Romeo Santos

Romeo Santos
Background information
Birth name Anthony Santos
Born (1981-07-21) July 21, 1981
New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
  • record producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • guitar
Years active 1995–present
Labels
Associated acts Aventura
Website romeosantosonline.com

Anthony Santos (born July 21, 1981),[1] known professionally as Romeo Santos, is an American[2] singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and former lead vocalist of the American bachata band Aventura. In 2002, the song "Obsesión" reached number one in Italy for 16 consecutive weeks. After releasing several albums with Aventura, the group went its separate ways. Since then, Romeo has embarked on a solo career which in seven years has spawned seven number one songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart and thirteen number ones on the Tropical Songs chart.

Early life

Santos was born in 1981 in The Bronx, New York City, to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother.[3] He had a humble upbringing, with his father working in construction and his mother staying at home to take care of the family.

In the early 1990s, Santos founded with his three cousins Henry, Max, and Lenny a group called "Los Tinellers" ("The Teenagers" written phonetically in a Dominican pronunciation). 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.

Music career

Aventura

Romeo Santos in Aventura

Romeo was the main songwriter and producer of Aventura, an American bachata band from The Bronx, New York and the band's lead singer. Aventura was formed in 1997 by Anthony "Romeo" Santos, Henry Santos, Lenny Santos, and Max Santos, all natives of The Bronx, but having families born in the Dominican Republic.[4][5][6]

Aventura made their big break in 1999, with the hopes of breaking bachata music into the mainstream from its traditional base and fuse it with pop music; more specifically hip hop and R&B. In 2004, the song, "Obsesión" achieved huge success in many countries, topping many international charts like the France, Germany and Italy. Aventura released five studio albums in a decade, spawning many top 10 hits like internationally famous "Obsesión", but also "Un Beso", "Los Infieles", "El Perdedor", "Por Un Segundo", "Dile Al Amor", and many others.

Aventura separated in 2011. According to Romeo Santos, the group was "on pause to do individual projects".[7] Romeo Santos and former members of Aventura reunited to close out the second night of Romeo Santos' sold-out Yankee Stadium concerts on July 12, 2014.[8] It was announced on December 1, 2015, that Aventura would have a set of concerts for the last time as a group for the whole month of February at the United Palace Theater in New York City. Their first concert since their split started with a sold out crowd on February 4, 2016, with the final concert ending on February 28, 2016.

In 2007, he performed a mini recital in the musical program, Saturday Passion. In 2009, he was invited to sing for the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama at the White House. On September 12, 2010, he was presented at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards to deliver an award.

Solo

Romeo Santos in live

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".[9] The song went to number one on the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts.[10] The second single "Promise", featured a collaboration with R&B singer Usher.[11] As with the previous single, "Promise" topped the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts.[12]

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

In 2014, he conquered another New York landmark, Yankee Stadium, selling out an entire double-header show.[13] 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 second album Formula, Vol. 2 was released on February 25, 2014. Featuring collaborations with Drake, Nicki Minaj, Marc Anthony, Carlos Santana, Tego Calderón, and Kevin Hart.[14] Formula, Vol. 2 became the best-selling Latin album of 2014.[15] He released a new single "Héroe Favorito" in February 2017. He released his new album Golden on July 21, 2017, featuring collaborations with Swizz Beatz, Juan Luis Guerra, Ozuna, Nicky Jam, Daddy Yankee, Julio Iglesias and Jessie Reyez. Winner of Best Bachata Video in the Videoclip Awards 2018 with the music video of the single "Imitadora" directed by Carlos Pérez, also nominated as Best Latin Album in the Billboard Music Awards 2018.

Acting career

His first film appearance was on the 2007 Dominican film "Sanky Panky" as himself alongside his fellow band members from Aventura performing live at Altos de Chavón in the Dominican Republic. Romeo Santos made his Hollywood debut in the film Furious 7, released April 2015, alongside Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Paul Walker.[16][17] He was nervous about acting in Furious 7 but the cast made him feel welcomed.[18]

Santos was also the voice of the cartoon character Early Bird in the 2016 film The Angry Birds Movie.

He sang “Quiero Ser Tu Amigo,” a song about friendship on an episode of Sesame Street in 2013.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2007 Sanky Panky Himself with Aventura Cameo
2015 Furious 7[16][17] Armando (Mando) Cameo
2016 The Angry Birds Movie The Early Bird

See also

References

  1. ↑ Birchmeier, Jason. "Romeo Santos - Biography". Allmusic. Rovi. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Romeo Santos: Taking Bachata Mainstream". Npr.org. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Cobo, Leila (October 21, 2011). "Romeo Santos Finds His Own 'Formula' After Aventura Success". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Romeo Santos Finds His Own 'Formula' After Aventura Sucres". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Heard of Romeo Santos? Will Smith and Usher could change that". Tribunedigital-chicagotribune.com. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  6. ↑ Carlos Quintana. "Romeo Santos - Biography and Artist Profile". About.com Entertainment. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ Mallenbaum, Carly (January 8, 2012). "On the Verge: 'Bachata King' Romeo". USA Today. Gannett Co. Inc. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  8. ↑ Feeney, Michael (July 13, 2014). "Romeo Santos joined by Marc Anthony, former Aventura members at sold-out Yankee Stadium show". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Billboard Bits: Charlie Sheen Releases 'Winning' Single, Bruno Mars Responds to Tyler Dis". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2011-05-10. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
  10. ↑ "Chart Highlights: Pop, Dance/Club Play Songs & More". Billboard.com. 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
  11. ↑ "Romeo Santos junto a Usher en "Promise"". Terra Networks (in Spanish). 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
  12. ↑ "Chart Highlights: Rodney Atkins Takes 'Back Road' To No. 1 On Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  13. ↑ "From Corner Delis to Yankee Stadium: Romeo Santos Historic Bronx Gig". Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone. July 11, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  14. ↑ "'Fórnula Vol. 2' de Romeo Santos saldrá a la venta el 25 de febrero". Univision (in Spanish). Univision Communications. January 17, 2014. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Romeo Santos, primer lugar en ventas con 'Formula Vol.2'". Univision (in Spanish). Univision Communications. April 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  16. 1 2 ""Rápidos y furiosos 7" adelanta su fecha de estreno". El Comercio (in Spanish). Empresa Editora El Comercio. July 4, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Fast and Furious 7 Spoilers, Update: 7 Things Fans Need to Know About Paul Walker and Vin Diesel Starrer Movie". International Business Times. International Business Times AU. July 10, 2014. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  18. ↑ Latin Post Staff (March 30, 2015). "Furious7 Cast News&Trailer:Romeo Santos". Latinpost.com. Retrieved 12 April 2015.

Further reading

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