Belle Perez

by Adam GreenbergBorn to Spanish parents in Belgium, Belle Perez (originally Maria Isabelle Perez) began her musical career in 1999, as a straightforward pop star attempting to get into the Eurovision competition and singing largely in English. After two Top 20 albums released in that same English pop format, Perez moved to a Latin pop format with 2002's Baila Perez album, taking on a sound not unlike Gloria Estefan's Miami Sound Machine. High energy Latin dance music (but with a slight European twist) became the order of the day for Perez and provided her the top slot on the Belgian charts as well as a Top 20 position in the Dutch charts as she began to branch out internationally. With such success after a genre change, Perez continued to perform Latin pop and chart highly, with her next albums, 2006's Gotitas de Amor and 2008's Gipsy, both performing well in multiple countries alongside various Belgian- and Netherlands-only compilations.