Anitta

Formed by friends and family members of La Banda el Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga in 1989, the group hail from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. Fronted by the two vocalists, Alfonso Lizárraga and Pancho Barraza, Banda los Recoditos is made up of more than a dozen musicians, playing a variety of instruments including clarinet, trombone, trumpet, tambour and percussion. Throughout the 1990s, the group released several albums, through an association with Musart, which saw them find moderate success.

Towards the end of the decade, the original vocalists left, finding replacements in Carlos Perez, Luis Angel Franco and Carlos Sarabia. This change in lineup would prove to be fortuitous for the act, developing a more contemporary banda style that quickly found popularity amongst Mexican youths, appealing to the MTV generation with their entertaining music videos.

Banda los Recoditos found new life, becoming increasingly popular, with this being recognised in 2005 after been awarded with the ‘Popular Breakthrough of the Year’ at the annual Premios Oye! awards for their album, “Si No Existieras.” For their next record, the group teamed up with their parent act, La Banda el Recodo, releasing the 2006 album, “Dos Generaciones.” 2007’s “Vengo a Decirte” and 2009’s “Seguimos Enamorados” continued to find an ever growing number of fans yet it was in 2010 that Banda los Recoditos were to find breakthrough international success.

“'¡Ando Bien Pedo! ,“ their 15th release, went on to top the Billboard Latin Albums Chart, with the title track also topping the Latin Singles Chart. Their crossover success made them household names in Mexico, as well as one of the most popular bands in Latin Pop. A steady string of albums continued which helped to maintain their popularity amongst an ever expanding audience, making Banda los Recoditos one of the most successful contemporary banda acts.

He has an ability to flawlessly combine hip-hop, reggaeton, and Latin music and make it accessible to mainstream audiences.

Daddy Yankee has claimed Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, and Nas as musical influences. He is known to be a huge advocate of “urban music,” citing its ability to transcend social divides and inspire people to do good. To this day, Ayala remains in touch with his roots and works with Puerto Rican youth through local charities.

Ayala grew up in the projects of San Juan and aspired to be a professional baseball player. He might have accomplished it, too — by all accounts he was an incredible athlete. He tried out the Seattle Mariners, but before he could be signed, a life-changing accident happened.

While taking a break outside a recording studio one day, a stray bullet hit Ayala in the hip. The bullet lodged and remains there to this day: a reminder of the moment that led him toward a career in music. He spent one and a half years recovering from the bullet wound.

His hopes for a baseball career dashed, Ayala became involved with the rap music scene in San Juan. He collaborated with artist DJ Playero on the recording “So' Persígueme, No Te Detengas” in 1990. Departing from the rap music he grew up with, Ayala soon began to explore new territory with a new style of music which he and DJ Playero later named “reggaeton”.

Daddy Yankee was a pioneer of reggaeton, borrowing heavily from artists like DJ Playero, DJ Nelson, Tempo, and Vico C. Reggaeton incorporated the now-ubiquitous Dembow from Jamaican dancehall music, as well as American hip-hop and Hispanic Caribbean music, to create something unique. As Ayala perfected this new genre, he began to abandon the traditional style of rap.

While the Puerto Rican government banned many of Ayala’s first mixes with DJ Playero for their explicit content, there was no stopping him. Daddy Yankee released his first solo project, the album No Mercy, in April 1995. His next two releases (El Cartel in 1997 and El Cartel II in 2001) were the defining albums that would launch his career in Puerto Rico and make reggaeton the hottest genre on the island.

Ayala released his next album, El Cangri.com, in 2003 and became instantly famous in the Latino communities of Miami and New York, U.S.A. In 2004 Daddy Yankee brought reggaeton to the masses with the compilation Barrio Fino, produced by Luny Tunes and DJ Nelson. The album experimented with elements of Salsa music, mixed with rap and reggaeton, and made Daddy Yankee a household name. Barrio Fino was the best-settling Latin music album of the 2000s, ultimately selling over 30 million copies.

The single “Gasolina” was particularly successful and earned Daddy Yankee nominations at the Latin Grammys and the MTV Video Music awards. “Gasolina” changed the face of the music industry. It introduced reggaeton to the world by becoming a hit everywhere from the Caribbean to the USA, Europe to India and beyond.

