Gloria Estefan Makes Latin Chart History

Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefanhas become the first female artist in the history of the U.S. Latin singles rundown to enter at number one. The fifty four year old star topped the Billboard chart with 'Hotel Nacional', the second single taken from her first album in four years, 'Miss Little Havana', which was produced by Pharrell. 

Previously, only male singers including Ricky Martin have achieved the feat in the chart, which began in 1986. Fifteen years later, 'Hotel Nacional' is still only the eleventh song to debut the chart at the top spot (although it is Estefan's fifteenth chart topper in total). With a mixture of Spanish and English lyrics, the success of the track is being attributed to very strong airplay on a leading group of Spanish language radio stations in the US.

Throughout her five-decade career Estefan has sold 90 million albums. She came to prominence performing with the 'Miami Sound Machine' in the late 1970s, going on to score a series of hit albums and singles, including 'Don't Wanna Lose You' which was a number one hit on the mainstream US chart in 1989. She has collected seven Grammy awards and in 2008 was honoured with a special Latin Grammy award for her musical achievements, so this chart success simply adds to the list of accolades!