Frank Negrón

Frank Negrón was born on January 21, 1977, in Newark, New Jersey, to a family of Puerto Rican descent. A bilingual singer, songwriter, and actor, he built his career primarily as a salsa artist while also establishing a presence in Broadway theater and independent film. His siblings include a younger sister, Jackie Negrón, who is also a singer and dancer, and a brother, David Negrón.

Negrón's formal musical development began at Newark Arts High School in the early 1990s, where he became a member of an R&B vocal group called Base Harmony, alongside Sean Pulley, Dionte Sutton, Kwhan Jarmond, and Bobby Bright. The group performed for audiences at the New Jersey Senate, Newark City Hall, and the United in Group Harmony Association, as well as at clubs and venues throughout the tri-state area. Those years with Base Harmony gave Negrón grounding in soul singing, complex group harmony, and stage performance. Though raised primarily as an English speaker in New Jersey, he developed an early affinity for salsa through his father's record collection and went on to sing almost exclusively in Spanish, while conversing with audiences in both languages.

His recording career launched in May 1997 with the release of his debut studio album, Con Amor Se Gana, which earned a Gold Album award. A second Gold Album followed for No Me Compares. Over the course of his salsa career, Negrón released seven studio albums, concluding with Mejor Que Nunca in August 2006, produced by Sergio George and Diego Galé. He accumulated nine Billboard Top 40 Hot Latin Tracks entries, Grammy Award nominations, Billboard Award nominations, and two Premio Lo Nuestro Awards for Song of the Year.

His connection to Broadway came through Base Harmony's audition for Paul Simon's musical The Capeman. Simon identified Negrón as a standout performer and cast him in a supporting role as part of the Doo Wop Group Ensemble. Negrón appeared in The Capeman on Broadway in 1998, credited under the name Frank Negron. He and other members of Base Harmony also contributed to the recording of the production's soundtrack album, Songs from The Capeman.

Beyond Broadway, Negrón extended his work into film and television. In 2000, he starred as a struggling artist in the South Bronx in Val Lik's independent film Boricua's Bond. On August 5, 2009, he appeared on the American soap opera One Life to Live to perform music from his then-upcoming album Independence Day, released in September 2009 on Airgo Music and produced by Jimmy Greco. The album marked his first crossover into the English-language market. Jon Pareles of the New York Times highlighted the record in his fall release roundup. A subsequent re-release of Independence Day included Negrón's recording of the Kara DioGuardi and David Cook composition No Reply, mixed by Tom Lord-Alge.