Alejandro Lerner

Alejandro Lerner was born in Buenos Aires on 8 June 1957 [1]. In September 2026 Telefe announced the 24 contestants of its MasterChef Celebrity season, and he was one of them [4].

From Reino de Munt to a solo career

Raúl Porchetto discovered him in 1974 and invited him to Reino de Munt, a group that lasted only a short time [1]. Around 1977 he played briefly with Soluna, the band of Gustavo Santaolalla [1]. He joined Sandra Mihanovich's group in 1980 as pianist and singer [1]. He formed La Magia in 1981 and 1982, and when that group split in 1982 he began his solo career [1].

The first solo years brought the hits. "Todo a pulmón" came out as a single in 1983 [1]. He travelled to the United States to study music and jazz in 1985 [1]. That year he also received a Konex award as a rock composer of the decade [1].

Songs, albums and the American years

"Juntos para siempre" became the theme of the TV series La banda del Golden Rocket in 1990 [1]. The album Amor infinito came out in 1993 [1].

A November 2001 article in La Nación described a life split between Argentina and the United States. He had spent about eight years staying in hotels in the US, and he named his album Magic hotel after one of them [7]. The same article names "El poder de los sueños", a song that airs on Disney's radio network across Latin America [7].

Attention in the United States came in 2002, when he sang "Hoy es adiós" with Carlos Santana [1].

Albums from 1999 onwards

The compilation 20 años came out in 1999, the same year "Campeones de la vida" won a Martín Fierro award [1]. Si quieres saber quien soy followed in 2000, then Lerner vivo in 2002 and Buen viaje in 2003 [1]. He released Canciones para gente niña in 2006 and Enojado in 2007 [1]. The live album En vivo Gran Rex came out in 2011 [1], and Autentico in 2016, the year he also appeared on the dance show Bailando [1]. The song "Los sueños del ayer" was the soundtrack of the series Cuéntame cómo pasó, released in 2017 [1].

MasterChef Celebrity 2026

Telefe announced the return of MasterChef Celebrity with 24 participants on 9 September 2026. Wanda Nara hosts, and the jury is Damián Betular, Germán Martitegui and Maru Botana [4]. Lerner is named in the cast list of the announcement [4].

Crónica reported in September that Pía Shaw had confirmed his participation on A la Barbarossa, a Telefe programme [5]. He told the paper that the challenge gave him vertigo at first, "because I had to face my own ignorance. Then I plucked up courage" [5]. He said he studies at home, watching videos on YouTube and taking notes [5]. On making mistakes he said: "I am not afraid of getting it wrong, not at all. But I want to learn" [5].

During an elimination gala reported on 6 October 2026, a splash of hot oil from his pan reached the face of jury member Maru Botana while he was cooking [6]. Perfil reported that his dish was among the three lowest rated that night. He stayed in the competition [6].

Eliminated on 27 October 2026

Lerner was eliminated fourth from MasterChef Celebrity on Tuesday 27 October 2026 [8] [9]. The challenge was a lemon pie, and most contestants made errors with it [8]. In the final duel he faced Grego Rossello, whose dish was also among the weakest that night [9]. The jury voted him out [8].

He put the mistakes down to nerves. He said he had a nervous breakdown and confused the egg whites with the yolks [8] [11]. The jury said his dough was undercooked, his lemon filling had the wrong consistency, and the proportions were wrong [11]. Asked about his plate, he said it was ugly but his own [8].

In his farewell he said he felt like a student again. His fellow contestants applauded him and performed one of his songs [11]. Telefe's own site ran the farewell under a headline quoting him on feeling like a high school student again [3].