Luis Fonsi

Luis Fonsi, born Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero on April 15, 1978, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a singer and Broadway performer. The oldest child of Alfonso Rodríguez and Delia López-Cepero, he has two younger siblings: Jean Rodríguez, also a singer, and Tatiana Rodríguez. When Fonsi was ten, his family relocated from Puerto Rico to Orlando, Florida, where he attended Westridge Middle School and Dr. Phillips High School. During his high school years, he sang in an a cappella group called The Big Guys, which performed at school events and local festivals; one fellow member, Joey Fatone, went on to join *NSYNC. In 1995, Fonsi enrolled at Florida State University School of Music on a full scholarship, participated in the Florida State University Singers, and performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra before leaving to pursue a professional music career. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Universal Music Latin.

Fonsi released his debut album, Comenzaré, in 1998, which reached number 11 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart and included the singles "Si Tú Quisieras," "Perdóname," "Dime Como," and "Me Iré." The record found success in Puerto Rico and across Latin America, including markets in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, and Venezuela. His 2000 follow-up, Eterno, performed even more strongly. That same year, he recorded a duet with Christina Aguilera for her Spanish-language album Mi Reflejo, performed at the Great Jubilee Concert for a Debt-Free World in Rome before Pope John Paul II on May 1, 2000, and appeared with other artists at the White House in tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks. Also in 2000, Ednita Nazario won a Latin Grammy Award for a song Fonsi had composed.

In 2002, Fonsi served as the opening act for Britney Spears' Dream Within a Dream Tour across the United States and Mexico, and released an English-language album, Fight the Feeling, with the lead single "Secret" featuring Joey Fatone. In 2003, he performed before a global television audience at Miss World 2003 in China. His fifth album, Abrazar la Vida, expanded his reach into European markets, and its single "¿Quién Te Dijo Eso?" reached number one on the Billboard Latin charts. During sessions for his next record, he recorded the duet "Amazing" with Spice Girl Emma Bunton for her 2004 album Free Me. His sixth album, Paso a Paso, debuted at number one, and its single "Nada Es Para Siempre" also topped the charts and received a Latin Grammy nomination. In 2006, he contributed a classic bolero, "Historia de un Amor," to El Piruli, a tribute album honoring Víctor Yturbe.

In 2007, Fonsi served on the jury for a new version of the Latino boy band Menudo. His seventh album, Palabras del Silencio, debuted at number one and remained there for several weeks. In September 2008, he entered the US Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with "No Me Doy por Vencido," which peaked at number 92 on that chart and reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, spending 21 weeks there. Billboard later named the song its Latin Pop Song of the Decade. In November 2009, Fonsi received a Latin Grammy Award for Song of the Year for his composition "Aquí Estoy Yo," which also won three Billboard Latin Music Awards. That December, he performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo honoring President Barack Obama. In 2011, he released the album Tierra Firme and toured Latin America in support of it; that same year, Billboard named him Leader of Latin Music's New Generation. His 2013 Broadway appearance in Forever Tango marked his entry into live theatrical performance. In 2014, he released the album 8 and embarked on the Somos Uno tour in 2014 and 2015.

Fonsi's international profile expanded dramatically in January 2017 with the release of "Despacito," featuring Daddy Yankee. An English remix featuring Justin Bieber followed in April 2017 and reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending May 27, 2017, marking the first number-one on that chart for both Fonsi and Yankee. The song held the top position for 16 consecutive weeks, tying "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men as the longest-reigning number-one in the chart's history. The music video surpassed eight billion views on YouTube and stood as the most-watched YouTube video of all time until November 2020. "Despacito" earned four Latin Grammy Awards, seven Billboard Latin Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards, and received three Grammy Award nominations. As of 2018, the song had sold more than 11 million records, and Fonsi had broken six Guinness World Records in connection with it. On August 15, 2017, he was named tourism ambassador of Puerto Rico.

In November 2017, Fonsi released "Échame la Culpa" with Demi Lovato, which debuted at number three on the Hot Latin chart, sold more than one million copies worldwide as of 2018, and won Song of the Year at the 2018 Latin American Music Awards. In June 2018, he released "Calypso" with Stefflon Don, which peaked at number 11 on the Hot Latin chart. That November, he appeared on the Clean Bandit track "Baby," which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. Also in October 2018, he collaborated with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti on "Per le strade una canzone" from the album Vita ce n'è. In January 2019, Fonsi joined Wisin, Alejandra Guzmán, and Carlos Vives as a coach on the first Spanish-language season of La Voz on Telemundo. His tenth studio album, Vida, was released on February 1, 2019, and topped the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart.