Kudai are a Chilean

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band from

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, formed in 2003. The group is composed of Pablo Holman, Bárbara Sepúlveda, Tomás Manzi, and

Nicole Natalino Nicole Monserrat Natalino Torres (born March 5, 1989) is a Chilean singer who is a current member of Chilean pop rock band Kudai (previously known as Ciao). She had left the group voluntarily in 2006, and in 2008 made a comeback with her solo m ...

, who left the group in 2006 citing personal reasons, and was replaced by Ecuadorian

Gabriela Villalba María Gabriela Villalba Jervis (born September 21, 1984, in Quito, Ecuador) is an Ecuadorian singer and actress. She is also known as Gaby de K. K refers to Kiruba and Kudai, two musical bands she was a member of. Biography Early life Gabrie ...

for three years. After the group disbanded in 2010, in November 2016, the band confirmed their return to the scene with the original members. In July 2024, the band made official its reunion with

, becoming a 5 people group. Originally beginning their career as a kiddie band named CIAO, they rose to international fame when they changed their name and musical style with their debut album '' Vuelo'' (2004), which was a worldwide success, reaching triple platinum status in Chile, and selling over 500,000 copies worldwide. Their third studio album '' Nadha'' (2008) was nominated for Best Pop Album by Group or Duet at the

9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards The 9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards took place on Thursday, November 13, 2008, at the Toyota Center (Houston), Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and were aired on Univision. The Brazilian Field awards were presented on the same day at the Ibirapuera ...

, and was critically acclaimed. They are well known for hit songs, such as " Sin Despertar", " Ya Nada Queda", " Déjame Gritar", " Lejos De Aquí" and " Morir De Amor". Kudai had a resounding commercial success in Latin America, and marked an entire generation with their musical style and lyricism. Often labeled by the media as an " emo band", a sobriquet based on their image, Kudai is characterized by lyrics about transcendental topics for youth such as depression,

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

and toxic relationships.

History

1999–2002: Ciao

Pablo Vega, a Mexican producer and manager based in Chile, formed a children's group called "Ciao" late 1999. Initially, the group included

and Tomás Manzi, and later, Bárbara Sepúlveda, who auditioned, and replaced another girl who could not continue within the musical project. Finally, the group was formed by the fourth member, Pablo Holman, who joined "Ciao" by a reference, because his father is a well-known musician from Chile and acquaintance of Vega. The concept of "Ciao" consisted of a group of children each represented by a color –Pablo, blue; Barbara, fuchsia; Nicole, purple and Tomás, green – who performed Italian pop hits. Ciao released their first and only album studio, ''El Poder de los Niños'', early 2002 by EMI Odeón Chilena. Two singles from the album were promoted on Chilean radio stations, " Será Porque Te Amo" and " Mamma María", both of which contained its own music videos. For two years, Ciao made appearances on television shows, until the group transitioned into a teen concept.

2003–2005: Foundation of Kudai, and ''Vuelo''

The group began accepting song submissions and concentrating on performing original material in hopes of breaking out of its niche market. Their reinvention was complete after changing their name from CIAO to ''Kudai'', which is derived from the

Mapudungun Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...

''(native Chilean language)'' word , which according to the bandmembers means "young worker." In 2004 the group, now composed of four vocalists (Pablo, Tomas, Barbara, and Nicole), released its debut record, entitled '' Vuelo'' (Flight). Thanks to a string of successful singles, Vuelo soon achieved platinum record status. The group began its steady climb to the top with a

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...

nomination from '' MTV Latin American video music awards'' for their music video from the first single " Sin Despertar", quickly escalated to the first places of Chilean music rankings. Soon, they released their second single, " Ya Nada Queda", which achieved great success as did their third single, "Escapar". ''Vuelo'' went

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

in August 2005. Kudai was nominated for ''Best Artist—Central Region'' and ''Best New Artist—Central'' Region in the MTV Video Music Awards Latin America 2005. They released their first

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

, which included their 2004–2005 Tour, in September 2005 called '' En Vivo - Gira 2004–2005''. The album was released in Mexico in July 2006 with a different cover with the same tracks. The album sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide.

