Luis Fonsi
Encyclopedia
Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero, more commonly known by his stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

 Luis Fonsi, (born April 15, 1978 in Puerto Rico) is a Latin Grammy winning Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...

 singer and composer.

Early life

Born in Puerto Rico, Fonsi and his family later moved to Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

, during Fonsi's early childhood. Around the time he was ten years old, Fonsi began to dream about becoming a member of Menudo
Menudo (band)
Menudo was a Puerto Rican boy band that was formed in the 1970s by producer Edgardo Díaz, releasing their first album in 1977. The band achieved much success, especially during the 1980s, becoming the most popular Latin American teen musical group of the era....

, a Latin American boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...

. While not being able to pursue that dream, he did, however, participate in many local boy bands, including one, Big Guys, where he met, and befriended, future *NSYNC member Joey Fatone
Joey Fatone
Joseph Anthony "Joey" Fatone, Jr. is an American singer, dancer, actor and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband, 'N Sync, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars...

.

In 1995, Fonsi enrolled at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

 to study music. He also joined the school's choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 and sang with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

In April 2005, Fonsi had a brief return to the singing stage, when former Menudo member Ray Reyes
Ray Reyes
Ray Reyes is a Puerto Rican who was born in New York City and was raised in Levittown, Puerto Rico. His father, Rey Reyes, Sr., ran several successful business ventures. He became a member of Menudo in early 1983. Reyes came to substitute Xavier Serbia on the band, and joined the band right in the...

 invited him and another Puerto Rican, Adamari López
Adamari López
Adamari López Torres is a Puerto Rican actress famous for participating in several Puerto Rican and Mexican soap operas.-Early career:...

, to a concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

 which was held at San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

's Roberto Clemente coliseum
Roberto Clemente Coliseum
The Roberto Clemente Coliseum is a sporting events and concert arena in San Juan, Puerto Rico.It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and it continues being one of the largest....

. The press widely covered what El Vocero
El Vocero
El Vocero is a Puerto Rican newspaper that is published in San Juan.Published since 1974, El Vocero was at first the third of the four largest Puerto Rico newspapers, trailing El Mundo and El Nuevo Día and leading The San Juan Star in sales...

 titled as Fonsi's moment as a Menudo, when he took the stage and joined the members of El Reencuentro
El Reencuentro
El Reencuentro was the name that six ex-members of famous group Menudo used for their comeback concert remembering Menudo's Golden Era. Ricky Melendez, Rene Farrait, Miguel Cancel, Johnny Lozada, Ray Reyes and Charlie Masso re-joined to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of their success in Latin...

 to sing some of their old hits.

His stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

 Fonsi is actually a nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

 that is derived from his middle name Alfonso
Alfonso
Alfonso , Alfons , Afonso , Affonso , Alphonse, Alfonse , Αλφόνσος , Alphonsus , Alphons , Alfonsu in ,...

(alFONSo). The "i" was added to complete the name.

Career

Instead of choosing to keep a pattern of trying to find stardom in the United States with a boy band, Fonsi chose to better prepare himself for a future, stable career inside show business. He went to Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

 to study vocal techniques. Meanwhile, he began to record demo tapes in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

. While he was at FSU, he was overheard singing by a university music department president, who offered him a contract with a large recording company.

In 1998, Fonsi recorded his first CD, Comenzaré
Comenzaré
Comenzaré, released in 1998, is the debut album by Luis Fonsi. The album was certified Platino for sales of 200,000 copies.- Track listing :# "Si Tú Quisieras" – 4:25# "Comenzaré" – 3:53# "Perdóname" – 3:57# "Tu Calor" – 3:53# "Dime Cómo" – 3:42...

(I Will Begin). Comenzaré became an instant hit in Puerto Rico and across Latin America, with Fonsi conquering such markets as Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. His 2000 follow-up, Eterno
Eterno
Eterno, released in June 20, 2000, is the second album by Luis Fonsi.-Track listing:# "Imagíname Sin Ti" – 4:07# "Déjame O Dame Amor" – 3:12# "Eterno" – 4:14# "Te Vuelvo a Encontrar" – 3:54# "Dentro de Mi Corazón" – 4:22...

, was equally successful. Around this time, Fonsi also recorded a duet with Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

 for her 2000 Spanish-Language album, Mi Reflejo
Mi Reflejo
Mi Reflejo is the first Spanish-language studio album by American pop singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on September 12, 2000. Most of the album was produced by Rudy Pérez and includes Spanish versions of five songs from her debut album Christina Aguilera, as well as six new songs...

. By then, Fonsi's fame had reached Europe, as he became a celebrity in Spain as well. Also in the year 2000 Fonsi participated in Jubilee 2000, where he sang to Pope John Paul II. That same year Ednita Nazario won a Latin Grammy for a song composed by Fonsi. He also collaborated in honor of the victims of 9-11 at the White House, along with other artists.

During 2001, a re-mix of Comenzaré and Eterno was launched, while Fonsi worked on his next album, 2002's Amor Secreto
Amor Secreto
Amor Secreto, released in 2002, is the third album by Luis Fonsi.- Track listing :# "Amor Secreto" – 3:34# "Fuera de Control" – 3:15# "Tu Puedes Salvarme" – 4:39# "Entrégate" – 3:53# "Te Vas" – 4:01# "Tienes Que Parar" – 3:33...

. At about the same time, some media outlets began to comment about an alleged, adulterous
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...

 romance between him and a very famous married Puerto Rican singer, who had just happened to separate from her husband and bought a home close to Fonsi's Orlando property. The scandal did not last too long, however, and Fonsi soon released an album in English, Fight the Feeling
Fight the Feeling
Fight the Feeling, released in 2002, is the fourth album by Luis Fonsi, and to date, the only one released in English.-Track listing:# "Fight the Feeling" – 3:39# "Secret" – 3:48# "Turn It Up" – 3:33# "Save Me" – 4:36...

, also released in 2002.

Fight the Feeling did not sell well in the United States. It is expected, however, that Fonsi will sometime in the future make a second attempt at a crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...

: because he has lived most of his life in Orlando, he is fluent in English as well as in Spanish. In 2004 Luis recorded a duet with Emma Bunton
Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton is an English pop singer/songwriter and TV and radio presenter. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010, she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing on Ice...

 (Spice Girls) for her second studio solo album, Free Me. The song "Amazing" is a ballad taken from a mature, sophisticated and classy 60s style lounge/pop music album which includes orchestrated and bossanova numbers.

His fifth CD, Abrazar la Vida
Abrazar la Vida
Abrazar la Vida, released in 2003, is the fifth album by Luis Fonsi.- Track listing :# "¿Quién Te Dijo Eso?" – 4:33# "Abrazar la Vida" – 3:34# "Yo Te Propongo" – 4:47# "Extraño Sentimiento" – 3:55...

, sold very well, which opened new markets in Europe. "Quien te Dijo Eso?" reached high positions on music charts. His sixth CD, Paso a Paso
Paso a Paso
Paso a Paso, released in 2005, is the sixth album by Luis Fonsi. The album was certified Disco De Platino for shipments of 200,000 units in the United States.-Track listing:# "Nada Es Para Siempre" – 3:59# "Arrópame" – 3:31# "Escondido" – 4:13...

, launched him into international markets. "Nada es Para Siempre" reached #1 on the music chart, and was a nominee for the Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...

. In 2006, he contributed on a tribute cd to Victor Yturbe
Victor Yturbe
Víctor Yturbe was a Mexican singer, nicknamed "El Pirulí"....

 "El Piruli" singing the classic bolero
Bolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...

 Historia de un amor. Fonsi was one of several artists selected to perform in "KQ Live Concert" on September 27, 2008, organized by KQ 105 FM, the event included several renowned artists from Puerto Rico and other Latin American locations.

Luis Fonsi cracked the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 for the first time in September 2008 with his song "No Me Doy Por Vencido
No me doy por vencido
"No Me Doy por Vencido" is a Spanish-language song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi. It was released on August 8, 2008, for the promotional and charity compilation, AT&T TEAM USA Soundtrack. The music video of the song was released on YouTube in August 2008...

", debuting at number 98 and peaking at number 92. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, his biggest hit to date. On October 10, 2008, Fonsi presented a private concert to 700 winners of a promotional contest presented by Pepsi. On December 11, 2009, Fonsi performed in Oslo, Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert honoring winner Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

.

Luis Fonsi latest album "Tierra Firme" is available June 28, 2011 which includes international hits "gritar" plus "respira" and "claridad". Luis celebrates his album release with an autograph signing at hardrock cafe in Los Angeles on June 30. First 200 guest will get to meet Luis and receive a gift.

Acting career

In 2004, Fonsi made his acting debut in a Mexican telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...

 named Corazones al límite
Corazones al límite
-Plot:Corazones al límite was a Mexican telenovela about a teenage girl named Diana who was emotionally neglected from her parents, and felt unwanted. After being expelled from her boarding school in Switzerland, Diana goes back to live with her parents...

 in which he played Roy. He also had a special appearance in 2001 in the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon Latin America
Nickelodeon Latin America is a cable and satellite television channel, counterpart of the American network Nickelodeon. It is oriented to Latin American region and the caribbean; mainly for children and teens. It is owned by MTV Networks Latin America. The channel was launched on December 20, 1996...

 television series Taina
Taina (TV series)
Taina is an American sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon and was one of the last live-action comedy shows taped at Nickelodeon Studios but later moved to the Nickelodeon On Sunset in Hollywood, for its second season. The show aired from January 14, 2001 to May 11, 2002.-Premise:Taina Morales is a...

. He has stated that he would like to continue with his acting career, though he has denied that he will work someday with his now ex-wife Adamari López on a soap opera.

Personal life

By 2003, Fonsi began to become romantically interested in actress Adamari López
Adamari López
Adamari López Torres is a Puerto Rican actress famous for participating in several Puerto Rican and Mexican soap operas.-Early career:...

