Luis Cepeda, known for participating in the first edition of the revived Operación Triunfo format, has struggled to find a place in the music industry and currently has a total of 3 published albums. The artist originally from Orense, who has managed to position himself at number 1 on iTunes with songs like Mi Reino and Vuela, is currently looking for a new record label.
The singer, known as Cepeda by most of his fans, rose to fame after his time at the OT academy. However, his journey in the world of music began two years before his participation in the program.
In 2015, the Galician decided to appear at the casting of the musical program La Voz, where he auditioned performing the song Wherever You Will Go by the group The Calling. Despite the success he obtained among the program’s coaches, the artist only made it to the duel phase where he was eliminated.
His experience in the La Voz format encouraged the singer to appear at the Operación Triunfo 2017 casting in which he was selected as the final contestant. After his fifth nomination, Cepeda was expelled in the 9th gala of the program in front of his partner Roi, who was saved with 73% of the audience’s votes.
During his participation in the contest, Cepeda shared a love story with another of the contestants, Aitana. The now pop star, who entered the contest with a partner like the Galician, fell in love with Luis within the academy and both made their courtship official during the OT 2017 concert tour. After a year together ‘aiteda’, the name with which the fans baptized the couple of former triumphs, their relationship ended in the summer of 2018.
Despite the messages of support and affection that Cepeda shared after his breakup with the singer of songs like Las Babys, the artist has given statements in recent months through which he attacks Aitanax. “It’s very cool when you have the support from your record company, when they invest in you, when they shoehorn you into TV shows so that you continue playing,” he wrote ironically on his Telegram channel, referring to the singer’s career.
After signing for the Universal record company upon leaving the academy, the singer began to compose songs, collaborating with some artists such as Andrés Suárez, India Martínez or the group Despistaos. In addition, he also decided to collaborate with some of his former OT colleagues, among whom are Ana Guerra, Roi Méndez and Julia Medina.
It was not until 2018 that the artist published his first single Esta Vez and released his first debut album titled Principles. Both releases brought the artist successes such as the announcement of his first solo tour and his positioning in first place on the official sales list in Spain, thus achieving a gold record. In 2020 and 2022 he published his next two albums under the name Con los Pies En El Suelo and Sempiterno, respectively.
“I’ve been missing from social media for about 4 months. “I have been fighting to be able to be independent, in the end they are very bureaucratic steps that drag on and you get a little demotivated when you see that your career does not continue until you can get out of there and do whatever you want,” the artist explained to through their social networks.
And the former Operación Triunfo contestant is currently in a time of change. After the release of his latest album, the Galician is looking for a new record company where he can have more decision-making power over his musical career. “I want to manage my own songs, decide everything that is done and have absolutely everything come from me,” he told his fans at the end of 2023.
