. Money Money

 

 

 

 

[PokemonSpears]

Empezar Desde Cero (2007)

The album contains two songs composed by two of RBD's band members: Alfonso Herrera and Christopher Uckermann. Empezar Desde Cero falls into the genres of Latin pop and pop rock. The album received a nomination for 'Best Pop Album by a Duo/Group with Vocals' at the 9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2008.

In the United States, Empezar Desde Cero debuted at #1 on both the Billboard Top Latin Albums and Billboard Latin Pop Albums charts, while peaking at #60 on the main Billboard 200 chart. In Mexico, the album reached #4 on the Mexican Albums Chart and sold 320,000 copies there, attaining a 4x Platinum certification. The album was certified 2x Platinum in Venezuela for sales of 30,000 copies. In Colombia, the album received a Platinum certification for the sales of 20,000 copies, and was certified Gold in Brazil, Argentina and Spain, where the album peaked at #4 on the Spanish Albums Chart.

The singles:

1. Inalcanzable
2. Empezar Desde Cero
3. Y No Puedo Olvidarte

 

 

 

 

 

[PokemonSpears]

Para Olvidarte de Mí (2009)

This is the last album they released, which came out on March 10, 2009, the day they had previously announced as the end of the group. Thus, the album counted with no promotion, except for a promotional single, Para Olvidarte de Mí, which was sent to radio for airplay purposes, and it received a music video made of footage from the telenovela Rebelde and their multiple tours.

Naturally, it is the least known album for the general public, and it's considered a limited released, since only 40,000 copies were distributed per country.

Despite everything, it managed to land at #3 on the Mexican top charts, and peaked at #192 on the Billboard 200, and #3 and #6 on the Latin Pop Albums and Top Latin Albums charts respectively.

Singles:

1. Para Olvidarte de Mí

 

 

 

[PokemonSpears]

RBD Members

 

Anahí

Anahí was born in May 14, 1983. She started her acting career at a very young age (3 years old) on the tv show Chiquilladas and participated in many telenovelas like Mujeres Engañadas, El diario de Daniela, Primer amor, a mil por hora and Clase 406 before she got the main role in the telenovela Rebelde. She had also released 4 studio albums as a solo artist at this point.

 

After RBD was over, she starred on the telenovela Dos Hogares in 2011, and released two more studio albums as a solo artist: Mi Delirio in 2009 and Inesperado in 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

She's currently married to the governor of Chiapas (a state in Mexico) and has somewhat retired from the spotlight, and is now the mother of two children.

 

[PokemonSpears]

Alfonso "Poncho" Herrera

He was born on August 28, 1983. He is the least singer of all the members, and the least likely to be willing to participate on an hypothetical reunion of the band.

Before Rebelde, he had acted on the film Amar te duele (2002) and the telenovela Clase 406.

 

After Rebelde, he kept his developing his acting career, participating in various projects, the most famous ones were the telenovela Camaleones (2009) with Belinda as co-star,

Fox series The Exorcist (2016)

 

Nat Geo's La Ciencia de lo Absurdo

 

And Netflix's Sense8 (2015-2017)

Spoiler

 

He married in 2016 and has a son.

 

[PokemonSpears]

Dulce María

She was born on December 6, 1985. She started acting at age 5 in many TV commercials, and at age 11 she joined the group KIDS.

At age 15 she became the newest member of all girls - pop group Jeans.

But she left the band after just 1 album, to star on the telenovela Clase 406.

 

Having one of the most distinctive voices, she along with Anahí were the main singers of RBD, but Dulce is the only one that has had a somewhat successful career in the music after the group, but she's also participated in several films and telenovelas such as Mentir para vivir, Corazón que miente and Muy padres.

 

 

She's released three studio albums so far, and has toured with each one of them: Extranjera (2011), Sin Fronteras (2014) and DM (2017)

 

 

 

She also reunited a couple of times with Jeans ex-bandmates (now JNS) in some concerts:

 

 

She married last year and is currently expecting her first child

 

[PokemonSpears]

Christian Chávez

He was born on August 7, 1983. Before Rebelde, he had been on other acting roles in El juego de la vida and, you guessed it, Clase 406.

 

In 2007 he came out as gay and has had several couples, however most of those relationships have been surrounded by scandals of domestic abuse and violence. He even attempted suicide at some point, and according to an interview, it was her fellow RBD member Anahí, who came to help him along with two other people.

After RBD, he's released 1 studio album, Almas Transparentes (2010) and several EP's: Libertad (2011), Esencial (2012) and Conectado (2018).

He's also participated in some TV shows and series and live plays, such as Like (2018-2019)

 

and more recently, Netflix's La Casa de las Flores

 

 

[PokemonSpears]

Christopher Uckermann

He was born on October 21, 1986. He started acting in telenovelas for kids, such as El diario de Daniela, Amigos por Siempre and Aventuras en el Tiempo.

 

After RBD ended he starred on Fox's series Kdabra (2009-2012-)

and Netflix's Diablero (2018) among others.

 

He's also released some albums: Somos (2010), La revolución de los ciegos (2017) and Sutil Universo (2020).

 

 

[PokemonSpears]

Maite Perroni

She was born on March 9, 1983. She actually started her acting career in 2004 with Rebelde. Though she used to participate as extra in some TV gigs, as we can see her here pretending to be a fan during a Sophie Ellis Bextor performance (the one with yellow top).

 

After Rebelde, she started a prolific career as actress of telenovelas, starring her first major role in Cuidado con el Ángel in 2008, as the now iconic Marichuy.

 

which gave birth to one of the most ridiculous scenes in Mexican television, an accident where she loses her vision:

 

After that, she did many other soap operas, like Mi Pecado (2009)

 

Triunfo del Amor (2010)

 

Cachito de Cielo (2012)

 

La Gata (2014)

 

Antes muerta que Lichita (2015)

 

besides films and series, like Netflix's Oscuro Deseo (2020)

 

She released an album in 2013, Eclipse de Luna, and besides that, she's released sparse singles.

 

 

 

 

[BRITannico]

It’s about damn time and I was Mia Colluci, btw.   

[PokemonSpears]

16 minutes ago, OOPSY said:

It’s about damn time and I was Mia Colluci, btw.   

[Mexwero]

Definitely one of the most popular Mexican bands, but we’re they actually talented? I will leave that up for debate. Only ones that could actually sing were Dulce María and Anahi. However, I do have to admit that “Ser o Parecer” was my absolute jam back then! They definitely had some good bops! 

[carlosallauca]

BRAZILIAN series Rebelde Way! LOL the disrespect, it was from ARGENTINA and it's way better than Rebelde, music and tv wise.

[Mantequilla]

I had no idea! I'm actually very excited! Their music was super iconic! 

Also, props to you for the most complete post in Exhale's history. Wikipedia will never. 

[Mantequilla]

3 minutes ago, carlosallauca said:

... and it's way better than Rebelde, music and tv wise.

[Midnight]

 finally