, who, as an Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...

 artist and fellow Puerto Rican, constantly found herself near Fonsi. That same year, Fonsi released the song "Abrazar la Vida" ("To Embrace the Life"), off the eponymous album. The song would later become one of Lopez's favorites.

In 2004, rumors were reported by magazines, television news shows, and newspapers that he and Lopez had committed to marry each other. During 2005, Fonsi was in the middle of an international tour that would have had him away from home for many months; the tour was abruptly cancelled when Lopez was diagnosed with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

. Fonsi promised her to stay by her side, and has traveled with her back and forth between Mexico, Miami, and Puerto Rico for various treatment and work-related trips. She has been in remission since 2006.

On June 3, 2006, Fonsi and Adamari López were married in a religious ceremony in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 attended by many celebrities including Joey Fatone
Joey Fatone
Joseph Anthony "Joey" Fatone, Jr. is an American singer, dancer, actor and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband, 'N Sync, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars...

, Charytín
Charytin
Charytín Goyco , better known in the show business plainly as Charytín, is a singer, television presenter and actress from the Dominican Republic...

, Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age, and has released over twenty albums throughout her career....

, and Carlos Ponce
Carlos Ponce
Carlos Armando Ponce, Jr. is a Puerto Rican actor, singer, composer and television personality. Ponce began his acting career by participating in Spanish language soap operas for Televisa and Telemundo. Ponce continued to expand his acting career by participating in various American television...

, as well as his brother — aspiring singer Jean Rodriguez, who goes simply by Jean as his professional name. Officially, on November 8, 2010 they divorced.

Fonsi is also the Spanish-language spokesman for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a nonprofit medical corporation chartered as a 501 tax-exempt organization under IRS regulations.In...

 in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

.

Studio Albums

  • Comenzaré
    Comenzaré
    Comenzaré, released in 1998, is the debut album by Luis Fonsi. The album was certified Platino for sales of 200,000 copies.- Track listing :# "Si Tú Quisieras" – 4:25# "Comenzaré" – 3:53# "Perdóname" – 3:57# "Tu Calor" – 3:53# "Dime Cómo" – 3:42...

    (1998)
  • Eterno
    Eterno
    Eterno, released in June 20, 2000, is the second album by Luis Fonsi.-Track listing:# "Imagíname Sin Ti" – 4:07# "Déjame O Dame Amor" – 3:12# "Eterno" – 4:14# "Te Vuelvo a Encontrar" – 3:54# "Dentro de Mi Corazón" – 4:22...

    (2000)
  • Amor Secreto
    Amor Secreto
    Amor Secreto, released in 2002, is the third album by Luis Fonsi.- Track listing :# "Amor Secreto" – 3:34# "Fuera de Control" – 3:15# "Tu Puedes Salvarme" – 4:39# "Entrégate" – 3:53# "Te Vas" – 4:01# "Tienes Que Parar" – 3:33...

    (2002)
  • Abrazar la Vida
    Abrazar la Vida
    Abrazar la Vida, released in 2003, is the fifth album by Luis Fonsi.- Track listing :# "¿Quién Te Dijo Eso?" – 4:33# "Abrazar la Vida" – 3:34# "Yo Te Propongo" – 4:47# "Extraño Sentimiento" – 3:55...

    (2003)
  • Paso a Paso
    Paso a Paso
    Paso a Paso, released in 2005, is the sixth album by Luis Fonsi. The album was certified Disco De Platino for shipments of 200,000 units in the United States.-Track listing:# "Nada Es Para Siempre" – 3:59# "Arrópame" – 3:31# "Escondido" – 4:13...

    (2005)
  • Palabras del Silencio (2008)
  • Tierra Firme (2011)

Compilations

  • Remixes
    Remixes (Luis Fonsi album)
    Remixes, released in 2001, is a compilation album by Luis Fonsi featuring remixes of songs from his first two albums, Comenzaré and Eterno.-Track listing:# "Mi Sueño " – 3:36# "Mi Sueño " – 9:20...

    (2001)
  • Fight the Feeling
    Fight the Feeling
    Fight the Feeling, released in 2002, is the fourth album by Luis Fonsi, and to date, the only one released in English.-Track listing:# "Fight the Feeling" – 3:39# "Secret" – 3:48# "Turn It Up" – 3:33# "Save Me" – 4:36...

    (2002)
  • Éxitos 98:06
    Éxitos 98:06
    -Tu Amor:-Charts:...

    (2006)

TV

  • Taina
    Taina (TV series)
    Taina is an American sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon and was one of the last live-action comedy shows taped at Nickelodeon Studios but later moved to the Nickelodeon On Sunset in Hollywood, for its second season. The show aired from January 14, 2001 to May 11, 2002.-Premise:Taina Morales is a...

    (2001) ; Special appearance
  • Corazones al límite
    Corazones al límite
    -Plot:Corazones al límite was a Mexican telenovela about a teenage girl named Diana who was emotionally neglected from her parents, and felt unwanted. After being expelled from her boarding school in Switzerland, Diana goes back to live with her parents...

    (2004); Roy

See also


External links

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