Anthony Santos, better known by his stage name Romeo Santos, is an American musician, singer, music producer, and film actor. He was the lead vocalist for the famed Bachata band Aventura from the United States. The band was hugely successful, especially in Europe and Latin America, and their single ‘Obsesion’ reached the top of various Italian music charts. After the band disbanded, Romeo pursued a solo career, releasing multiple chart-topping singles and studio albums. His origins, however, were low, and in a truer sense, his introduction to music occurred while singing in a church choir, when he discovered a new sound that he enjoyed. He formed the boy band Aventura with his siblings and cousins, which was disbanded in 2011 as the members pursued individual careers. Romeo, who was signed to Sony, had chart-topping singles such as ‘You,’ which was also his solo debut, and ‘I Promise,’ which he co-wrote with Usher. Romeo’s full-length albums were later released, and his second album, “Formula, Vol. 2,” became the best-selling Latino album of 2014.
Childhood and Adolescence
Anthony Santos was born in New York City on July 21, 1981, to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. His father struggled to care for his family while working on a construction site, and he was born into a middle-class family.
Romeo admits to being a mama’s boy and being particularly close to his mother, who was a homemaker.
Romeo’s parents were both musicians, and from the time he was a toddler, he was exposed to a variety of musical styles that he enjoyed.
His parents listened to tropical music, and Romeo was highly influenced by it as he grew up listening to Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata music.
Romeo joined a church choir at the age of 13 and discovered his vocal abilities. His goals became stronger as a result of the group’s praise, and later in his adolescence, he created a local group named ‘Los Teenagers.’
The ensemble primarily performed in the streets and became well-known among New York City’s Dominican-American teenagers.
The Career of Romeo
The teenage group ‘Los Teenagers’ got their big break in 1999 when record label Platinum Latin came to their rescue and signed them to a contract. The band eventually changed its name to Aventura and released their first album, ‘Generation Next,’ in the same year.
Although the album was not a commercial success, the band became known for their distinctive style of combining traditional base music with pop and hip-hop elements.
The band’s second album, ‘We Broke the Rules,’ was released in 2002 and followed the same sound pattern as their first.
Their moderate New York City fan base praised the effort, and the group began to develop fame as a result of the widespread word-of-mouth publicity.
However, in 2004, one of the album’s songs, ‘Obsesion,’ broke into the mainstream music market, propelling Aventura to the top of the New York music scene.
The song crossed national boundaries and became extremely successful in Europe, reaching the top of the music charts in France, Italy, and Germany.
Apart from contributing vocals for the albums’ songs, Romeo also wrote words for the majority of their hits.
Following the massive success of their second studio album, the band went on to release five more studio albums over the next few years, with numerous of their singles receiving widespread recognition from critics and listeners alike.
While the band was performing well, the members were also working on their own projects. In 2011, the band took a “pause,” and despite media reports that everything was not well between the members, Aventura made a comeback performance at a concert in 2014, and continued touring for the next two years.
Romeo said in April 2011 that he will go solo for a while and explore the possibilities outside of the band.
In May, Romeo released the first single, “You,” off his debut solo album, “Formula, Volume 1,” which was an instant hit, reaching the top of various Latin music charts. Following the success of the first song, the album’s second single, ‘Promise,’ was released in cooperation with Usher.
In 2012, Romeo wowed Madison Square Garden audiences with three days of back-to-back performances, and it was such a huge hit that the organizers had to issue the concert’s CDs, dubbed ‘The King Stays King: Sold Out at Madison Square Garden.’
With his thrilling performance, he also became the first Latin musician to earn such a positive response at Yankee Stadium.
His second album, ‘Formula: Vol 2’, was released in 2014 and had many collaborations with well-known singers like Carlos Santana, Nicki Minaj, and Drake, and it quickly soared to become the best-selling Latino album of the year.
Romeo had a somewhat successful single called “Heroe Favorito” published in February 2017.
Aside from music, Romeo has been in two popular films.
He starred alongside Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Dwayne Johnson in the seventh installment of the popular action-adventure franchise ‘Furious 7,’ in which he played a pivotal part. In ‘The Angry Birds Movie,’ he also voiced a character.
His Personal Experiences
Romeo has kept his personal life mostly hidden, however a Latin news outlet reported in 2016 that he is in a long-term relationship with an unnamed girl and that the couple may marry shortly.
This was in response to an Instagram snapshot of the couple posing together with the girl wearing an engagement ring.
Estimated Net worth
Romeo Santos is a Dominican-American musician with a $30 million net worth.