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Spanglish refers to the blend of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. For example, the Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of Spanglish. Sometimes the creole spoken in Spanish holiday resorts which are exposed to both Spanish and English is called Spanglish. The similar code switching used in Gibraltar is called Llanito. ''Spanglish'' may also be known by a regional name. Some people tend to believe that the "Tex-Mex" spoken in Texas, is also ''Spanglish'', which is not the case; neither is the case of the "Ladino" spoken in New Mexico, because both are language varieties of Mexican Spanish.

Spanglish is ''not'' a pidgin language. It is totally informal; there are no hard-and-fast rules.

There is no clear demarcation between Spanglish and simple bad Spanish or English. "Parquear" for "to park" is clear deliberate Spanglish; "actualmente" for "actually" rather than "at present" is closer to erroneous use of a false friend, and ambiguous as it has a clear, but different, meaning in true Spanish. However, implications present themselves. Spanglish does not mean half and half words - it means half and half sentences or overall speaking ability, but researchers differentiate: those who mostly speak Spanish are labeled limited English proficient, and those that can switch codes freely are considered bilingual. Some parents of native Spanish speaking children may wish their children to be taught in pure Spanish. Some say bilingual education is preferable, but others say the best way is total immersion. The longer students remain in a bilingual program, the greater their chances are of staying there.

Distribution

These phenomena are produced by close border contact and large bilingual communities on the northern side along the United States-Mexico border and California, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Atlanta, The City of New York, and Chicago. It is also important to mention that the bilingual communities on the southern side along the Mexican-American border prefer to use only Spanish while in Mexico, where the term ''pocho'' is applied to people who use Spanglish words and expressions.

It is common in Panama, where the 96-year (1903–1999) U.S. control of the Panama Canal influenced much of local society, especially among the former residents of the Panama Canal Zone, the Zonians. Some version of Spanglish, whether by that name or another, is likely to be used wherever speakers of both languages mix.

In the late 1940s, the Puerto Rican linguist Salvador Tió coined the terms ''Spanglish'', and the less commonly used ''inglañol'' for English spoken with some Spanish terms.

H.G.Wells, in his 1933 future history ''"The Shape of Things to Come"'', predicted that in the Twenty-First Century English and Spanish would "become interchangeable languages" .

Examples

Spanish and English have mixed quite a bit. For example, a fluent bilingual speaker addressing another, like bilingual speaker might engage in code switching with the sentence: I'm sorry I cannot attend next week's meeting ''porque tengo una obligación de negocios en Boston, pero espero que'' I'll be back for the meeting the week after. Changing some words to English, for example, "Te veo ahorita, me voy de shopping para el mall": "See you later, I'm going shopping in the mall". Spanglish is mostly spoken this way.

Spanglish phrases often use shorter words from both languages as in: "Me voy a wake up". (Rather than: "Me voy a levantar" or "I am going to wake up.") A common code switch in Puerto Rican Spanglish is using the English word ''"so"'' (therefore): "Tengo clase, so me voy" ("I have a class, so I'm leaving"), rather than the Spanish "porque" with different order ("me voy porque tengo clase").

Word borrowings from English to Spanish are more common, using false cognates in their English senses, or calquing idiomatic English expressions. Some examples:

#The non-standard word ''afianza'' is used in Spanglish in preference to the standard Spanish ''seguro'' ("insurance policy"). #The word ''carpeta'' is "folder" in standard Spanish. In some Spanglishes it means "carpet" instead of Spanish 'alfombra'. #The word ''clutch'' (pronounced: "cloch") is Spanglish, Mexican Spanish and Latin American Spanish for the gear-shifting device of an automotive transmission. The standard Spanish word is ''embrague''. #In Spanglish, ''yonque'' denotes "junkyard", not the standard Spanish ''deshuesadero''. #In Spanglish, word ''boiler'' is both "water heater" and "boiler". The standard Spanish words are ''calentador de agua'' (water heater) and ''hervidor'' or "caldera" (boiler). #The Spanish verb "atender", "to wait upon" or "to give service to", e.g. wait upon a table of diners; however, second-generation Spanish speakers in the Anglo-sphere use the verb as "to attend", instead of "to assist". #The Spanish verb ''asistir'', in Spanglish denotes "to assist" rather than true Spanish "to attend". #''Suceso'', "event", is wrongly used to denote "success", leading to expressions such as ''fue todo un suceso'', "it was a complete success" (although this can be ambiguous; interpreted in Spanish this means "it was a big event", which sometimes means about the same anyway). #"Push" and ''empujar'' are true cognates. In Spanglish, "puchar" is used to the same effect. #The expression ''llamar para atrás'' is calqued literally from the English "to call back"; cf. standard Spanish ''devolver la llamada'', "to return the call". This example of calquing an English idiomatic phrase to Spanish is common Puerto Rican usage, even in zones with a lot of Hispanics like Southern Idaho. #''Van'' (la ''van'') is Spanglish for the American English word ''Van'', instead of the standard Spanish la ''furgoneta''. #Parquear is used instead of the correct Spanish ''estacionar'', it derives from the English word '[to] park' #The verbs ''hanguear'' derives from "to hang out". #Spanish verbs ''conversar'' and ''charlar'' mean "to chat"; however, an on-line conversation by IRC or IM is Spanglish ''chatear'' (Spanish "to drink a glass of wine", uncommon). #''Troca'' denotes "pickup truck" instead of the standard Spanish ''camioneta''. #The adjectives ''serioso | seriosa'' denote the English ''serious'' instead of the proper ''serio | seria''. # ''Actualmente'', meaning in Spanish "currently," is frequently misused to replace English ''actually'' and ''in fact''. The proper Spanish term for ''actually'' is ''de hecho''. # ''Marketa'' is a frequently used word derived from the English word ''market'' (as in Supermarket) instead of the standard Spanish word ''mercado''. # ''Lonche'' is the Spanglish usage for lunch, as in ''"hora del lonche"'' (lunchtime). The correct Spanish term is ''almuerzo''. ''Lonchera'' is also used to mean lunch box. # "Heavy" used unchanged in expressions such as ''qué heavy'', ''muy heavy'', akin to "how awful/terrible".

Other borrowings include: ''emailear'' or ''emiliar'', "to email"; ''nerdo'', "nerd"; ''laptop'', "laptop computer"; ''twittear'', to use Twitter; ''facebookear'', to use Facebook and ''googlear'', to use Google.

Calques from Spanish to English also occur. In some cases Spanglish morphs into simple bad English:

#Two of the worst are "cowboy" and "cowgirl", coming, respectively, from the spanish words "vaquero" and "vaquera"; people that handle cattle. #Another interesting calque is canyon or gorge, in English, from "cañón" (geomorphology), in Spanish. #Also barbecue (or Bar-B-Q), coming from ''barbacoa'', in Spanish. #The word rodeo has the same meaning in English as it has in the original Spanish. #Many verbs are given indirect objects they do not have in standard English; notably, "put": "She puts him breakfast on the couch!" or "Put it the juice" (turn on the power), these correspond to the Spanish ''poner'' and ''meter'' with the indirect object pronouns ''le'' and ''les'', indicating the action was done on behalf of someone else. #One can "get down" from a car, instead of "getting out" of a car; this translates to the Spanish ''bajarse'', "to dismount" or "to descend" from a motor vehicle. #In Mexico and the southwestern U.S., Spanglish speakers are called ''pochos'' (said of Mexicans that adopt customs or manners of the people of the United States of America, according to the dictionary of the Spanish language of the Real Academia Española). English-influenced broken Spanish is called ''mocho'', "mutilated", "amputated". U.S. and Latin American Spanglish speakers use the verb fiestar, "to party", which corresponds with ''fiesta'', "a party", these derive from the standard Spanish verb ''festejar'', "to celebrate", while ''divertirse'' is "to have fun", "to party" in slang American English. # British people in Argentina use "camp" for "countryside" (from "campo") and drop many everyday formal and slang Spanish words into English ("I'll take the colectivo" (bus)). Sometimes a Spanish phrase is literally translated, incongruously and as a joke, into English: in the Buenos Aires Herald English-language newspaper "ex-president Néstor Kirchner 'could not with his genius' (to express it in Spanglish)", understood by English-speakers with reasonable knowledge of Spanish to mean "could not go against his nature".

This is a code switching dialogue from the Spanglish novel ''Yo-Yo Boing!'', by Giannina Braschi:

:''Ábrela tú.'' :''¿Por qué yo? Tú tienes las keys. Yo te las entregué. Además, I left mine adentro.'' :''¿Por qué las dejaste adentro?'' :''Porque I knew you had yours.'' :''¿Por qué dependes de mí?'' :''Just open it, and make it fast.''

In English:

:'' You open it.'' :'' Why me? You've got the keys. I gave them to you. Besides, I left mine inside.'' :'' Why did you leave them inside?'' :'' Because I knew you had yours.'' :'' Why do you always depend on me?'' :'' Just open it, and make it fast.''

See also

Caló (Chicano) a Mexican-American argot, similar to Spanglish.

Chicano English

Dog Latin

Languages in the United States

''Llanito'' (an Andalusian Spanish-based creole unique to Gibraltar)

Germán Valdés A Mexican comedian known as Tin Tan who made heavy use of Spanglish. He also dressed as a pachuco.

Chicano performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña also makes heavy use of Spanglish.

Puerto Rican writer Giannina Braschi wrote the Spanglish comic novel "Yo-Yo Boing!" (1998).

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Dominican Writer Junot Diaz.

Mexican rock band Molotov, whose members use Spanglish in their lyrics.

American progressive rock band The Mars Volta, whose song lyrics frequently switch back and forth between English and Spanish.

:Category:Forms of English

References

''On So-Called Spanglish'', Ricardo Otheguy and Nancy Stern, ''International Journal of Bilingualism'' 2011, 15(1): 85-100.

''Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language'', Ilán Stavans, ISBN 0-06-008776-5

''Spanglish: The Third Way'', A Cañas. Hokuriku University, 2001.

''Spanish/English Codeswitching in a Written Corpus,'' by Laura Callahan, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2004.

''The Dictionary of Chicano Spanish/El Diccionario del Español Chicano: The Most Practical Guide to Chicano Spanish''. Roberto A. Galván. 1995. ISBN 0-8442-7967-6.

''Anglicismos hispánicos''. Emilio Lorenzo. 1996. Editorial Gredos, ISBN 84-249-1809-6.

"Yo-Yo Boing!", Giannina Braschi, introduction by Doris Sommer, Harvard University, ISBN 9780935480979.

“Lives in Translation: Bilingual Writers on Identity and Creativity,” Isabelle de Courtivron, Palgrave McMillion, 2003.

"In the Contact Zone: Code-Switching Strategies by Latino/a Writers: Giannina Braschi and Susana Chavez by L Torres. MELUS, JSTOR, 2007.

''Ursachen und Konsequenzen von Sprachkontakt - Spanglish in den USA''. Melanie Pelzer, Duisburg: Wissenschaftsverlag und Kulturedition (2006). (in German) ISBN 3-86553-149-0

BETTI Silvia, 2008, ''El Spanglish ¿medio eficaz de comunicación?'' Bologna, Pitagora editrice, ISBN 88-371-1730-2 (in Spanish).Presentación de Dolores Soler-Espiauba (in Spanish).

"Bilingües, biculturales y posmodernas: Rosario Ferré y Giannina Braschi," Garrigós, Cristina, Insula. Revista de Ciencias y Letras, 2002 JUL-AGO; LVII (667-668).

"Escritores latinos en los Estados Unidos" (a propósito de la antología de Fuguet y Paz-Soldán, se habla Español), Alfaguara, 2000.

"Redreaming America: Toward a Bilingual American Culture," (Suny Series in Latin American and Iberian Thought and Culture), Debra A. Castillo, 2005.

Metcalf, Allan A. "The Study of California Chicano English". ''International Journal of the Sociology of Language''. Volume 1974, Issue 2, Pages 53–58

External links

{http://current.com/groups/on-current-tv/88836867_nuyorican-power.htm} Current TV video "Nuyorican Power" on Spanglish as the Nuyorican language; featuring Daddy Yankee, Giannina Braschi, Rita Moreno, and other Nuyorican icons.

Spanglish - the Language of Chicanos University of California

What is Spanglish? Texas State University

Real Academia Española

Category:Forms of English Category:Spanish language Category:False friends Category:Code-switching Category:English as a foreign or second language Category:Languages of the United States

an:Spanglish br:Spanglish ca:Spanglish cs:Spanglish de:Spanglish es:Spanglish eu:Spanglish fr:Spanglish gl:Spanglish ko:스팽글리쉬 ia:Lingua espanglese it:Spanglish hu:Spanglish nl:Spanglish ja:スパングリッシュ nap:Spanglish pl:Spanglish pt:Spanglish ru:Спанглиш tr:Spanglish uk:Спангліш

name	Steven Tyler
background	solo_singer
birth name	Steven Victor Tallarico
alias	"Demon of Screamin'"
birth date	March 26, 1948
birth place	Yonkers, NY, US
instrument	Vocals, harmonica, piano, percussion, maracas, guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, violin, flute, mellotron, hammered dulcimer, accordion, saxophone, trumpet, drums
genre	Hard rock, blues rock, heavy metal
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, actor, multi-instrumentalist, talent judge
years active	1964–present
associated acts	Aerosmith, Chain Reaction, The Strangeurs }}

Steven Tyler (born Steven Victor Tallarico on March 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is the father of actress Liv Tyler. He is also known as the "Demon of Screamin'" and is equally known for his on-stage acrobatics. During his high-energy performances, he usually dresses in bright, colorful outfits with his trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand. In the 1970s, Tyler rose to prominence as the frontman of Aerosmith, which released such milestone hard rock albums as ''Toys in the Attic'' and ''Rocks''. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tyler had a heavy drug and alcohol addiction, and the band's popularity waned.

He completed drug rehabilitation in 1986 and has subsequently maintained sobriety for over 20 years, aside from an addiction to prescription painkillers in the late 2000s, for which he successfully received treatment in 2009. After Aerosmith launched a remarkable comeback in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the albums ''Permanent Vacation'', ''Pump'', and ''Get a Grip'', Tyler became a household name and has remained a relevant rock icon. As a result, he has since embarked on several solo endeavors including guest appearances on other artists' music as well as film and TV roles (including as a judge on ''American Idol''). However, he has continued to record music and perform with Aerosmith, after more than 41 years in the band. He is included among ''Rolling Stone'''s 100 Greatest Singers. He was also ranked 3rd on ''Hit Parader'''s Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. In 2001 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Aerosmith, and he was the presenter when AC/DC was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

Early life

Steven Victor Tallarico was born March 26, 1948 in Yonkers, New York, the son of Susan (née Blancha), a secretary, and Victor A. Tallarico, a classical musician and pianist. His father was of Italian and German descent and his mother was of Polish, Russian and English ancestry (his maternal grandfather had changed his surname from "Czarnyszewicz" to "Blancha"). Tyler has stated that he grew up "under his father's piano", and that from what his father played, he got "that emotional thing" that he has with music. When he was sixteen, he formed his first band, called The Strangeurs, later changed to Chain Reaction, where he was the drummer, and later the lead singer. Tyler also had been part of a few local bands, like William Proud and The Left Banke. He was expelled from Roosevelt High School due to his drug use. He graduated from the Leonard Quintano for Young Professionals School in 1967. He attended Woodstock with Joe Perry and Joey Kramer, his future Aerosmith bandmates.

Career

Formation and success of Aerosmith (1970–1978)

Before Aerosmith was formed, Tyler wrote what would become one of Aerosmith's signature songs, "Dream On". In 1969, Tyler attended a local rock show in Sunapee, New Hampshire where he first saw future band-mates Joe Perry (guitars) and Tom Hamilton (Bass), who at the time were playing in a band called the Jam Band. Tyler later stated he was struck by their raw power and attitude. Around 1970, Tyler, Perry, and Hamilton decided to form a band. However, Tyler, who had typically performed drums in many of his previous bands, insisted that he be the frontman and lead singer of this band. Joey Kramer, a friend of Tyler's from New York, was recruited to play drums. They also added Tyler's boyhood friend Ray Tabano as a second guitarist. The band moved to Boston and shared a small apartment on Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton. Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford in 1971.

After spending time on the Boston club circuit under the tutelage of their first manager, Frank Connelly, the band began working with New York managers Steve Leber and David Krebs. Leber describes the band as "the closest thing I've ever seen to the Rolling Stones." On October, 1971, the managers arranged the gig at the legendary nightclub Max's Kansas City to showcase the group to record company executives. They subsequently signed a record deal with Columbia Records in 1971 and released their eponymous debut album in 1973. This was followed by ''Get Your Wings'' in 1974. Around this time, Aerosmith continued to tour wherever they could, and opened for bands like Mott the Hoople. The band had a minor hit in "Dream On", which peaked at No.59 in 1973, but it wasn't until the back-to-back releases of ''Toys in the Attic'' (1975) and ''Rocks'' (1976) that Aerosmith broke into the mainstream. In 1975, they achieved their first Top 40 hit in "Sweet Emotion". Soon after, "Dream On" was re-released and hit No. 6 in 1976, followed by another Top 10 hit "Walk This Way". Additionally, ''Rocks'' produced the hit singles "Last Child", "Back in the Saddle", and "Home Tonight". By 1976, Aerosmith found themselves headlining huge stadiums and major rock music festivals. That year, Tyler emerged as a prominent rock star and sex symbol in his own right, gracing the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. 1977's ''Draw the Line'' continued the band's success, and they were catapulted to international fame and recognition, launching tours in Europe and Japan. A series of Hot 100 hits continued throughout the remainder of the decade, including "Draw the Line", "Kings and Queens", and "Chip Away the Stone". Aerosmith's first five albums have also all since gone multi-platinum, and all five are considered to be among the greatest hard rock albums of all time. Aerosmith toured heavily throughout the mid to late 1970s, and their live shows during this time period were captured through 1978's live album ''Live Bootleg!'' and the 1989 VHS release ''Live Texxas Jam '78''. 1978 also saw Tyler make his acting debut as the leader of The Future Villain Band in the film ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', alongside his fellow Aerosmith band-mates. The film also spawned Aerosmith's cover of the Beatles hit "Come Together", which would be Aerosmith's last Top 40 single for nine years.

Decline of Aerosmith (1979–1983)

As the decade wore on, the fast-paced life of touring, recording, living together, and using drugs began to take its toll on the band. Tyler and Perry often were called the Toxic Twins for their legendary intake of stimulants and heroin. Their relationship is well documented in many of Aerosmith's video releases as well as in the Aerosmith ''Behind the Music''. On July 28, 1979, after a huge fight at a concert in Cleveland, Perry left Aerosmith to begin his own band, The Joe Perry Project. ''Night in the Ruts'' was released that fall, and Aerosmith forged on with new guitarist Jimmy Crespo. In the fall of 1980, Tyler was injured in a serious motorcycle crash that left him hospitalized for two months and unable to tour or record for much of 1981. When the band re-convened to begin recording, Tyler formed a writing partnership with Crespo, co-writing and producing the album ''Rock in a Hard Place'' (1982). Brad Whitford had left in 1981, shortly after recording the guitar parts for the album's lead single, "Lightning Strikes". Whitford was replaced by Rick Dufay, and the band continued to tour into 1983. Tyler's drug abuse increasingly became problematic, and he collapsed on-stage.

Reuniting and getting clean (1984–1986)

On February 14, 1984, Perry and Whitford, who left the band in 1979 and 1981 respectively, showed up at an Aerosmith show. According to the band's ''Behind the Music'' special on VH1, Tyler alleges he made the first phone call to Perry encouraging them to meet up again. Backstage, they all met, and Perry and Whitford agreed to join the band once again. With the new reunion, the band also fired their managers Leber and Krebs, hired new manager Tim Collins (who was managing Joe Perry) and signed a new record contract with Geffen Records.

Aerosmith embarked on a reunion tour, the "Back in the Saddle Tour", and proceeded to record once again, releasing ''Done with Mirrors'' in 1985. The band was still using drugs, however, especially Tyler, who collapsed at a show in Springfield, Illinois, on the 1984 tour. In 1986, the band held a meeting in which the band members staged an intervention on Tyler and convinced him to enter a drug rehabilitation program.

After Tyler had successfully completed rehab, every other member of Aerosmith eventually followed suit; all had successfully exited their respective programs at various times in the mid-late 1980s.

