"One of the most critically lauded and commercially successful Spanish pop-rock outfits, La Oreja de Van Gogh has been making music characterized by electric guitar and keyboard since the late ‘90s.La Oreja de Van Gogh came together when Pablo Benegas (guitar), Alvaro Fuentes (bass), Xabi San Martín (keyboards) and Haritz Garde (drums) met at a local university in 1996. Benegas met Amaia Montero at a dinner party and she subsequently joined the band on vocals. With San Martín, Benegas and Montero at the songwriting helm, La Oreja de Van Gogh signed with Sony Discos and soon began recoding their debut album. Dile al Sol hit the ground running with several smash singles, including ""El 28"" and ""Cuentame al Oido,"" in 1998 and La Oreja de Van Gogh was consequently rewarded with an Ondas Award for Best New Act.The band secured further success with their sophomore album, El Viaje de Copperpot, which was released in 2000 and spawned international singles ""La Playa"" and ""Cuídate."" After scoring their first songs on the Latin American and U.S. charts, La Oreja de Van Gogh issued their third album in 2003, Lo Que Te Conté Mientras Te Hacías de Dormida. The album was an even bigger success, with eight charting singles in their native Spain, four of which snagged the coveted number one spot, making La Oreja de Van Gogh an increasingly popular band outside of Spain in the U.S. and Latin America. The band toured excessively to promote their breakthrough album, Lo Que Te Conté Mientras Te Hacías de Dormida, produced a DVD documenting the tour (En Directo-Lo Que Te Conté Mientras Te Hacías de Dormida) and won several awards for the album, sush as an MTV Latin Award for Best Group and an Ondas Award for Best Album.In 2006 La Oreja de Van Gogh released Guapa to commemorate their tenth anniversary; the album's first two singles, ""Muñeca de Trapo"" and ""Dulce Locura,"" topped the charts in Spain and the album itself peaked at number five on the Top Latin Albums chart in the U.S. Más Guapa, a special double-disc release, was issued in Spain later on in the year after the band received a Latin Grammy for Best Pop Album by a Duo or Group. A Las Cinco en al Astoria was released in September 2008."