Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda

Julión Álvarez is an award-winning, best-selling traditional singer, songwriter, producer, and bandleader from Mexico and is known for his smooth, resonant tenor and unabashedly romantic delivery. Between 2002 and 2005, he fronted and toured with Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizárraga and Banda MS, and founded Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda in 2006. The latter's corridos, bandas, rancheras, and cumbias are signified by soulful, multi-tracked vocals, active soloing accordions, and bright brass and reed production. Their acclaimed debut album, Corazón Mágico, appeared in 2007. 2013's Tu Amigo Nada Mas crowned the Mexican Regional Charts, as did 2016's El Aferrado and 2017's Mis Idolos, Hoy Mis Amigos!!! 2019's Ni Diablo Ni Santo was nominated for a Grammy, while 2022's De Hoy en Adelante, Que Te Vaya Bien won a Latin Grammy. They were quick to follow it with 2023's Presente.

Born in 1983, Álvarez is the son of Cesar Álvarez Villalpando and María Felicitas Montelongo Esquivel. Julión Álvarez began singing at as a youngster and dreamed of performing professionally. In primary school, he sang Antonio Aguilar's "Y por Esa Calle Vive" in a competition and won. In high school he participated in numerous musical contests and local bandas. He won one contest for his reading of the standard "Corazón Usado."

At 18, he moved to Sinaloa to pursue a music career. To support himself he worked the fields, in an optician's office, and in restaurants. In 2002 worked as a roadie for Banda El Recodo, where he came into contact with singer Poncho Lizárraga, who invited him to work with his nephew, Alberto Lizárraga. Álvarez joined Alberto's Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizárraga. Unhappy because of the lack of commercial success, Álvarez left the group after seven months and joined Banda MS. In 2006 he left the outfit and formed his own outfit, Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda.

They debuted with the rootsy, raw Corazón Mágico in 2007. Led by a regional hit single of the same title, the album won accolades from Mexican critics and deejays. For Álvarez, the attention was all he required. He began releasing a string of successful albums at a torrid rate, often two or three a year. Between 2007 and 2014, the band released 11 albums. They included the widely acclaimed Corridos Privados (2009), Ni Lo Intentes (2010), and 2011's Top Five Márchate y Olvídame. The latter won Álvarez a Lo Neustra Award nomination for Regional Mexican Male Artist of the Year and the band, and Mexican Regional album of the Year. 2013's Tu Amigo Nada Más and the following year's Soy Lo Que Quiero... Indispensable were also nominated. The latter's single, "Y Asi Fue," won two Latin American Music awards for Favorite Regional Mexican Band, Duo, or Group and Favorite Regional Mexican Song. They were also nominated for Artist of the Year.

Álvarez became a nearly ubiquitous presence in Mexican popular culture and had begun establishing a profile in the United States and Central America. In 2015, El Aferrado was released and entered the Mexican Regional albums chart at number one. The lushly recorded 13-song set offered tracks equally balanced between corridos, cumbias, bandas, and mariachis. It received Latin Grammy nominations for Best Banda Album and Best Mexican Regional Song for the single "El Amor de Su Vida."

The recording's popularity led Álvarez to become a judge on the talent show La Voz... México. Later that year, he paid homage to a handful of his favorite banda artists and key musical influences with the 2016 covers album Mis Ídolos, Hoy Mis Amigos!!! It won nominations from the Latin American Music Awards, the Latin Grammys, and the Lo Nuestro Awards. 2017's Ni Diablo, Ni Santo was more dramatic than any of their previous outings. Juxtaposing furious mariachis and corridos with sentimental songs and burning romanticos, the album revealed a more polished studio approach.

That August, the U.S. Department of the Treasury froze Álvarez's assets in the United States and forbade American citizens and companies from doing business with him. Their allegation was that he'd violated the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. The band's U.S. tour was canceled. Álvarez denied the allegations and fully cooperated with authorities to clear his name. In November, Ni Diablo, Ni Santo was nominated for Best Regional Mexican Music Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018, while Álvarez was still under investigation.

In 2019, the band released Este Soy Yo, their then-current studio album, for free via the internet. They had no choice since the label pressing and distributing their record was located in the U.S. Though its only opportunity to be heard was at radio or streaming, the album entered the Mexican Regional charts at number seven and its first single, "Te lo Estoy Afirmando," went to number one in Mexico and charted in seven Latin American countries.

The bandleader continued to proclaim his innocence of the Treasury Department's charges and cooperate with U.S. authorities in a thorough investigation. In June 2022, five years after the U.S. government froze his assets and embargoed his music and merchandise, the investigation ended and Álvarez was subsequently cleared of all charges. In November, the group celebrated by releasing the 12-song De Hoy en Adelante, Que Te Vaya Bien. It topped the Mexican Regional Airplay list at number one and went on to win a Latin Grammy for Best Banda Album. Álvarez and his group returned in November 2023 with Presente, hitting number 32 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi