by
Crimson-communications
on
Sep 26 2011, 02:27PM
Don Omar is without a
doubt one of the biggest Latin artists right now. After huge success in
2010-2011 with his worldwide smash hit "Danza Kuduro" which featured on
the "Fast & Furious 5" movie soundtrack, he followed that up with
"Taboo" which is also quickly becoming a worldwide phenomenon.
Don Omar became one of reggaeton's first international superstars,
thanks to his early-2000s work with Luny Tunes but even more so thanks
to "Reggaeton Latino," his 2005 anthem that became one of the style's
first genuine crossover hits. Born William Omar Landrón on February 10,
1978, in Villa Palmeras, Puerto Rico, Omar involved himself in the
church at a young age. He became a preacher, in fact, and it was in this
role that he began honing his performance ability as well as his deep
insight into the human soul. He eventually left the church (a matter
later addressed in his song "Aunque Te Fuiste") and channeled his
talents toward music. It wasn't that far of a stretch from his days in
the church, and Omar quickly took to the burgeoning reggaeton movement
then sweeping through Puerto Rico. His big break came courtesy of Héctor
el Bambino (aka Héctor el Father) of the popular duo Héctor & Tito.
Initially Omar produced and wrote songs for the duo, but it wasn't long
before he was given the opportunity to collaborate with them vocally,
as featured on the song "A la Reconquista." His solo career took off
around this same time, with one of his first hits being "Desde Que
Llego" in 2002. He made his album debut the following year on the VI
Music label.
His album debut, The Last Don (2003), was a landmark for the reggaeton
movement, which was then just beginning to make inroads into the
lucrative stateside market. The album featured extensive production work
by Luny Tunes and Eliel, who would quickly become the style's go-to
hitmakers, the former in particular, and it spawned a few hit records,
including "Intocable" and "Dile." Beyond this album, Omar was scoring
further hits with Luny Tunes on their mixtape CDs, most notably "Entre
Tú y Yo" from Mas Flow and "Dale Don Dale" from La Trayectoria. His
biggest hit came on the Chosen Few compilation, though. That hit,
"Reggaeton Latino," was the perfect anthem -- an empowering rallying
call of Latino pride, arriving just as reggaeton was spreading like
wildfire throughout the coastal urban centers of the United States in
summer 2005. The song was so popular in the U.S. that a remix was
quickly issued to further the crossover possibilities. This bilingual
remix featured well-known Latino rappers N.O.R.E. and Fat Joe, and it
was only the second reggaeton song to get MTV airplay in the States, not
to mention the crossover radio airplay it received. The success of
"Reggaeton Latino" affirmed Omar's status alongside Daddy Yankee and
Tego Calderón as one of reggaeton's true leaders, and of them, he was
clearly the revolutionary: a man of passion with a voice that sought to
uplift his people to brighter days, not unlike what he had sought to do
in his previous profession as a preacher, except now with an emphasis on
the secular rather than nonsecular, and with a much, much larger
following.
Following a live album (The Last Don: Live, 2004) and best-of/remix
compilation (Da Hit Man Presents Reggaeton Latino, 2005), Omar released
his second proper album, King of Kings (2006). It easily debuted atop
the Latin album chart; more notably, though, it reached number eight on
the Billboard 200 overall album chart, the first reggaeton album ever to
break the Top Ten. Then in the wake of the album's big debut and the
popularity of lead single "Angelito," which was a number one hit, Omar
released a couple mixtapes -- Los Bandoleros Reloaded (2006) and El
Pentagono (2007) -- which featured further hits such as "No Se de Ella
(My Space)." ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi
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