Comeback and superstardom (1986–1999)

Aerosmith rose to prominence again when Tyler and Perry appeared on Run–D.M.C.'s cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" in 1986, a track that combined elements of hip-hop and rock, that broke down the barriers between the two genres, broke rap into the mainstream, and introduced Aerosmith to a new generation. The track hit No.4 on the charts and launched a famous music video that saw heavy rotation. This paved the way for Aerosmith to mount a significant comeback. Tyler and Perry renewed their songwriting partnership but were now also working with outside songwriting collaborators brought in by the record company, like Desmond Child and Jim Vallance. In addition, to help give Aerosmith a slick sound that would be accessible to mainstream audiences, they were receiving help from producer Bruce Fairbairn and A&R; man John Kalodner. Aerosmith released ''Permanent Vacation'' in 1987, which became a huge multi-platinum success and launched three Top 20 hits ("Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", "Angel", and "Rag Doll"). The band launched a tour with the emerging Guns N' Roses opening many shows. ''Permanent Vacation'' was followed by 1989's ''Pump'', which was even more successful, selling 7 million copies and producing three Top 10 hits ("Love in an Elevator", "Janie's Got a Gun", and "What it Takes") and one Top 40 hit ("The Other Side"). ''Pump'' in particular saw Tyler expand his musical horizons, co-writing the innovative hit "Janie's Got a Gun", which won the band their first Grammy award. The band toured with many up-and-coming acts and performed in locations like Australia for the first time. In the late 1980s, Tyler also guested on albums by comedian Sam Kinison, Alice Cooper (a fellow 70s rocker also launching a successful comeback) and popular contemporaries Mötley Crüe. Around that time, Tyler and Perry also appeared at a Bon Jovi concert in Milton Keynes and performed "Walk This Way".

With the twin successes of ''Permanent Vacation'' and ''Pump'', the band became an MTV sensation and Tyler became a household name. The band were featured on a "Wayne's World" sketch on ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1990, which is ranked as the No.1 moment of all time on the show. That same year, Aerosmith recorded one of the first episodes of ''MTV Unplugged''. In 1991, Aerosmith was one of the first bands to be featured on ''The Simpsons''. That year, the band also signed a $30 million record deal with their old label Columbia, which they would begin recording for later that decade. The box set ''Pandora's Box'' was released by Columbia in late 1991, and the band filmed a music video for "Sweet Emotion" to promote the release. Earlier in the year, the band also performed "Dream On" with an orchestra at MTV's 10th Anniversary celebration; their filmed performance was used as the official video for the song. After a brief break, the band returned to the studio in 1992 to record their next album. The band's A&R; man John Kalodner criticized some of the early material being considered for this album, targeting Tyler's sexually profane lyrics in particular. As Tyler was no longer using drugs, some members of the band and their management had believed Tyler had now become a sex addict. thumb|left|150px|Steven Tyler performing on the Get a Grip Tour in 1993. However, the band eventually began recording again and released ''Get a Grip'' in 1993, which became their most successful album worldwide, selling over 15 million copies and producing a series of hit singles ("Livin' on the Edge", "Cryin'", "Amazing", "Crazy"). While the album saw mixed reviews and received some criticism for over-using outside collaborators, Aerosmith won more awards during this time than any other, winning two Grammy Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, two American Music Awards, a People's Choice award, and a Billboard Award. The band became well-known for their videos at this time, which featured film-like storylines and up-and-coming actors and actresses like Edward Furlong, Stephen Dorff, Jason London, Josh Holloway, and most notably Alicia Silverstone. Tyler's daughter Liv made her acting debut in the band's video for "Crazy" in 1994. The band also launched their biggest and most extensive tour yet, performing over 240 shows in nearly 30 countries, including touring Latin America for the first time and performing in many European countries for the first time.

After the 18-month long Get a Grip Tour ended in December 1994, the band took a break in 1995 to spend time with their families. This break was needed due to the grueling lifestyle of the previous 10 years under the helm of manager Tim Collins, who helped orchestrate much of the band's comeback and sustained success. Tyler and Perry also began writing for a new album, and the band performed a couple one-off shows in Boston to try out the new material, and vacationed together with their families in Florida. Aerosmith, however, almost broke up after the band's manager spread rumors that band members were saying bad things about each other and that Tyler was being unfaithful to his wife and using drugs again during recording sessions in Miami. The band subsequently fired Collins in 1996 in the middle of recording for their next album. In 1997, they released ''Nine Lives'', which went double platinum, launched three hits ("Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)", "Hole in My Soul", and "Pink"), and won the band their fourth Grammy for "Pink". They toured for over two years in support of the album. In 1997, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were featured in a commercial for the Gap. That fall, the band's tell-all autobiography was released.

In 1998, while on tour in support of ''Nine Lives'', Tyler suffered a ligament injury when his mic stand came crashing into his knee. Tyler and the band finished the show, but they had to cancel several dates, and Tyler had to wear a leg cast while filming the video for "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". The song was the band's first No.1 hit and the only song to date by a rock band to debut at No.1 on the Hot 100. It has since become a slow-dance staple, and at the time introduced Aerosmith and Steven Tyler to yet another new generation. The song was written for the film ''Armageddon'', which featured Tyler's daughter Liv.

In 1999, Tyler and Perry joined Kid Rock and Run–D.M.C. to perform "Walk This Way" at the MTV Video Music Awards. Earlier that year, the band saw the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith open at Walt Disney World.

Continued success and touring (2000–08)

In 2001, Aerosmith played at the Super Bowl XXXV Halftime Show and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band also released the album ''Just Push Play'', which featured the Top 10 hit "Jaded". The band went on tour again in the summer of 2001, and since then Aerosmith has toured every year, except 2008. After the September 11 attacks, the band performed at the benefit concert "United We Stand" in Washington, D.C. Tyler donned a full-length jacket featuring the American flag, and the band performed a brief set including "Livin' on the Edge", "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", "Just Push Play", and "Walk This Way". The band flew back to Indianapolis to perform a show that same night.

In 2002, Aerosmith's two-hour long ''Behind the Music'' was released, chronicling the band's tumultuous history and current activities and touring. They were also honored as MTV Icons. In the summer, they released the compilation ''O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits'', which went double platinum and included the new track "Girls of Summer", which spawned a namesake tour with Kid Rock and Run–D.M.C. opening.

In 2003, Tyler received an honorary degree from Berklee College of Music, and, in 2005, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Boston. In 2003, Tyler also inducted AC/DC into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tyler sang with AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson for a performance of "You Shook Me All Night Long". Later in the year, Tyler went on tour with Aerosmith for the Rocksimus Maximus Tour with KISS.

In 2004, Aerosmith released the blues cover album ''Honkin' on Bobo'' and launched a brief tour with Cheap Trick, focused on smaller markets. That summer, Tyler starred in a commercial for Sony's Cyber-shot camera, which also included the Aerosmith song "The Grind", a new song featured on ''Honkin' on Bobo''. Later that year, Tyler sang the National Anthem to kick off the 2004 World Series at Fenway Park. The 2004 film ''The Polar Express'' featured Tyler singing "Rockin' on Top of the World" alongside a group of computer-animated elves resembling Aerosmith.

In 2005, Tyler sang lead vocals on Santana's hit single "Just Feel Better" and made a cameo appearance in the film ''Be Cool''.

In 2006, after recovering from throat surgery and the grueling Rockin' the Joint Tour, Steven Tyler performed with Joe Perry and the Boston Pops Orchestra for the orchestra's annual Fourth of July concert, his first major public appearance since the surgery. During the concert, which was broadcast nationally on CBS, Tyler, Perry, and the orchestra performed a medley of "Walk This Way", "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" and "Dream On". That year, Tyler also recorded a duet with country music artist Keith Anderson, titled "Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll". The song, a remixed version of a song found on Anderson's debut album, was released as a single on the U.S. Hot Country Songs charts.

