# Morat (band)

Morat is a Colombian Latin pop rock band formed in the country's capital city, Bogotá. The band is made up of Juan Pablo Isaza (guitars and vocals), Juan Pablo Villamil (banjo and vocals), and the brothers Simón Vargas (bass and choruses) and Martín Vargas (percussion and choirs). Drummer Alejandro Posada was also a founding member of the band, but left in 2016 and was replaced by Martín Vargas.

## History
### Formation

The members of Morat have known each other since they were five years old. They started playing together and, when they finished high school, decided to start a band. The band has stated that their musical influences included Joaquín Sabina, Coldplay and Bacilos.
The band's original name was "Malta". The name was inspired by a pet owned by Isaza. They switched to "Morat" because it was the surname of an ancestor of Alejandro Posada, former member of the band. The name was also inspired by the farm where the band made their first rehearsals which was named "La Morat":

### 2014–2017: Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios

Morat saw their first turning point when the singer Paulina Rubio showed interests in their composition "Mi Nuevo Vicio" and wanted them to turn it into a single. In 2015, "Mi Nuevo Vicio" was released under the collaboration of Paulina Rubio and Morat, achieving great success internationally. The single rose to No.12 on the Billboard Latin Pop Airplay chart, and reached No.1 in Spain. The single was also certified Platinum Record.
At the end of 2015, they received another international success with the new single, "Cómo te atreves", reaching the peak position in iTunes and bringing them to fame in Spain. In June 2016, Morat released their first studio album Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios through Universal Music Spain. The album debuted at No.1 in several Hispanic countries, including Colombia, Mexico and Spain. The album was certified 4× Platinum, and the band received a Latin Grammy award nomination for "Cómo te atreves". After the release of this album, Alejandro Posada left the band and was replaced by Simón Vargas' brother Martín.
In 2017, Morat produced the single "Yo Contigo, Tú Conmigo" in collaboration with Álvaro Soler as the theme music of Despicable Me 3. The single peaked at No.9 on Billboard on 19 August 2017 and won the "Song of the Year" award in LOS40 Music Awards 2017. This single was later included in the re-issue of Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios, which also contains the acoustic version of "Cómo te atreves".

### 2017–2019: Balas perdidas

In 2018, Morat released their second studio album, Balas perdidas. The single "Cuando nadie ve" peaked at No.1 on Billboard on 18 August 2018, and the single "No se va", released on 7 March 2019, hit almost 2 million visits on YouTube in less than a week.
Following the release Morat kicked off their first-ever US tour to promote their album in 2019, with the first performance in San Francisco on 4 April 2019. The tour ended in Orlando on 5 May 2019, with performances in other cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.
In April 2019, Morat released a song with Aitana called "Presiento". "Presiento" was later included in the re-issue of Balas perdidas, Balas perdidas (Edición especial), on 10 May 2019, together with three other songs.
On 15 December 2019, Morat ended their Spain tour with the last performance at the WiZink Center in Madrid. Antonio José, Aitana, Cali y El Dandee, and Cami were also invited to perform at this concert. Up to this show, Morat has held more than 80 concerts in 13 countries.

### 2019–2021: ¿A dónde vamos?

On 13 December 2019, Morat released the single "Enamórate de alguien más", the second single from their third album cycle (following the title track).
On 6 March 2020, Morat released "No Termino", the third single and the first of 2020. On 2 April, "Nunca te olvide", the fourth single was released. On 22 May, "Bajo la mesa", along with Sebastián Yatra, was released, the fifth single from the third album and the first collaboration. On 11 June, the band released a collaboration with Reik titled "La Bella y la Bestia." On 30 July they released "Más de lo que aposté"—their second collaboration with Aitana—and on 6 August they released "Labios Rotos", which is a tribute to the Mexican band Zoé.
On 7 November, after more than 5 months without playing on stage, Morat played a virtual concert through Rappi called "Echando un cuento." According to the app, it was the best-selling virtual concert on the continent in 2020.
On 13 November, "Al aire" was released, the sixth single from their third album, with its respective music video, which was recorded in the municipality of Guasca, Cundinamarca.
On 3 June 2021, they released a collaboration with Danna Paola. On 15 July 2021, Morat released their third studio album, ¿A dónde vamos?. The album was influenced by the band's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

### 2021–present: Si ayer fuera hoy

On 4 November 2022, Morat released their fourth studio album, Si ayer fuera hoy.

## Members

Current
* Juan Pablo Isaza Piñeros – guitar, piano, ukulele, lead vocals
* Juan Pablo Villamil Cortez – banjo, lead vocals
* Simón Vargas Morales – bass guitar, backup vocals
* Martín Vargas Morales – percussion, backup vocals
Former
* Alejandro Posada – percussion, backup vocals

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | MEX | SPA | Certifications |
| Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios | Released: 17 June 2016 Label: Universal Music Spain Formats: CD, digital download | — | 5 | AMPROFON: Diamond+Gold PROMUSICAE: Gold RIAA: Gold (Latin) |
| Balas perdidas | Released: 26 October 2018 Label: Universal Music Spain Formats: CD, digital download | 1 | 1 | AMPROFON: Diamond+2× Platinum+Gold PROMUSICAE: Platinum RIAA: Platinum (Latin) |
| ¿A dónde vamos? | Released: 16 July 2021 Label: Universal Music Spain Formats: CD, digital download | — | 1 | AMPROFON: 2× Platinum PROMUSICAE: Gold RIAA: Gold (Latin) |
| Si ayer fuera hoy | Released: 4 November 2022 Label: Universal Music Spain Formats: CD, digital download | — | 2 | PROMUSICAE: Gold RIAA: Gold (Latin) |

