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Morat (band)

Morat is a Colombian Latin pop rock band formed in the country's capital city, Bogotá. The band is made up of Juan Pablo Isaza (guitars and vocals), Juan Pablo Villamil (banjo and vocals), and the brothers Simón Vargas (bass and choruses) and Martín Vargas (percussion and choirs). Drummer Alejandro Posada was also a founding member of the band, but left in 2016 and was replaced by Martín Vargas.

History

Formation

The members of Morat have known each other since they were five years old. They started playing together and, when they finished high school, decided to start a band. The band has stated that their musical influences included Joaquín Sabina, Coldplay and Bacilos.

The band's original name was "Malta". The name was inspired by a pet owned by Isaza. They switched to "Morat" because it was the surname of an ancestor of Alejandro Posada, former member of the band. The name was also inspired by the farm where the band made their first rehearsals which was named "La Morat":

2014–2017: Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios

Morat saw their first turning point when the singer Paulina Rubio showed interests in their composition "Mi Nuevo Vicio" and wanted them to turn it into a single. In 2015, "Mi Nuevo Vicio" was released under the collaboration of Paulina Rubio and Morat, achieving great success internationally. The single rose to No.12 on the Billboard Latin Pop Airplay chart, and reached No.1 in Spain. The single was also certified Platinum Record.

At the end of 2015, they received another international success with the new single, "Cómo te atreves", reaching the peak position in iTunes and bringing them to fame in Spain. In June 2016, Morat released their first studio album Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios through Universal Music Spain. The album debuted at No.1 in several Hispanic countries, including Colombia, Mexico and Spain. The album was certified 4× Platinum, and the band received a Latin Grammy award nomination for "Cómo te atreves". After the release of this album, Alejandro Posada left the band and was replaced by Simón Vargas' brother Martín.

In 2017, Morat produced the single "Yo Contigo, Tú Conmigo" in collaboration with Álvaro Soler as the theme music of Despicable Me 3. The single peaked at No.9 on Billboard on 19 August 2017 and won the "Song of the Year" award in LOS40 Music Awards 2017. This single was later included in the re-issue of Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios, which also contains the acoustic version of "Cómo te atreves".

2017–2019: Balas perdidas

In 2018, Morat released their second studio album, Balas perdidas. The single "Cuando nadie ve" peaked at No.1 on Billboard on 18 August 2018, and the single "No se va", released on 7 March 2019, hit almost 2 million visits on YouTube in less than a week.

Following the release Morat kicked off their first-ever US tour to promote their album in 2019, with the first performance in San Francisco on 4 April 2019. The tour ended in Orlando on 5 May 2019, with performances in other cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.

In April 2019, Morat released a song with Aitana called "Presiento". "Presiento" was later included in the re-issue of Balas perdidas, Balas perdidas (Edición especial), on 10 May 2019, together with three other songs.

On 15 December 2019, Morat ended their Spain tour with the last performance at the WiZink Center in Madrid. Antonio José, Aitana, Cali y El Dandee, and Cami were also invited to perform at this concert. Up to this show, Morat has held more than 80 concerts in 13 countries.

2019–2021: ¿A dónde vamos?

On 13 December 2019, Morat released the single "Enamórate de alguien más", the second single from their third album cycle (following the title track).

On 6 March 2020, Morat released "No Termino", the third single and the first of 2020. On 2 April, "Nunca te olvide", the fourth single was released. On 22 May, "Bajo la mesa", along with Sebastián Yatra, was released, the fifth single from the third album and the first collaboration. On 11 June, the band released a collaboration with Reik titled "La Bella y la Bestia." On 30 July they released "Más de lo que aposté"—their second collaboration with Aitana—and on 6 August they released "Labios Rotos", which is a tribute to the Mexican band Zoé.

On 7 November, after more than 5 months without playing on stage, Morat played a virtual concert through Rappi called "Echando un cuento." According to the app, it was the best-selling virtual concert on the continent in 2020.

On 13 November, "Al aire" was released, the sixth single from their third album, with its respective music video, which was recorded in the municipality of Guasca, Cundinamarca.

On 3 June 2021, they released a collaboration with Danna Paola. On 15 July 2021, Morat released their third studio album, ¿A dónde vamos?. The album was influenced by the band's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.