Romeo Santos

Anthony Santos (born July 21, 1981),[1] known professionally as Romeo Santos, is an American[2] singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and lead vocalist of the bachata band Aventura. In 2002, the song "Obsesión" reached number one in Italy for 16 consecutive weeks. He released several albums with Aventura before the group broke up. Since then, Santos has embarked on a solo career which has spawned seven number one songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart and sixteen number ones on the Tropical Songs chart. Santos is one of the most internationally recognized Latin artists of recent decades. Santos is recognized worldwide as the "King of Bachata”, and so is also considered by the vast majority of his colleagues in the music industry.

"Anthony Romeo Santos" redirects here. For Dominican Republic footballer, see Anthony Santos (footballer). For the Dominican bachata singer with a similar name, see Antony Santos.

Romeo Santos
Background information
Birth nameAnthony 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 active1994–present
Labels
Associated actsAventura
Websiteromeosantosonline.com

Early life

Santos was born in 1981 in The Bronx, New York City, to a Dominican father and a 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.

Santos began his career by singing in a church choir at a young age.[4] Romeo was exposed to latin genres of music at a young age due to his parents. [5]

Music career

Aventura
Santos in 2011

Romeo was the main singer, songwriter and co-producer of Aventura. Aventura was formed in 1996 by Anthony "Romeo" Santos, his cousin Henry Santos "Hustle Hard", and friends Lenny Santos "Len Melody", and Max Santos "Mikey a.k.a Max Agende".

Aventura released their debut album in 1999 with the hopes of breaking bachata music into the mainstream from its traditional base and fuse it with hip hop and R&B. In 2002, 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", "Cuando Volverás", "Un Beso", :Amor de Madre", "Los Infieles", "El Perdedor", "Por Un Segundo", "Dile Al Amor", and many others.

In 2009, Aventura was invited to perform for the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama at the White House.

Aventura separated in 2011. According to Romeo, the group was "on pause to do individual projects".[6] Romeo, along Lenny, Mikey and Henry (Aventura) reunited to close out the second night of Romeo Santos' sold-out Yankee Stadium concerts on July 12, 2014.[7] 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. On December 8, 2019, Romeo Santos posted a video saying that Aventura is going on tour around the United States in 2020 called 'Gira Inmortal'.

Solo

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. Romeo Santos signed with Sony records on April 7, 2011.[8]

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 sold out an entire double-header show at Yankee Stadium.[13] Santos was 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, the lead single for his upcoming album "Golden". 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.

In April 2019, he released his fourth studio album "Utopia" where he united with pioneers and legends of traditional modern bachata. Antony Santos, El Chaval de la Bachata, Luis Vargas, Monchy & Alexandra, Joe Veras, Teodoro Reyes, Zacarias Ferreira, Raulin Rodriguez and Elvis Martinez all participated in the album to show that unification within bachata is possible. Aventura released an official song within this album.

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
Main article: Romeo Santos discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Tours

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 January 22, 2018.
  3. "Romeo Santos Finds His Own Formula After Aventura Success". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. October 21, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  4. "Romeo Santos | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  5. Quintana, Carlos. "Get Ready to Swoon Over Romeo Santos, Bachata Superstar". LiveAbout. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. "Celebrated Latin Superstar Anthony "Romeo" Santos Signs to Sony Music". www.sony.com. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  9. "Billboard Bits: Charlie Sheen Releases 'Winning' Single, Bruno Mars Responds to Tyler Dis". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. May 10, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  10. "Chart Highlights: Pop, Dance/Club Play Songs & More". Billboard.com. May 16, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  11. "Romeo Santos junto a Usher en "Promise"". Terra Networks (in Spanish). August 30, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  12. "Chart Highlights: Rodney Atkins Takes 'Back Road' To No. 1 On Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. September 12, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  13. "From Corner Delis to Yankee Stadium: Romeo Santos Historic Bronx Gig". 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. ""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. "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 April 12, 2015.

Further reading
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