RBD

A pop group in real life and as stars of the massively successful telenovela Rebelde, RBD are a multilingual pop culture sensation whose impact stretched from their native Mexico to the United States. Beginning with the 2004 debut of Rebelde, the members of RBD gained widespread fame, starring as characters on the popular teen drama, as well as touring and recording under their actual names. Both during their time on Rebelde, and even after the show’s 2006 finale, RBD remained chart favorites in Mexico, Spain, and Brazil, where each of their albums reached the Top Five, spawning hits like “Rebelde,” “Solo Quédate en Silencio,” “Nuestro Amor,” “Inalcanzable,” and many more. At the same time, they enjoyed a massive fan following in the United States, where Rebelde aired on Univisión and helped propel albums like 2005′s Nuestro Amor, 2006′s Celestial, and 2007′s Empezar Desde Cero, to number one on the Billboard Latin Albums chart.
Formed in 2004 in Mexico City and launched in tandem with the telenovela Rebelde, RBD featured the singing and acting talents of Alfonso Herrera (as Miguel Arango Cervera), Christian Chávez (as Giovanni Méndez López), Dulce María (as Roberta Alejandra Pardo Rey), Maite Perroni (as Guadalupe “Lupita” Fernández), Christopher Uckermann (as Diego Bustamante), and Anahí Portilla (as Mía Colucci Casares). A remake of an Argentine telenovela of the same name, Rebelde was set in an elite private boarding school near Mexico City and revolved around a group of teens and the drama surrounding their pop group RBD. Real-life music stars frequently made guest cameos on the show, among them Hilary Duff, Luny Tunes, Gorillaz, and JD Natasha. An international sensation, Rebelde earned top ratings in the Spanish-speaking world, and proved extremely popular in Brazil and the United States.
Several months after the premiere of their TV show, RBD released their debut album, 2004′s Rebelde, on EMI. It included the show’s theme song and featured writing and production contributions by DJ Kafka, Max di Carlo, Armando Ávila, and others. The album proved just as popular as the show, and the first three singles (“Rebelde,” “Solo Quedate en Silencio,” “Sálvame”) were all number one hits in Mexico. A Portuguese-language edition of the album was released for the Brazilian market in 2005. And though no English-language edition appeared, Rebelde sold well in the States, breaking into the Top 100 of the album chart and reaching number two on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. The album was followed that July by a live CD/DVD, Tour Generación RBD en Vivo, commemorating the group’s 35-date, sold-out tour of Mexico.
The group’s second studio album, Nuestro Amor, arrived in September 2005 and set new sales records in Mexico, selling 160,000 copies in its first week alone. Buoyed by the singles “Nuestro Amor,” “Aún Hay Algo,” “Tras de Mi,” and “Este Corazón,” the album topped the charts in Mexico and hit number one on the Billboard Latin Albums chart. It also garnered a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Pop Album by a Duo/Group with Vocals.
In February 2006, tragedy struck during an autograph event for the band at a parking lot of a São Paulo shopping mall. Mistakenly thinking the group were inside a van, an estimated 15,000 fans breached a security fence and rushed toward the vehicle. Three people died and another 42 were injured during the stampede. In response, RBD launched the charity organization “Fundación Sálvame” (“Save Me Foundation”) to aid in helping unhoused children in Mexico, Brazil, and Spain. The group forged ahead, touring the United States for the first time that January and releasing the concert album Live in Hollywood. Several months later, their telenovela came to an end with the finale of its third season on June 2 and the group concentrated on their touring and recording work. In November 2006, RBD returned with their third studio effort, the Carlos Lara- and Armando Ávila-produced Celestial. Showcasing the single “Ser o Parecer,” the album landed at number two in Mexico and number nine in Spain. It also reached number one on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums and Top Latin Albums charts. Rebels, the group’s first English-language studio album, arrived in December 2006 and featured the Diane Warren-penned single “Tu Amor.” The album hit number one in Spain and cracked the Top 40 of the Billboard 200. Also that year, RBD issued Portuguese versions of Nuestro Amor (retitled Nosso Amor) and Celestial. A second live album, Hecho en España, arrived in 2007 and captured the group’s performance at Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid, Spain.
In November 2007, they released their fifth full-length album, Empezar Desde Cero, which featured several songs penned by members Herrera and Uckermann. It also featured a greater number of solo tracks by bandmembers than previous efforts. Led by the single “Inalcanzable,” the album debuted at number four in Mexico and hit number one on both the Billboard Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts. It also earned them a nomination for Best Pop Album by a Duo/Group with Vocals at the 9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. In October 2008, in light of the bandmembers’ burgeoning solo projects, RBD revealed that their sixth album would be their last. Released in March 2009, the fittingly titled Para Olvidarte de Mí (To Forget About Me), featured the bittersweet title track. The album peaked at number three on both the Mexican album chart and the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart. It was followed that November by the concert DVD Tournée do Adeus, a recording of the group’s final concert in São Paulo in November 2008. Since the demise of RBD, each of the group members have enjoyed solo success with continued work in music and acting. However, following the purchase of EMI by Universal Music Group in 2012, licensing and rights issues over the group’s name meant that their albums were largely unavailable. These were eventually resolved and in September 2020 all of RBD’s albums were released to streaming services. ~ Matt Collar