Romeo Santos oficial : May 2015

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Anthony Santos (born July 21, 1981),^[1] known professionally as Romeo Santos, is an American^[2] singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, featured composer and former lead singer of the Bachata group Aventura. He became The King of Bachata, and while he was with Aventura, they were known as The Kings of Bachata. As a member of Aventura, Santos has been a key figure in popularizing Bachata, with hits reaching near the top of the Billboard Latincharts and the top of charts in Europe. In 2002, the band's song "Obsesión" was number one in Italy for sixteen consecutive weeks.^[3] After releasing several albums with Aventura, the group went its separate ways. Since then, Romeo has embarked on a solo career which in three years has spawned seven number one songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart and eight number ones on the Tropical Songs chart.

Early life and career[edit]

Santos was born on July 21, 1981, in The Bronx, New York City, to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. He had a humble upbringing, with his father working construction and his mother staying at home to take care of the family. He joined his church’s choir at age 12. At the same time, he developed a great passion for bachata music (a typical Dominican style with great draw among the working class), long before it became popular around the world, when he was 15.

Romeo Santos and Juan Luis Guerra.

Before the success of Aventura, Santos founded a group called “Los Tinellers” (a reference to the phonetic pronunciation of the word Teenagers), with his cousin Henry and two friends in the early 1990s. The group released an album called Trampa De Amor, and by the end of the decade, they changed the name of the band to Aventura.^{[citation needed]}

Music career[edit]

Aventura[edit]

The group, for which Romeo was the main songwriter and producer, released 5 studio albums in a decade, spawning many top 10 hits like "Un Beso", “Los Infieles”, “El Perdedor”, “Por Un Segundo”, “Dile Al Amor” and probably their most popular song, “Obsesión”.

Solo career[edit]

In 2007 while still with Aventura, he performed a solo show on the popular music TV show, "Pasión De Sábado."^{[citation needed]} In 2009, he was invited to the White House to sing for President Barack Obama.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2011, after his success as a songwriter and the lead singer for Aventura, Romeo announced he was leaving the band to pursue a solo career. On May 9, he released the first single off his debut album Formula, Vol. 1, called “You”.^[4] The song went #1 on the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts.^[5] The second single “Promise”, featured a collaboration with R&B singer Usher.^[6] As with the previous single, “Promise” topped the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts.^[7]

In 2012, he sold out New York City’s famous Madison Square Garden three nights in a row. The performance is then turned into a CD/DVD package released as a live album, The King Stays King: Sold Out at Madison Square Garden.

In 2013, Formula, Vol. 1 received a Grammy nomination for Best Tropical Latin Album.

In 2014, he conquered another New York landmark, Yankee Stadium, selling out an entire double-header show.^[8] Those concerts made history for Santos, becoming the first Latin artist to headline at the Stadium. The Fania All-Stars last did so, one block south at the old Yankee Stadium on August 24, 1973.

His sophomore album Formula, Vol. 2 was released February 25, 2014. Featuring collaborations with Drake, Nicki Minaj, Marc Anthony, Carlos Santana, Tego Calderón, and Kevin Hart.^[9] “Formula Vol.2” became the best selling Latin album of 2014.^[10]

Acting career[edit]

Santos made his Hollywood acting debut in the film Furious 7, released April 2015, alongside Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Paul Walker.^[11]^[12]

Romeo Santos will have a role in the film adaptation of the Angry Birds video game, expected to reach theaters in July 2016, according to the artist's agent. This would be the second film appearance for the "Bachata King," after his role as Armando in Furious 7.

Romeo Santos was nervous in getting into the acting scenes in Furious 7 but the cast made him feel welcome. This was a new field for his own development as an individual.^[13]