El solista canta bien.

Because solista is a countable noun here, and the sentence is talking about a specific person: the soloist. In Spanish, that usually means you use the definite article: el for a masculine noun, la for a feminine one.

So:

• el solista = the soloist

You would not normally say just solista canta bien in standard Spanish.

Solista can refer to either a man or a woman. The word itself does not change form here; the article tells you the gender:

• el solista = the male soloist
• la solista = the female soloist

So if the soloist were a woman, you would say:

• La solista canta bien.

Canta is the third-person singular present tense of cantar (to sing).

That means it can go with:

• él canta = he sings
• ella canta = she sings
• usted canta = you sing (formal)
• el solista canta = the soloist sings

So in this sentence, canta agrees with el solista, which is a singular subject.

Because bien is an adverb, and it describes how someone sings.

• canta bien = sings well

By contrast, bueno/buen is an adjective, used to describe a noun:

• un buen solista = a good soloist

So:

• El solista canta bien. = The soloist sings well.
• El solista es bueno. = The soloist is good.

Those are related ideas, but grammatically they are different.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when the subject is already clear. Here, the subject is explicitly stated as el solista, so adding él would be unnecessary.

Spanish is a pro-drop language, which means subject pronouns are often omitted.

So this is completely natural:

• El solista canta bien.

You would normally only add a pronoun for emphasis or contrast.

Yes. Spanish word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral, standard order is:

• El solista canta bien.

But you could also say:

• Canta bien el solista.

That version can sound more literary, emphatic, or context-dependent, as if you are highlighting who sings well. The first version is the safest and most basic one for learners.

Usually, canta is the simple present: sings.

Depending on context, Spanish present tense can sometimes refer to what is happening now, so it may occasionally be understood as is singing, but if you specifically want to stress an action in progress, Spanish more commonly uses:

• está cantando bien = is singing well

So in isolation, learners should mainly understand canta bien as sings well.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• el so-LEES-ta KAN-ta byEN

A few notes:

• el sounds roughly like ell, but shorter
• solista has the stress on lis: so-LIS-ta
• canta has a hard c sound, like k
• bien is one syllable for many speakers, something like byen

In standard Spain pronunciation, there is nothing unusual in this sentence like the z/th sound, because c before a is always a hard k sound.

Yes. That is very common.

• El solista canta muy bien. = The soloist sings very well.

So:

• bien = well
• muy bien = very well

This is a natural way to intensify the sentence.

Not exactly.

• cantante = singer
• solista = soloist / lead performer in a solo role

A solista is usually someone performing a solo part, not just any singer. In some contexts, a person can be both:

• El cantante = the singer
• El solista = the soloist

So solista is a bit more specific.