Later that year, the Aerosmith compilation ''Devil's Got a New Disguise'' was released, which included two new tracks. Tyler hit the road with Aerosmith again for the Route of All Evil Tour with Mötley Crüe and also made several more public appearances. He made a cameo appearance on the sitcom ''Two and a Half Men'', playing himself. On October 14, 2006, Tyler sang "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch at Game No.3 of the National League Championship Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. On November 24, he volunteered by serving Thanksgiving dinner to the needy at a restaurant in West Palm Beach, Florida, before an Aerosmith show there.

In 2007, Tyler kept active in Aerosmith with the band's world tour which saw them perform in 19 countries. Also that year, Tyler and daughter Liv were profiled on ''E! True Hollywood Story.

On May 21, 2008, Tyler checked into Las Encinas Hospital rehabilitation clinic in Pasadena, California, to recover from multiple leg surgeries. He made a public statement saying that "The 'foot repair' pain was intense, greater than I'd anticipated. The months of rehabilitative care and the painful strain of physical therapy were traumatic. I really needed a safe environment to recuperate where I could shut off my phone and get back on my feet." In June 2008, ''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'' was released, the franchise's first video game based solely around one band and the most successful game based around a band. On July 14, 2008, Tyler's mother, Susan Rey Tallarico, died at the age of 84. On July 18, 2008, Steven Tyler appeared with Billy Joel at the last concert to be played at Shea Stadium. Backed by Joel's band, he sang lead vocals on "Walk This Way". In August 2008 HarperCollins won an auction to publish Tyler's autobiography. That same month, Tyler performed with trumpeter Chris Botti in Boston. In December 2008, Tyler made a surprise appearance at the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concerts at Nassau Coliseum (December 12, 2008) and the Izod Center (December 13, 2008). At the Izod Center, he collaborated with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra on "Dream On" and "Sweet Emotion".

Recent events (2009–present)

On August 5, 2009, while on the Guitar Hero Aerosmith Tour, Tyler fell off a stage near Sturgis, South Dakota, injuring his head and neck and breaking his shoulder. He was airlifted to Rapid City Regional Hospital. Aerosmith was forced to cancel the rest of their 2009 tour, except for two shows in Hawaii in October. Back in 2007, Aerosmith had to cancel their first concert in Maui, which resulted in a class action lawsuit involving 8,000 plaintiffs. Attendees received tickets and, in some cases, reimbursements for out of pocket expenses. The band also performed in early November at an auto race in Abu Dhabi.

On November 9, 2009, it was reported that Steven Tyler had no contact with the other members of Aerosmith and that they were unsure if he was still in the band. On November 10, 2009, Joe Perry confirmed that Steven Tyler had quit Aerosmith to pursue a solo career and was unsure whether the move was indefinite. No replacement was announced. Despite rumors of leaving the band, and notwithstanding Perry's comment as reported earlier the same day, Tyler joined The Joe Perry Project onstage November 10, 2009, at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza and performed "Walk This Way." According to sources at the event, Tyler assured the crowd that despite rumors to the contrary, he is "not quitting Aerosmith." On December 22, 2009, ''Rolling Stone'' reported that Tyler had checked into rehab for pain management.

In 2010, Steven Tyler embarked on the Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock Tour with Aerosmith, which saw them perform over 40 concerts in 18 countries. On September 16, 2010, it was reported that Tyler would have his first solo project. He wrote "Love Lives", which serves as a theme song for the Japanese sci-fi movie ''Space Battleship Yamato''. The song was based on the English translated script, as well as on some clips of the film itself. The single was released on November 24, a week before the movie was released. A preview of the single can be heard in the movie's trailers. On September 22, 2010, Fox confirmed that Tyler would join ''American Idol'' as a member of the judging panel for the program's tenth season, alongside Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez. In December 2010, Tyler performed at the Kennedy Center Honors, honoring Paul McCartney by performing several tracks from ''Abbey Road''.

On January 19, 2011, Tyler made his debut appearance as a judge on ''American Idol'', during the premiere of the show's tenth season, which aired through the end of May. On April 2, 2011, Tyler presented an award at the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards. The following day, Steven Tyler performed with Carrie Underwood at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Underwood and Tyler performed Underwood's song "Undo It" and completed their segment with an energetic version of the Aerosmith classic "Walk This Way". On May 3, 2011, Tyler released his autobiography ''Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?'' The book was accompanied by the new single "(It) Feels So Good", released May 10. The single reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, during breaks in between ''Idol'', Tyler worked on new material for Aerosmith's next studio album. Tyler performed the Aerosmith song "Dream On" on the season finale of ''American Idol'' on May 25.

In August 2011, it was announced that Tyler would be the inspiration for Andy Hilfiger's new fashion line, Andrew Charles. In addition to serving as the inspiration for all menswear, Steven and his daughter, Chelsea Tyler, will appear in the line's advertising campaign. Steven is also developing a signature scarf collection called "Rock Scarf" for Andrew Charles. Both the Andrew Charles collection and the Rock Scarf line will be exclusively available in select Macy's stores and on macys.com starting September of 2011.

Tyler is currently working with the other members of Aerosmith on the band's next studio album. After finishing up in the studio, the band will tour Latin America and Japan in the fall of 2011. In addition, Tyler has confirmed he will be on season 11 of ''American Idol'' which is set to air in January 2012.

Dirico Motorcycles (formerly Red Wing Motorcycles)

On September 15, 2007, at New Hampshire International Speedway, Steven announced the launch of Dirico Motorcycles (formerly Red Wing Motorcycles). Dirico's bikes are designed by Steven Tyler, engineered by Mark Dirico, and built by AC Custom Motorcycles in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Steven has been a long time motorcycle fan and riding enthusiast. About the new Dirico Motorcycles, Tyler said, “You get on one of these bikes and you can ride for days. These bikes are slick, rugged, and just damn cool. And they’re amazing to look at.”

Steven Tyler also participates in a variety of charity auctions involving motorcycles, including the Ride for Children charity.

Steven is also friends with Paul Teutul from American Chopper fame

Personal life

Family and relationships

In 1975, Tyler convinced the parents of 16 year old groupie Julia Holcomb (sometimes spelled Holcolm) to sign over guardianship to him so that he could live with her in Boston. They dated and did drugs together for three years. Holcomb was referred to as "Diana Hall" by the editor of the Aerosmith autobiography ''Walk This Way'' in an attempt to conceal her identity, but other sources have confirmed her identity. Pressures leading to their split included both their age difference (Tyler was 27 when they first met), a house fire, and a pregnancy that resulted in an abortion. Band member Ray Tabano wrote in ''Walk This Way'' that the abortion "really messed Steven up" because the child was a boy. Tyler wrote, "It was a big crisis. It's a major thing when you're growing something with a woman, but they convinced us that it would never work out and would ruin our lives...You go to the doctor and they put the needle in her belly and they squeeze the stuff in and you watch. And it comes out dead. I was pretty devastated. In my mind, I'm going, Jesus, what have I done?"

