Montse Cortés grew up in the La Mina neighborhood of Sant Adrià de Besòs.[4] Her family had removed to Barcelona from Granada.[5]
She started singing in the Barcelona tablaos accompanying the flamenco dance. This is how the choreographerAntonio Canales discovered Cortés and incorporated her into his company, where she remained for five years before deciding to record her first solo album, Alabanza (2000), for which she was nominated at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Among others, she has shared the stage with La Paquera de Jerez. She has sung for dancers such as Sara Baras, Juan de Juan, and Joaquín Cortés, and has accompanied the guitarist Paco de Lucía.[4]