Fruela Fuente

Fruela Fuente Fernández (born March 14, 1987), or known simply as Fruela, is a Spanish singer, actor, model and television presenter. He is best known for his scandalous audition performance of George Michael's hit song "Faith" on the eleventh series of the British singing competition show The X Factor in 2014. His debut single "Overload" was released on June 17, 2014.

Early life and career beginnings

Fruela Fuente was born in Riaño, Asturias, Spain on March 14, 1987 to a family of Andalusian immigrants. He grew up in Sotrondio, San Martín del Rey Aurelio where he attended school at Rey Aurelio and IES Juan José Calvo Miguel. At a young age, Fruela knew he wanted to be a singer and began to study music theory and learned how to play the accordian. In 1998, when Fruela was 11 years old, he competed in Veo Veo 98, a nationwide kids talent show hosted and directed by Spanish actress Teresa Rabal. In 2005, Fruela joined a band called Tekila, with whom he performed an average of 120 concerts a year. Fruela decided to leave the group in 2008 to focus on his solo career.

In 2008, Fruela was selected to participate in the television program Operación Tony Manero, a reality competition show where actors compete for the lead role in a musical for Saturday Night Fever. Operación Tony Manero premiered on Telecinco December 7, but was cancelled after two episodes due to low ratings.

While living in Italy, Fruela participated in several galas for RAI. He is currently working as a television presenter for 888 Casino, which is broadcast by Italian-based television network 7 Gold.

In early 2014, Fruela signed with independent dance music label Blanco y Negro Music. On June 17, 2014, Fruela released his debut singe "Overload". The music video for "Overload" was released on September 2, 2014.

Career

2014: The X Factor

In the summer of 2014, Fruela participated in the eleventh series of The X Factor (UK). During his arena audition for the eleventh series of The X Factor UK, Fruela repeatedly touched his crotch while singing "Faith" by George Michael. His performance shocked the judges, specifically Cheryl, who called his dance moves "distracting". Fellow judge Simon Cowell asked Fruela if he "could you do the song without touching your crotch?". Despite this, Fruela got two yeses from the judges, allowing him to move on to bootcamp.

Fruela's audition was widely reported by both the English and Spanish media, labelling him as "raunchy" and "scandalous". His appearance on the show created controversy in Spain, due to Fruela being the first Spanish singer to audition for the UK edition of The X Factor since Ruth Lorenzo, who came in fifth place during the fifth series back in 2008.

Fruela made it to bootcamp, reaching the Top 12 in the Over 25s category, but didn't make it to the judges houses.

Personal Life

Outside of his native Spanish, Fruela is fluent in Italian and English. He splits his time between London, England and Milan, Italy. There is some confusion about Fruela's year of birth. His Facebook profile says he was born in 1988, but in an interview Fruela said that he was 27, which would make his birth year 1987.