After returning Holcomb to her parents, Tyler had a brief relationship with fashion model Bebe Buell, during which he fathered actress Liv Tyler (Buell initially claimed that the father was Todd Rundgren to protect her daughter from Tyler's drug addiction).

In 1978, he married Cyrinda Foxe, from daughter Liv's marriage to British musician Royston Langdon from the band Spacehog.

On May 28, 1988, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tyler married clothing designer Teresa Barrick. A statement from Tyler's publicist read in part, "Despite Aerosmith's desire to keep the tour going as long as possible, [Tyler's] doctors advised him not to continue performing to give his voice time to recover." Aerosmith's remaining North American tour dates in 2006 on the Rockin' the Joint Tour were subsequently canceled.

The surgery, to correct a popped blood vessel in his throat, was a success. In the words of Tyler: "He just took a laser and zapped the blood vessel." After a few weeks of rest, Tyler and the rest of Aerosmith entered the studio on May 20, 2006 to begin work on their new album.

On July 3–4, 2006, Tyler and Joe Perry performed at the Boston Waterfront with the Boston Pops Orchestra and sang the songs "Dream On", "Walk This Way", and "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" as part of the Boston July 4 Fireworks Spectacular. The concert was notable as Tyler's first public performance since the surgery. A tour launched later in fall 2006 with Mötley Crüe, titled the Route of All Evil Tour.

Steven Tyler's throat surgery was featured in 2007 on an episode of the National Geographic Channel series, ''Incredible Human Machine''.

Hepatitis C

In a September 2006 interview with ''Access Hollywood'', Steven Tyler revealed that he had been suffering from Hepatitis C for the past 11 years. He was diagnosed with the disease in 2003 and had undergone extensive treatment from 2003–2006, including 11 months of interferon therapy, which he said was "agony".

Discography

With Aerosmith

Collaborative work

Year	!Song	!Artist	!Album
	"Walk This Way"	Run-D.M.C. featuring Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
		Sam Kinison; guest performers include Steven Tyler	''Have You Seen Me Lately?''
	Various tracks	Alice Cooper; guest performers include Steven Tyler
	"Slice of Your Pie"	Mötley Crüe; guest performers include Steven Tyler
	"Sticky Sweet"	Mötley Crüe; guest performers include Steven Tyler	''Dr. Feelgood''
	"Roots, Rock, Reggae"	Bob Marley featuring Steven Tyler	''Chant Down Babylon''
	"Misery"		''Missundaztood''
	"Sing for the Moment"	Eminem featuring Steven Tyler and Joe Perry (uncredited; Dream On sample used; New recording not done)	''The Eminem Show''
	"I'm a King Bee"	Steven Tyler and Joe Perry	''Lightning in a Bottle Soundtrack''
	"Just Feel Better"
	"Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll"	Keith Anderson featuring Steven Tyler	''Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll''
	"Cryin'" and "Smile"	Chris Botti featuring Steven Tyler	''Chris Botti in Boston''

Solo work

Year	Single	Chart Positions
!width=45
2010		–
2011		35

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role |- | 1978 || ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' || Member of the Future Villain Band |- | 1988 || ''The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years'' || Himself |- | 1990 || ''Saturday Night Live'': Musical guest; "Wayne's World" sketch || Himself |- | 1991 || ''The Simpsons'': "Flaming Moe's" episode || Himself (voice) |- | 1993 || ''Wayne's World 2'' || Himself |- | 1993 || ''Saturday Night Live'': Musical guest; "Bad Dancer" sketch || Himself |- | 1997 || ''Saturday Night Live'': Musical guest; "Mary Katherine Gallagher" sketch || Himself |- | 1999 || ''Clubland'' || David Foster |- | 2001 || ''Saturday Night Live'': Musical guest || Himself |- | 2003 || Lizzie McGuire||Father Christmas/Himself |- | 2004 || ''The Polar Express'' || Elf Lieutenant / Elf Singer |- | 2004 || ''Goodnight Joseph Parker'' || Sammy |- | 2005 || ''Be Cool'' || Himself |- | 2006 || ''Two and a Half Men'': two episodes || Himself |- | 2009 || ''Chris Botti in Boston'' || Himself |- | 2011 || ''American Idol'' || Talent Judge (Himself) |}

Awards and nominations

See also

Toxic Twins

References

External links

Category:1948 births Category:Aerosmith members Category:People of Calabrian descent Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American musicians of German descent Category:American musicians of Polish descent Category:American musicians of Russian descent Category:American musicians of English descent Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:American heavy metal singers Category:American tenors Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:English-language singers Category:Idol series judges Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Yonkers, New York Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers

bg:Стивън Тайлър ca:Steven Tyler cs:Steven Tyler da:Steven Tyler de:Steven Tyler et:Steven Tyler es:Steven Tyler fa:استیون تایلر fr:Steven Tyler ko:스티븐 타일러 hr:Steven Tyler id:Steven Tyler it:Steven Tyler he:סטיבן טיילר ka:სტივენ ტაილერი lv:Stīvens Tailers hu:Steven Tyler nl:Steven Tyler ja:スティーヴン・タイラー no:Steven Tyler pl:Steven Tyler pt:Steven Tyler ro:Steven Tyler ru:Стивен Тайлер sk:Steven Tyler fi:Steven Tyler sv:Steven Tyler tr:Steven Tyler uk:Стівен Тайлер zh:史蒂芬·泰勒

Name	Alejandro Sanz
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro
Birth date	December 18, 1968
Origin	Madrid, Spain
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano
Genre	Latin pop
Occupation	Singer, songwriter
Years active	1988–present
Label	Warner Music Benelux
associated acts	Juanes, Shakira, Alicia Keys
Website	AlejandroSanz.com }}

Alejandro Sanz (born Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro on December 18, 1968), is a Spanish singer-songwriter and musician. For his work, Sanz has won a total of fifteen Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards. He has won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times, more than any other artist. Throughout his career, he has released a total of ten studio albums and six DVDs.

Born in Madrid, Sanz began playing guitar at age seven, taking influence from his parents' flamenco roots. He released his debut album at age sixteen, although he did not gain commercial success until his second release, ''Viviendo Deprisa''. His next two records, ''Si Tu Me Miras'' and ''3'' also fared well commercially, but it was his 1997 breakthrough album ''Más'' that garnered international success. ''El Alma al Aire'' followed in 2000, selling more than a million copies in its first week.

In 2002, he became the first Spanish artist to record an ''MTV Unplugged'' album. His collaboration with Shakira on the single "La Tortura" became a number one hit on several charts. His albums ''No Es Lo Mismo'' (2003) and ''El Tren de los Momentos'' (2006) showed Sanz experimenting with more diverse styles of music, while his most recent release, ''Paraíso Express'' (2009) served as a return to form for the musician. He signed to Universal Music Group in 2011 and is reported to be working on his tenth studio album.

