Manuel Alejandro Medrano López (October 29, 1987, Cartagena, Colombia), known as Manuel Medrano, is a Colombian pop singer and a winner of two Latin Grammy Awards. His singing and songwriting are a way of saying thanks for supporting his family. The story of Manuel Medrano begins when he failed a school year and, as “punishment,” he received a guitar. From the age of 16 he began writing songs, which motivated him to start a career as a solo artist.

For several years he played in bars in Bogota while composing his songs, which, years later, made him popular at the national level. Medrano interviewed on Colombian radio in 2019

In August 2014 he released “Afuera del planeta,” his first independent single. Playback of the song increased gradually on national radio to the point of becoming one of the hits of the year. Thanks to this song, he was nominated twice to the Shock music awards: in the Best New Artist and Best Shock Presents categories.

In early 2015 he signed with multinational label Warner Music and, months later, released his second promotional single “Bajo el agua,” which accumulated more than 75,000,000 views on YouTube and was well received in Colombia and Mexico.

In the year 2016 he won two Latin Grammy Awards: Best New Artist and Best Songwriting Album. Manuel Medrano composes romantic music that he calls pop-cast, because it doesn’t come from a specific genre, but from various influences of Latin American singer-songwriters.

Manuel Medrano is an award-winning pop singer and songwriter from Colombia. Born in Cartagena de Indias in 1987, his musical career appears to have been destined rather than deliberately pursued — at least initially. After missing a year of high school due to youthful mishaps, he was “punished” with the gift of a guitar. 

He taught himself to play and began writing songs at 16, observing the folk and pop styles of his country. He learned his craft by playing Bogota’s bars for several years while continuing to compose. Some of the songs written during this period became hits later.

Medrano also took to making videos on YouTube, showcasing his vocal and guitar-playing skills with acoustic covers of hits by other artists. The view totals continued to rise and word of mouth spread. The songwriter issued “Afuera del Planeta,” his first independently released single in 2015. The track circulated across the internet’s social networks quickly, attracting the attention of Warner Bros; they signed him immediately.

His first single for the label, “Bajo el Agua,” gained massive radio airplay, and its accompanying video reached 100 million views. Warner issued his self-titled debut full-length in 2015, containing both singles as well as a third, “Una y Otra Vez.” All did well enough on the digital charts to garner Medrano not only two Latin Grammy nominations, but wins in the Mejor Nuevo Artista (Best New Artist) and Mejor Álbum Cantautor (Best Songwriting Album) categories. His first non-album single, “Complicidad,” was issued in 2016 and charted not only in Colombia, but in Spain as well.