2006–2007: ''Sobrevive'', their second studio album

In 2006, they recorded their second album ''

Sobrevive ''Sobrevive'' is the second album of the Chilean pop rock band Kudai released on June 16, 2006. Debuted at number one in their native country and certified platinum and sold 350,000 copies worldwide. Album information This album is the last reco ...

'', released on June 15, 2006. The album debuted at #1 in Chile as one of the most sold albums of the year and achieved gold status for selling over 15,000 copies. The album was released in 2007 in Mexico and sold more than 350,000 copies worldwide. This album was the last record on which Nicole Natalino sang. She left the group due to personal problems and months later, Natalino sued Kudai's manager Pablo Vega for misappropriation of her salary as a band member. After the departure of Nicole,

replaced her and re-recorded the album featuring Gabriela's

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...

; this was released on September 26, 2007 in Chile. The album represented a drastic change in their style with a heavier sound and darker lyrics about anorexia, teenage pregnancy, drug addiction & suicide. The first single is "Déjame Gritar" which reached #1 in Chile and Argentina. The video of the single features Nicole before her departure and also hit the #1 spot on many music video channels and programs in Latin America and reached #1 on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Latin America's TRL ''Los 10+ Pedidos'' in Argentina and

Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...

. The second single is " Llévame". The video features Villalba and it was filmed in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

in Chile. This version of the record was promoted in Latinamerica. In addition to replacing Nicole, the track listing also changed. The song "Si He Tocado El Suelo" was removed and a new one titled " Tú" replaced it, becoming the first Kudai song originally recorded with Gabriela. They also performed the theme for the

MTV Latin America MTV is a Latin American pay television network that was launched on 1 October 1993 as the Hispanic American version of MTV. It is owned by Paramount Networks Americas, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The channel broadcasts music videos as ...

's show, ''Quiero mis Quince'' (English: ''

My Super Sweet 16 ''My Super Sweet 16'' is an American reality television series documenting the lives of teenagers, usually in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, generally with wealthy parents who throw lavish, excessive and expensive coming-of-age c ...

''). The group won the '' MTV Latin American video music awards'' award for ''Best Pop Artist'' in 2006 and ''Best Central Artist'' in 2007, which they dedicated to both their fans and Nicole. After the success of the group, they were invited to the

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune on Zona Central, Chile, central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located withi ...

Festival in February 2007. On October 2, 2007 the group released their first live album (fourth overall) called '' En Vivo: Desde Mexico''.

2008–2010: ''Nadha, separation''

Towards the end of 2006 they moved to Mexico to launch their international career and left Chile. Kudai closed their career in Chile when they played in the Festival de

, which was their last performance in the country for a while. In 2008, they recorded their third studio album called '' Nadha''. The album has 12 songs, of which six were written by producer Koko Stambuk (ex-musician of ''Glup!''). Three other songs are from producer Carlos Lara, who is considered to be the creator of

RBD RBD was a Mexican Latin pop group that gained popularity from Televisa's telenovela ''Rebelde'' (2004–2006). It was composed of Anahí, Dulce María, Maite Perroni, Alfonso Herrera, Christopher von Uckermann and Christian Chávez. The group ac ...

and has collaborated with musicians such as

Lynda Thomas Lynda Aguirre Thomas (born 21 December 1981), known professionally as Lynda, is a Mexican musician, singer, songwriter and activist. She achieved recognition in her native Mexico during the late 1990s and early 2000s. She was signed to EMI Cap ...

and

Ricky Martin Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...

. Cathy Lean (ex-''Mal Corazón''), from Chile, also wrote two of the album's songs. Kudai chose to interpret the songs of

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...

and her band's bassist Eric Avery (ex-''Jane's Addiction''). The album was mastered at a Los Angeles studio, Igloo Music, under the direction of Gustavo Borner, who has worked with well-known artists such as Diego Torres,

Sin Bandera Sin Bandera is a Mexican duo who perform romantic ballads, consisting of Mexican singer-songwriter Leonel Garcia and Argentine-Mexican singer-songwriter Noel Schajris. They formed in Mexico City in 2000. They became one of the most popular arti ...