Daddy Yankee released his next album, El Cartel: The Big Boss, in June 2007, and promoted it with a tour of the US and Latin America. The album heralded a return to Daddy Yankee’s hip-hop roots and branched out from strictly reggaeton. It included collaborations with artists like will.i.am, Tainy, Akon, Fergie, and Héctor Delgado. During his 2007 tour, Ayala set several records: first in Ecuador and then in Bolivia, where 50,000 fans packed his concert at Santa Cruz de la Sierra. For the rest of 2007 and 2008, Daddy Yankee continued making guest appearances on reggaeton compilations.

Drexler was born Jorge Abner Drexler Prada on 21 September 1964 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He is of Spanish, French, Portuguese descent from his mothers’ side and Jewish descent from his father’s side. Drexler’s father lived in Germany during the Holocaust as a boy, but escaped with his family to Urugauy.

Though Drexler followed in his family’s footsteps by becoming a doctor, he was intrigued with music from a very young age. He was 5 years old when he first started taking piano lessons and eventually moved on to guitar and composition classes. He pursued his career as a doctor while simultaneously following his interest in music. He did however take a short break from medical school, soaking up the Brazilian culture by hitchhiking across the country’s vast terrain.

Drexler released two albums around this time through the label Ayui: “La luz que sabe robar” (1992) and “Radar” (1994). Drexler later became acquainted with acclaimed Spanish musician Joaquin Sabina and upon his invitation flew out to Madrid to connect with other respected Spanish singers. He recorded his 3rd studio album “Vaiven” in Spain and eventually ended up moving to the country. The album was his 1st to be released through Virgin records. Drexler’s three succeeding albums were also released through this label: “Llueve (1997), “Frontera” (1999), and “Sea” (2001). His follow up album “Eco” and it’s sequel Eco2 were both issued through the label, Dro.“12 Segundos De Oscuridad” also came out through Dro and featured 10 originals songs in addition to the Radiohead cover “High & Dry” and the Titas’ cover “Disneylandia”.

In 2007 he released the iTunes exclusive album “La Edad del Cielo” and followed it up a year later with his Grammy nominated live album “Cara B”. Drexler put out perhaps his most successful release in 2010, “Amar la Trama”. The album peaked at No. 5 on the Spanish Albums Chart and received four Grammy Nominations. It also earned a perfect score from Rolling Stone magazine and featured the standout track “Una Cancion Me Trajo Hasta Aqui”.

Drexler has also been involved in film, both as a music consultant/composer and occasionally as an actor. He scored the soundtrack for the 2007 film “The City of Your Final Destination” and in 2005 wrote the song “Al Otro lado del Rio” for “The Motorcycle Diaries”. The latter of the two compositions earned Drexler an Academy Award for Best Original Song, making him the 1st Uruguayan artist to have done so.

Colombian Juanes, started his musical career at the very young age of just seven, upon his first guitar lesson. Following his talents in the musically field he then, impressively, still barely a young adult at 15, commenced his first band. They were named, "Ekhymosis", and formed in 1988. This was highly successful and Juanes embarked on a successful career with his band releasing five studio albums. Consequently, whilst still at a young age, this made him a highly recognisable artist in his home country of Colombia. However, unfortunately in 1997 the band broke up and Juanes made the decision to go solo.

This was a brave but wise decision, as the Latin star then went on to release his first solo album in the year 2000, of which he named, "Fijate Bien". Following the success of this album he went on to win three Latin Grammys. Juanes went on to have a successful career with many more album releases.

Fuethermore, Juanes second album, named, "Un Dia Normal", was excitingly certified platinum in numerous countries within his home base of Latin America. Additionally, his third album, named, "Mi Sangre", released in 2004, astoundingly developed into a global hit.

And Juanes talents do not stop there! Juanes campaigns for peace and in 2009 played the "Peace Without Borders" concert in Havana's Plaza de la Revolución. That same year he was also awarded an honorary National Prize for Peace in the country of his birth for his humanitarian work. Then in 2011 he was awarded the Chile Telethon Foundation for the Medal of Solidarity during the final drive of the Chilean solidarity campaign for disabled children.