Victor Manuelle

Born in The Bronx but raised in Isabela, Puerto Rico, Victor Manuelle spent much of his childhood immersed in the culture of salsa. Following a successful performance at his high school’s graduation, he was introduced to singer Santa Rosa, and subsequently became a backup singer for Don Perignon. During his time with the band Manuelle honed his singing and performance skills and later secured a solo recording contract with Sony Tropical. The singer’s debut album “Justo a Tiempo” arrived in 1993 produced by Santo Rosa. Spawning two hit singles “Me Dará el Consentimiento” and “Estás Tocando Fuego” the album set the scene for what would prove to be an illustrious salsa career.

Manuelle’s sophomore album “Sólo Contigo” was issued in 1994, followed by the singer’s mainstream breakthrough. Aided by the talents of salsa production guru Sergio George, Manuelle’s self-titled third album peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, and produced seven hit singles. The salsa singer-songwriter went from strength to strength heading into the new millennium with the albums “A Pesar de Tobo” (1997), “Ironías” (1998), and “Inconfundible” (1999) spawning consecutive hits. Despite this, critics argued that the singer’s romantic formula had become too predictable and in a move designed to prove them wrong, Manuelle enlisted the help of producers José Lugo and Bobby Valentín. The fruit of this collaboration was the 2001 album “Instinto y Deseo”, arguably his most straightforward salsa album to date. The record shot to No. 1 on the Hot Latin Albums Chart and spawned a pair on No. 1 singles, “Me Da Lo Mismo” and “Cómo Se Lo Explico al Corazón”.

The singer’s eighth studio album “Le Preguntaba a la Luna” arrived in 2002, followed by the No. 1 Hot Latin Album “Travesía”, featuring Emelio Estefan and the Gaitán Bros on production duties. In 2005 Manuelle issued the live album “Dos Soneros, una Historia”, ahead of the 2006 album “Decisión Unámine” noted for its guest contributions from Don Omar, Eddie Palmieri, and Yuridia. Following the 2006 Latin Grammys which the singer co-hosted, Manuelle won the 2007 Premio Lo Nuestro award for Best Salsa Artist. A string of successful albums followed including “Una Navidad a Mi Estilo” in 2008, “Soy” in 2008, “Busco Un Pueblo” in 2011, and “Que Suenen Los Tambores" in 2015.