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

and

N'Sync NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

, as well as working on the motion picture

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

s of ''

Rush Hour 2 ''Rush Hour 2'' is a 2001 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and written by Jeff Nathanson. A sequel to '' Rush Hour'' (1998), it is the second installment in the ''Rush Hour'' franchise and stars Jackie Chan and ...

'', ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

'' and ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...

''. Kudai band member

has said that this album is a turning point in Kudai's musical career:

"Now is the time that Kudai needs to show and prove many things because if we remain the same, we will be categorized as the teen band that will never grow. I feel that this third album is a very decisive stage for Kudai. We are going to fight to rid ourselves from the title of "the band that wants to be popular" and actually present good material."

The group appeared in one episode of ''

Skimo ''Skimo'' is a Mexican sitcom. It is produced by Nickelodeon (Latin American TV channel), Nickelodeon Latin America and Macias Group International. The opening song for the show, "Skimo es el lugar" ("Skimo Is the Place"), is performed by the ...

'' and performed " Déjame Gritar". Their album ''Nadha'' was released on May 3, 2008 in all of Latin America. In Mexico it obtained gold certification. On May 12, 2008, Kudai premiered their new music video with the Mexican music group,

and

Eiza González Eiza González Reyna (born 30 January 1990) is a Mexican actress and singer. She gained popularity for starring in the Argentine Nickelodeon teen sitcom '' Sueña conmigo'' (2010–2011). As a singer, she released the albums '' Contracorriente' ...

called "Estar Bien" (Be Well). The song is part of a campaign for

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

anorexia Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

, and

bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known simply as bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating (eating large quantities of food in a short period of time, often feeling out of control) followed by compensatory behaviors, such as self-induc ...

awareness, and for being well, happy, and getting active in Mexico. The video shows the singers on a tour bus singing around

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

while citizens do various stretches and cardiovascular exercises. On August 5, 2008 the band debut in the United States market with their first album released there. On July 21, 2008 their second single of ''Nadha'', "

Nada Es Igual Nada Es Igual may refer to: * ''Nada Es Igual...'' (Luis Miguel album) (1996) * ''Nada es igual'' (Franco De Vita album) (1999) * ''Nada Es Igual'' (Chenoa album) (2005) * "Nada Es Igual" (Kudai song) (2008) {{disambiguation ...

" was released in Latin America. The album was nominated for "Best Pop Album by Group or Duet" at the

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music, Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish language, S ...

held at the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once th ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

on November 13, 2008. In January 2009, they released an exclusive single for Chile, called " Hoy Quiero" with moderate success. On January 22, 2009, they released as a single the song "Ladrando a La Luna" for the 2008

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

movie '' Bolt''. In August 2009, Kudai initially announced a 2 year hiatus, allowing its members to involve in solo projects and go to college, denying any rumours about the band disbanding. However, during the spring of 2010 the band announced a farewell tour, which got cancelled due to personal issues among the band's members and financial issues with the band's management, leading to Kudai officially disbanding in 2010. Pablo Holman stayed and naturalized in Mexico, forming the punk rock band "Lillyput", and also became a part of Mexican metal bands "Entertain the Beast" as their bass guitar player and "Astro Rain" as their vocalist and guitar player, Tomas Manzi returned to Chile and kept studying music, became a DJ and involved in the backstage side of the music industry by doing activities such as light technicism, Barbara Sepulveda also returned to Chile to enroll in college and got a major in orthodontics, both Tomas and Barbara formed the duet "Amitie", Gabriela Villalba moved to the United States and became an activist for eating disorders and launched a solo career.

2016-2023: Reunion

In November 2016, the band announced their comeback with the original line-up, as former member Nicole Natalino confirmed the reunion with their bandmates after a decade of leaving the band. They released the song "Aquí Estaré" during the spring of 2017 as their comeback anthem, and their 4th album "Laberinto" was released during the first half of 2019, being their first studio album after more than a decade of releasing their last album, portraying Natalino's vocals again. In 2021, they released their 5th album "Revuelo", which consists of re-recordings of some of their biggest hits through their history, celebrating their 20th anniversary, including "Sin Despertar", "Ya Nada Queda", "Escapar" and some of their most important songs in a modern synth pop style, moving away from their earlier pop rock sound and dark aesthetics.