Early life

Sanz was born in Madrid, Spain, on December 18, 1968, the youngest son of María Pizarro and Jesús Sánchez. He grew up in the high-crime neighborhood of Moratalaz in eastern Madrid. Sanz recalled "Back then, kids grew up on the street...I was a bit like the group troubadour; the one who played the guitar and sang. That kept me out of a lot of trouble." Sanz's father, a door-to-door book salesman, played guitar professionally, which inspired seven-year-old Sanz to learn to play the instrument. He pursued the instrument with an intensity that eventually frustrated his mother, who broke his guitar one morning after his playing kept the family from sleeping.

He was exposed to traditional flamenco music as a child while vacationing each summer in his parents' native Andalucía in southern Spain. Originally, Sanz intended to become a flamenco performer, but he found the music teachers to be overly strict. Commenting on his early experiences, Sanz explained, "Flamenco can be very hard on beginners. If you lose the rhythm, they toss you out with, 'You're no good, boy!' They're very strict and very cruel. But it's also a marvelous education, because you either learn to play or else." He felt that he could not compete with his peers, and decided to focus on creating pop music with flamenco influences, viewing flamenco to be a "lifestyle" better suited to others.

Recording career

1989-96: First four albums

As a teenager, Sanz performed in various venues in his hometown. He became acquainted with Miguel Angel Arenas, a music industry executive who had signed several popular Spanish groups such as Mecano. Arenas helped Sanz find work, eventually leading to a record deal with the Spanish label Hispavox. In 1989, sixteen-year-old Sanz released his debut album, ''Los Chulos Son Pa' Cuidarlos'' under the name of Alejandro Magno (Spanish for "Alexander the Great"). The record, which fused techno and flamenco, was met with critical and commercial indifference, and today Sanz views the record to be "insignificant". However, the album is now considered to be a collector's item. In an attempt to promote ''Chulos'', he performed at strip clubs, playing short sets between acts. This proved to be unsuccessful and Sanz took a break from music, choosing to study business administration. He also took a job at a recording studio in which he wrote material for other artists. He persuaded Arenas to send demos of his songs to record companies, which led to being signed by Warner Music Latina. At this time, he began performing under his current name.

Sanz's rise to fame began in 1991, when he released his first album from Warner, ''Viviendo Deprisa''. The record and the songs "Pisando Fuerte" and "Se le Apago la Luz" helped him gain a dedicated fan base in Spain. In 1993, he released ''Si Tu Me Miras'' shortly followed by a live album, titled ''Básico''. That same year, he recorded a song with flamenco pioneer Paco de Lucía, whom Sanz idolized as a child. He released his third studio album, ''3'' in 1995. He also released ''3'' in Italian and Portuguese in addition to Spanish. "La Fuerza Del Corazon", the first single released from ''3'', was his first song to chart internationally. All three albums proved to be successful, reaching multi-platinum status in Spain.

1997-2002: ''Más'', ''El Alma Al Aire'', and ''MTV Unplugged''

Sanz spent two years in Milan, Italy to work on a follow-up for ''3''. For the album, he wished to create a "true fusion" of many different sounds, and began studying the saxophone and piano in addition to guitar. In 1997, Sanz released his fifth studio album, ''Más'', a record containing ballads strongly influenced by flamenco, pop, and tropical rhythms. Driven by the singles "Corazón Partío", "Y, ¿Si Fuera Ella?", "Amiga Mía", "Aquello Que Me Diste", and "Siempre Es de Noche", ''Más'' sold more than two million copies in Spain and was certified 22x Platinum in the country. The album remained on the ''Billboard'' Latin Albums chart for 74 weeks, and one year after the record's release, Sanz was granted an Ondas Award for Best Song for "Corazón Partío". According to David Cazares of the ''South Florida Sun-Sentinel'', the album "made Sanz an international star on the strength of the pop-salsa hit 'Corazón Partío', a song on the lips of fans from Spain to Cuba and the United States." Following the success of the album, Sanz began touring in United States for the first time.

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His album ''El Alma al Aire'', released September 26, 2000, featured Sanz exploring diverse genres of music, including jazz, R&B;, soul and tango. In Spain, the album sold more than one million copies in the first week, breaking the record of one million copies sold in four months, also set by Sanz with his previous album, ''Más''. At the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards, Sanz walked away with four awards: Best Pop Male Vocal Album and Album of the Year for ''El Alma Al Aire'', and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the title track from the album. Later that year, ''El Alma Al Aire'' was released in a special edition including Sanz's duets with Irish band The Corrs. In October 2001, Sanz collaborated with Michael Jackson and various other artists on the Spanish version of the charity single "What More Can I Give", which benefited the victims of the September 11 attacks.

In 2002, Sanz recorded ''MTV Unplugged'' at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida. He was the first Spanish artist to record and release an ''MTV Unplugged'' album. For Sanz, the recording of the album "changed the way I do my music. It was a rediscovery of how to perform, and also how to record, music with live musicians. That was the spirit of the music in its pure form, though [it is ironic] that the more people who are playing, the more simple it is." With the ''MTV Unplugged'', he garnered three Latin Grammy Awards (Album of the Year, Recording of the Year and Song of the Year for "Y Sólo Se Me Ocurre Amarte").

2003-07: ''No Es Lo Mismo'' and ''El Tren de los Momentos''

On September 2, 2003, Sanz released his sixth studio album, ''No Es Lo Mismo''. On this record, Sanz took a more political approach than he had on previous releases. "Sandy a Orilla Do Mundo" discusses oil spills on the Spanish coast, while "Labana" tells the story of people fleeing from Cuba on makeshift rafts. The album won four awards at the 2004 Latin Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. Sanz was unable to attend the event and his awards were accepted by presenters and colleagues. Also in 2004, he became the first Spanish musician to give a lecture at Harvard University, speaking about Hispanic culture at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.

In 2005, Sanz collaborated with Shakira on her song "La Tortura". Co-written by Sanz, the song became an international hit, breaking the record for the most weeks at the number one spot on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The song exposed Sanz to a more diverse audience, and helped build anticipation for his next release. The first single from the album ''El Tren de los Momentos'', "A la primera persona", became his first song to enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 100 on the chart. The record was also noted for its guest appearances, which featured Shakira, Juanes, Alex González of Maná, and Residente of Calle 13.

In the spring of 2007, Sanz suffered a mental breakdown and was forced to take two months off in the middle of a world tour. The breakdown was caused by several events in his personal life, including the death of his father in 2005, his separation Mexican model and actress Jaydy Mitchel, and his announcement that he had a three-year-old son outside of his marriage with Mitchel. He commented on the situation, saying "You have to put things in perspective. It was stress, something that had never affected me, but this time, yes, it did. So I had to pay. A doctor told me to stop for a couple of months to recuperate completely." Sanz spent time in therapy, a time which "helped [him] a lot" and gave him "more power" to perform.

In a press conference in late 2007, he criticized Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, calling him "undemocratic" in the wake of a petition made by Venezuelan citizens to prevent Chavez from running for re-election. Sanz further stated "If they gave me 3 million signatures to stop singing, I would stop singing immediately." Supporters of Chavez subsequently gathered 230,000 signatures in response to Sanz' comments.