### Extended plays

List of extended plays with selected details :
| Title | Extended play details |
| Grabado en Madera | Released: 24 July 2015 Label: Universal Music Spain Format: Digital downloading |

### Singles
#### As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | COL | ARG | ECU | ITA | MEX | POL | SPA | Certifications | Album |
| "Cuánto me duele" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 53 | PROMUSICAE: Gold | Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios |
| "Cómo te atreves" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | 23 | — | 2 | AMPROFON: 2× Platinum PROMUSICAE: 5× Platinum RIAA: Platinum (Latin) | Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios |
| "Del estadio al cielo" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios |
| "Amor con hielo" | 2017 | — | — | 16 | — | 24 | — | 50 | AMPROFON: Gold PROMUSICAE: Gold | Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios |
| "Yo contigo, tú conmigo" (with Álvaro Soler) | 2017 | — | — | 76 | 29 | — | 15 | 18 | FIMI: Platinum PROMUSICAE: Platinum | Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios... y unas cuantas cosas más (Edición especial) and Mar de Colores |
| "Besos en guerra" (with Juanes) | 2017 | 78 | — | 2 | — | 34 | — | 22 | AMPROFON: 4× Platinum PROMUSICAE: 2× Platinum RIAA: Platinum (Latin) | Balas perdidas |
| "Para que nadie se entere" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Antes de los veinte" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "¿A dónde vamos a parar?" (with Paty Cantú) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "La correcta" (with Nabález) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 42 | | Non-album singles |
| "Cuando nadie ve" | 2018 | — | 43 | — | — | 2 | — | 21 | AMPROFON: 4× Platinum PROMUSICAE: 2× Platinum RIAA: Platinum (Latin) | Balas perdidas |
| "Punto y aparte" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | AMPROFON: Platinum | Balas perdidas |
| "Una y otra vez" (with Santiago Cruz) | 2018 | 59 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | | Elementales |
| "El embrujo" (feat. Antonio Carmona & Josemi Carmona) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | AMPROFON: Gold | Balas perdidas |
| "Yo no merezco volver" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 88 | | Balas perdidas |
| "No se va" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | AMPROFON: Diamond+3× Platinum+Gold PROMUSICAE: Platinum RIAA: 4× Platinum (Latin) | Balas perdidas |
| "Presiento" (with Aitana) | 2019 | — | — | — | — | 10 | — | 9 | AMPROFON: Platinum PROMUSICAE: 2× Platinum | Balas perdidas (Edición especial) |
| "Déjame ir" (with Andrés Cepeda) | 2019 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Mejores amigos" (with Yera) | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "A dónde vamos" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 31 | PROMUSICAE: Platinum | ¿A Donde Vamos? |
| "Enamórate de alguien más" | 2019 | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | 61 | | ¿A Donde Vamos? |
| "No termino" | 2020 | — | — | 13 | — | — | — | 83 | | ¿A Donde Vamos? |
| "Nunca te olvidé" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 72 | | ¿A Donde Vamos? |
| "Princesas" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Bajo la mesa" (with Sebastián Yatra) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 52 | | ¿A Donde Vamos? |
| "La bella y la bestia" (with Reik) | 2020 | — | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | * AMPROFON: Gold | ¿A Donde Vamos? |
| "506" (with Juanes) | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 77 | | Si Ayer Fuera Hoy |
| "Salir Con Vida" (with Feid) | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | | Si Ayer Fuera Hoy |

#### As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | COL | ARG | ECU | MEX | SPA | US Latin | VEN | Certifications | Album |
| "Mi nuevo vicio" (Paulina Rubio feat. Morat) | 2015 | — | — | — | 22 | 2 | — | — | AMPROFON: Gold PROMUSICAE: 2× Platinum | Deseo and Sobre el amor y sus efectos secundarios |
| "Sé que te duele" (Alejandro Fernández feat. Morat) | 2017 | 25 | — | 1 | 2 | 29 | 49 | — | AMPROFON: 2× Platinum PROMUSICAE: Platinum | Rompiendo Fronteras |
| "Consejo de Amor" (TINI feat. Morat) | 2018 | — | 33 | 65 | — | — | — | 58 | CUD: Gold | Quiero Volver |
| "Más de lo que aposté" (Aitana feat. Morat) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | 21 | — | — | PROMUSICAE: Gold | Non-album single |

## Awards and nominations

Latin Grammy Award :
| Year | Nominee / Work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2016 | Morat | Best New Artist | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Balas perdidas | Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album | Nominated | |
LOS40 Music Awards :
| Year | Nominee / Work | Award | Result |
| 2016 | Morat | New Artist of the Year | Won |
| 2016 | "Cómo Te Atreves" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2016 | Morat | Lo + 40 Artist Award | Nominated |
| 2017 | "Yo Contigo, Tú Conmigo" (with Álvaro Soler) | Song of the Year | Won |
| 2018 | Morat | Best Latin Artist | Won |
| 2019 | Morat | Del 40 al 1 Artist Award | Nominated |