2024: ''Revive'' and new lineup

In July 2024, Kudai announced through their Instagram page that they were reuniting with ecuadorian singer

after 14 years of not performing with her, becoming a 5 person group for the first time in their career. Kudai announced the "Revive" Tour including this new lineup, they also announced new music and a new album. The band released the single "Karma" in February 2025, a pop-rock song that returns to their heavier sound and aesthetics and is the first Kudai song that features both Nicole and Gabriela's vocals.https://www.expreso.ec/ocio/kudai-lanza-karma-cancion-sanan-pasado-232438.html

Members

Current members

* Pablo Holman – vocals, occasionally guitars (1999–2009; 2016–present) * Bárbara Sepúlveda – vocals (1999–2009; 2016–present) * Tomás Manzi – vocals (1999–2009; 2016–present) *

– vocals (1999–2006; 2016–present) *

– vocals (2006–2009; 2024–present)

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Vuelo'' (2004) * ''

'' (2006) * '' Nadha'' (2008) * ''Laberinto'' (2019) * ''Revuelo'' (2021)

Tours

Awards and nominations

Latin Grammy Awards

A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the

Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., trading as The Latin Recording Academy (; ), is a multinational membership-based association composed of Latin music industry professionals, musicians, producers, recording engineers, and ...

to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Kudai earned one nomination. , - ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, , '' Nadha'' , , Best Pop Album by a Duo or Group with Vocals , , , -

Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica

Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service (transportation), Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a ...

or VMALA's is the Latin American version of the Video Music Awards. Kudai won five awards from sixteen nominations. , - ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, , ''Kudai'' , , Best New Artist — Central , , , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Best Artist — Central , , , - ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, , ''Kudai'' , , Breakthrough Artist , , , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Best Pop Artist , , , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Best Artist — Central , , , - ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, , ''Kudai'' , ,

Artist of the Year ''Artist of the Year'' is a television competition shown on the Sky Arts channel (formerly known as Artsworld and Sky Arts 1) which aims to find the best portrait and landscape artist every year. Overview Through several rounds of regional comp ...

, , , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Best Group or Duet , , , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Best Artist — Central , , , - ,

, , ''Pablo Holman'' , , Fashionista — Male , , , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Best Group or Duet , , , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Best Pop Artist , , , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Best Artist — Central , , , - ,

, , ''Gabriela Villalba'' , , Fashionista — Female , , , - ,

, , ''Kudai (President: Martín Torrilla)'' , , Best Fan Club , , , - ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, , ''Kudai'' , ,

, , , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Best Artist — Central , , , -

Los Premios 40 Principales

Los Premios 40 Principales, is an award show by the musical radio station Los 40 Principales created in 2006 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of its founding. Kudai won one award from two nominations. , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Chilean Act , , , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Chilean Act , , , -

Orgullosamente Latino Award

The

Orgullosamente Latino Awards The Orgullosamente Latino Awards are accolades first awarded in 2004 for the best in Latin music. They were created by Alexis Núñes Oliva, Executive Producer of Ritmoson Latino, the Mexico-based music television channel Music television is a ty ...

are accolades first awarded in 2004 for the best in Latin music. They were created by Alexis Núñes Oliva, Executive Producer of Ritmoson Latino, the Mexico-based music television channel through which the awards are broadcast each year. Kudai won two awards from four nominations. , - ,

, , ''Kudai'' , , Latin Group of the Year , , , - ,

, , '' Lejos De Aquí'' , , Latin Music Video of the Year , , , -

Premios Oye!

Premios Oye! (Premio Nacional a la Música Grabada) are presented annually by the Academia Nacional de la Música en México for outstanding achievements in the Mexican record industry. Kudai received one award from two nominations. , - ,

, , '' Nadha'' , , Best Pop by a Duo/Group , , , - ,

, , '' Lejos De Aquí'' , , Best Song with a Message , , , -

References

External links

*
Official site
*
Kudai Nadha
{{Authority control Capitol Records artists Latin pop music groups Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Musical groups reestablished in 2016 1999 establishments in Chile Chilean pop rock music groups