2008-present: ''Paraíso Express''

To promote his new record, ''Paraíso Express'', Sanz created a campaign in which fans could create a video about their definition of paradise and upload it to his YouTube channel. Artists such as Shakira, Laura Pausini and Paulina Rubio also participated. On November 10, 2009, Sanz released ''Paraíso Express''. This record was described as a return to form for Sanz, focusing more on melody as opposed to the experimentation he pursued on his previous two albums. He commented "On this album, I first composed the melody and then the lyrics. It is more of a rock album than my past releases, with more elegant and positive lyrics and a happier and more rhythmic spirit." The bilingual single "Looking for Paradise" featuring Alicia Keys reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks chart. At the 2010 Latin Grammy Awards, the album was nominated Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal, while the single "Desde Cuándo" received both Record and Song of the Year nominations. On 15 February 2011, Sanz announced that he would be signing with Universal Music Group after twenty years with Warner.

Musical style

Sanz is known for his distinctive raspy vocals, which he attributes to his flamenco roots, crediting singer Camarón de la Isla as a major influence. His song "Sí, He Cantado Mal" (Yes, I Have Sung Badly) from ''No Es Lo Mismo'' references this, with Sanz saying "I'm laughing a little at myself so that I can laugh at other things. Sometimes, I'm harder on myself than any music critic can be. I'm laughing at that." As a child, Sanz was heavily influenced by English-language heavy metal groups such as Iron Maiden and Dio, referring to himself as a "heavy metal radical". He also feels that living in the city of Cadiz had a major impact on his musical style, where "Any 7-year-old kid you find knows how to play guitar, play the cajón, knows how to sing. When the family comes together we start to sing. In a way it's not just music, it's culture."

Early in his career, his music generally consisted of romantic ballads. However, in the late 1990s, his collaborations with other artists greatly expanded his musical style. On ''No Es Lo Mismo'', he experimented with rock, salsa, and hip hop. ''El Tren de los Momentos'' continued this pattern, featuring diverse genres such as funk, jazz, and country. Despite this, Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic described his musical evolution by saying "Even as Sanz broadened his style over the years, he never ventured far from his strength: romantic songs, generally ballads, tinged with flamenco and sung wholeheartedly with his distinct voice."

Personal life

Sanz married Mexican fashion model and actress, Jaydy Michel in Bali on December 30, 1999, but this marriage was never legally recognized in either of their home countries. Sanz felt that having a legally recognized marriage was unnecessary: "My wife is my wife and I am her husband. For me, that has enough validity...I am married with the heart." The couple divorced in 2005. Their daughter, Manuela Sánchez Michel, was born in 2001. Sanz later had a son named Alexander with Valeria Rivera, a Puerto Rican fashion designer.

Sanz welcomed his third child in New York, a boy named Dylan (b. July 2011), the first child from his relationship with girlfriend and former assistant, Raquel Perera. Taking into account Sanz's influence of flamenco in his life he chose virtuoso flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía to be the godfather to his son. Alejandro and Raquel are godparents to David Bisbal's daughter, Ella.

Discography

Studio albums

1989: ''Los Chulos Son Pa' Cuidarlos''

1991: ''Viviendo Deprisa''

1993: ''Si tú me miras''

1993: ''Básico''

1995: ''3''

1997: ''Más''

2000: ''El alma al aire''

2003: ''No Es Lo Mismo''

2006: ''El Tren De Los Momentos''

2009: ''Paraíso Express''

References

Alejandro Sanz Biography

External links

Alejandro Sanz's Official Site Alejandro Sanz's Official Red

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:Spanish singers Category:Spanish male singers Category:Spanish-language singers Category:Italian-language singers Category:Portuguese-language singers Category:Spanish singer-songwriters Category:People from Madrid Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:People from Miami, Florida Category:World Music Awards winners

ca:Alejandro Sanz da:Alejandro Sanz de:Alejandro Sanz el:Αλεχάντρο Σανθ es:Alejandro Sanz eo:Alejandro Sanz eu:Alejandro Sanz fr:Alejandro Sanz gl:Alejandro Sanz hr:Alejandro Sanz io:Alejandro Sanz id:Alejandro Sanz it:Alejandro Sanz lt:Alejandro Sanz hu:Alejandro Sanz nl:Alejandro Sanz ja:アレハンドロ・サンス pl:Alejandro Sanz pt:Alejandro Sanz ro:Alejandro Sanz ru:Санс, Алехандро sq:Alejandro Sanz fi:Alejandro Sanz tr:Alejandro Sanz uk:Алехандро Санс zh:亞雷漢德羅·桑斯

name	Anthony Romeo Santos
background	solo_singer
alias	Anthony santos
born	July 21, 1981The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States
genre	Bachata, hip hop, reggaeton, R&B;
years active	1995–Present
label	Premium Latin, Sony, Jive
associated acts	Aventura, Lenny Santos, Henry Santos Jeter, Max Santos, Wisin & Yandel Usher, Akon, Wyclef jean, Thalia, Ludacris, Don Omar |website www.aventuraworldwide.com/ www.Romeo-Santos.com }}

Anthony "Romeo" Santos (born July 21, 1981) is an American singer, featured composer and former lead singer of the Bachata group Aventura. As a member of Aventura, Santos has been a key figure in popularizing Bachata, with hits reaching near the top of the Billboard Latin charts and the top of charts in Europe. In 2002, the band's song ''Obsesión'' was number one in Italy for sixteen consecutive weeks.

Santos was born in The Bronx, New York, United States to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother.At twelve years of age, he became a member of the church choir. While the group performs in both English and Spanish, their work was widely ignored by the English-language media during the early part of their career. On May 9, 2011, Santos released his first single, ''You'', from his upcoming solo debut album, ''Formula''. The song became a number-one debut on the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs chart.

Awards and Honors

In 2003, Santos took an ASCAP award in tropical music for his megahit song ''Obsesión'' and another in the English-language market in Pop—the first time a Hispanic/Latino writer has won an ASCAP award in the U.S. market. In 2007, he took the Billboard Composer of the Year Award over such legendary writers as Marco Antonio Solís and Joan Sebastian. In 2008 he was nominated again in this prestigious category. Frankie J's cover version of ''Obsesión'' was #2 across the country in all markets for twenty-two weeks; this recording earned Santos ASCAP awards in Latin and Pop. He has also penned hits for artists such as Wisin & Yandel (''Noche de sexo''), Thalía (''No no no''), Hector Acosta (''Me voy''), and Antony Santos (''Mátame''). In 2009, Aventura won the "Favorite Latin Music Artist" prize at the American Music Awards, and was invited to play for United States President Barack Obama at the White House.

Discography

''Formula'' (2011)

References

Further Reading

Rosen, Jody. "Crossover Dreams of a Bronx Bachatero". ''New York Times''. Arts:Music. June 3, 2009

Symkus, Ed. "Listen to the Tale of Aventura". ''The Edge''. ''The Boston Herald.com'' December 1, 2009

Category:American people of Dominican Republic descent Category:American people of Puerto Rican descent Category:Bachata musicians Category:American musicians Category:Songwriters from New York Category:American singers Category:1981 births Category:Living people

ca:Anthony Santos es:Romeo Santos it:Anthony Santos