Romeo Santos

Anthony "Romeo" Santos (born July 21, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who is best known as the frontman and lead vocalist of the bachata group Aventura.

Santos was born and raised in The Bronx, New York City on July 21, 1981, to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother.

He had a humble upbringing, with his father, who worked in construction, being underpaid but being able to make ends meet for his family.

His mother was staying at home and taking care of the children in the family.

Santos attended public school in the Bronx, and Santos began his career by singing in a church choir at a young age.

Romeo was exposed to Latin genres of music including salsa, merengue, and bachata, listening to it at a young age because of his parents' love for it.

Romeo was the lead singer, songwriter and co-producer of Aventura.

Romeo and Henry met Lenny and Max in 1993.

The following year, they formed a band and called themselves Los Tinellers.

He formed the group in 1994 with his cousin Henry Santos "Hustle Hard", and friends Lenny Santos "Len Melody", and Max Santos "Mikey a.k.a. Max Agende".

In 1995 they met a man by the name of Elvin Polanco who would eventually manage and help them record their first album titled Trampa de Amor.

Polanco went through some health problems which ended things between him and the group.

Later on they met Julio César García, who would become their manager and would re-invent them as Aventura.

In 1998, they signed with Premium Latin Music with Franklin Romero.

Aventura released their debut album in 1999 titled Generation Next with the hopes of bringing bachata into the mainstream from its traditional base and fuse it with hip hop and R&B.

The album included the single "Cuándo Volverás", which is one of their signature songs.

In 2002, the song "Obsesión" was 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 created seven number one songs on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart and seventeen number ones on the Tropical Airplay chart.

Romeo Santos has sold over 24 million copies making him one of the best-selling Latin artists.

In 2002, the song "Obsesión" achieved huge success in many countries, topping many international charts in France, Germany and Italy.

It was part of their second album, We Broke the Rules.

Aventura released three more studio albums and three live albums in a decade, spawning many top 10 internationally famous hits like "Hermanita", "Ella y Yo" featuring Don Omar which elevated the group's success in 2005, "Un Beso", "Los Infieles", "El Perdedor", "Por un Segundo", "Dile al Amor", and many others.

They were the first bachata act to sell out Madison Square Garden in 2007.

They broke multiple records in arenas and stadiums worldwide.

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

In 2011, Aventura took a hiatus.

According to Romeo, the group was "on pause to do individual projects".

In April 2011, after his success as a songwriter and lead singer for Aventura, Romeo announced he was leaving the band to pursue a solo career.

Romeo Santos signed with Sony Music Latin on April 7, 2011.

On May 9, 2011, Santos released his first single off his debut album Formula, Vol. 1, called "You".

The song peaked at 97 on the Billboard 100 and at number 1 on the Hot Latin and Tropical Songs Billboard charts.

The music video was released on May 9, 2011.

The second single, "Promise" was released on September 1, 2011, and featured a collaboration with R&B singer Usher.

The single peaked at number 83 on the Billboard 100 and at number 1 on Hot Latin, Latin Pop and Tropical Songs Billboard charts.

The song was certified Diamond, 34× Platinum as of August 31, 2022, in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The music video was released on October 4, 2011, and it was directed by Anthony Mandler.

A full English version in which Romeo is singing in English was also made.

He released his debut album Formula, Vol. 1 on November 8, 2011.

The album featured collaborations with Usher, La Mala Rodríguez, Mario Domm from the trio Camila, Tomatito, Lil Wayne and George Lopez.