Anthony Santos, known professionally as Romeo Santos, is an American 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.
Early life
Santos was born in 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 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. Romeo was exposed to latin genres of music at a young age due to his parents.
Music career
Aventura
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 StatesBarack Obama at the White House. Aventura separated in 2011. According to Romeo, the group was "on pause to do individual projects". Romeo, along Lenny, Mikey and Henry reunited to close out the second night of Romeo Santos' sold-out Yankee Stadium concerts on July 12, 2014. 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. On May 9, he released the first single off his debut album Formula, Vol. 1, called "You". The song went to number one on the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts. The second single "Promise", featured a collaboration with R&B singer Usher. As with the previous single, "Promise" topped the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts. 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, . In 2014, he sold out an entire double-header show at Yankee Stadium. 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. Formula, Vol. 2 became the best-selling Latin album of 2014. 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. He was nervous about acting in Furious 7 but the cast made him feel welcomed. 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.
