Karen Espinosa.

Karen Espinosa learned to sing in a home where worship was the everyday work: she was born in New Jersey to a Dominican family, and her mother, the singer Cleiry Cruz, brought her into church rehearsals and activities from an early age. From there she went to a Maverick City Music songwriting camp and, not long after, became part of Maverick City Música.

With Maverick City Música she racked up more than two hundred million streams and sang at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico and Madison Square Garden. The Venga Tu Reino project, on which she performed and co-wrote, was nominated for a Dove Award in 2022: her name began to be heard in churches before she had an album of her own.

In 2024 she launched her solo career with Cristo El Rey, and in May of that year she released AMIGO, the song that earned her first Dove Award in 2025, as best worship song recorded in Spanish. In 2025 came Cristo El Rey (Deluxe), the single Que Entre El Rey, the Pentecostés EP with Averly Morillo, and No Body with Women Who Worship, her entry into the English-language worship circuit.

Aceite Nuevo, her second album, arrived in March 2026, recorded live in Tampa, with Averly Morillo on "Pentecostés" and Waleska Morales on "Fiel." Out of that album came "Necesito a Cristo," which puts her back on the Dove Award nominee list for the 2026 edition. Her music doesn't chase the flashy effect: it is worship meant to be sung in congregation, with first-person lyrics, a live format, and a repertoire that moves between Spanish and English.

If you don't know her yet, start with "AMIGO" and then go to "Aceite Nuevo." And if your church sings worship in Spanish, chances are you've already sung something of hers without knowing whose it was.