Don Omar
| Don Omar | |
|---|---|
 Omar at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida, October 4, 2008 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Omar Landrón Rivera |
| Also known as | El Rey |
| Born | February 10, 1978 |
| Origin | Puerto Rico |
| Genres | Reggaeton, pop, rap, R&B |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, composer, CEO, actor, rapper |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Orfanato Music Group (His Label) VI Music Universal Music Latino Machete Music |
| Website | Don Omar |
Don Omar, also known as El Rey (born William Omar Landrón Rivera; February 10, 1978,[1] is a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer-rapper and actor.
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[edit] Early life
William Omar Landrón Rivera is the oldest son of William Landrón and Luz Antonia Rivera. He was raised in Santurce, a barrio of San Juan, Puerto Rico, specifically in the Villa Palmeras area. From an early age, he showed interest in the music of Vico C and Brewley MC, but never actually followed it. During his youth, he became an active member of a Protestant church, Iglesia Evangélica Restauración en Cristo, in Bayamón where he occasionally offered sermons. However, after four years, he left the church to dedicate himself to singing.[2]
Several months later, he had his first public presentation in a night club, accompanied by disc jockey Eliel Lind Osorio. Afterwards he appeared regularly on compilation albums from popular DJ's and producers like Luny Tunes, Noriega, and DJ Eric. He also started working as a backup singer for the duo Héctor & Tito. One of the members, Héctor Delgado, helped him produce his first solo album.[2]
[edit] Career
[edit] 2000–2005: The Last Don
Don Omar's career catapulted to stardom with the release of his first studio album, The Last Don. Both the studio version and its live edition have been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Worldwide, The Last Don: Live [CD & DVD] has sold over one million copies, according to his official website. He earned awards for “Latin Pop Album of the Year” and "New Artist & Latin Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year” by the Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2003. The Last Don: Live [CD & DVD] was also nominated for "Urban Music Album" at the 2005 Latin Grammy Awards.
[edit] 2006–2008: King of Kings
Omar's May 2006 album King of Kings, became history's highest ranking reggaeton LP in the top 10 US charts, with its debut at #1 on the Latin sales charts and the #1 spot on the Billboard Latin Rhythm Radio Chart with his single “Angelito”.[3] Omar was also able to beat the in-store appearance sales record at Disney World's Virgin music store previously set by pop star Britney Spears.
With the highest charting debut by a reggaeton artist, Don Omar's "King of Kings" entered at No. 7 with 74,000, beating Daddy Yankee's No. 24 entry with 2005's "Barrio Fino En Directo". In April 2007, Don Omar received the Latin Billboard award for "Reggaeton Album Of The Year" for King of Kings.[4] The songs "Los Bandoleros" and "Conteo" were featured in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in the ending credits.
On September 18, 2007, Landrón was briefly under police custody in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, when a local company sued him after he canceled a concert scheduled for earlier that year in La Paz, Bolivia as part of an international tour titled "Up Close".[5] The organization claimed that he had stolen $70,000 due to the cancellation.[5] Landrón responded that he canceled the concert because the company did not provide air tickets in time.[5] After the case was presented before a local judge, both parts reached an agreement.[5] Landrón was allowed to leave the country in order to comply with a previously scheduled appearance in Buenos Aires on Argentine television and returned the next day to hold his concert in Santa Cruz's Tahuichi Aguilera soccer stadium.[citation needed]
Landrón participated as in Gilberto Santa Rosa's presentation in an event titled "Concierto del Amor", presented in the Madison Square Garden on February 9, 2008. Where he closed the event and performed reggaeton themes.[6]
In late 2009 Billboard recognized that this was the most successful album of the decade (since 2000) in Latin America, besides being the most successful in the history of the genre of Reggaeton and Latin music, Don Omar ended in 2009 devoting even more over its rivals as the best of this genre and urban music. It is estimated that the album until the end of 2009 according to Billboard recount has sold just over 4.1 million copies.[7]
"Salió El Sol" is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.
[edit] 2009: iDon
Don Omar's third studio album titled iDon was released on April 28, 2009. This album was dedicated to his cousin Cordell Brown. He misses his family in St.Louis, that's why the first single from this album titled "Virtual Diva" was performed on MTV's Tr3s variety show, Virtual Diva. iDon's Virtual Diva became the most requested song on Latin radio stations.[8][9] The second official single, titled "Sexy Robotica", was released on July 6, 2009.
[edit] 2010–present: Meet the Orphans
The album Don Omar Presents: Meet The Orphans was released on November 16, 2010. The album features the artists under the Orfanato Music Group label and other reggaeton artists. The album includes the promotional single Hasta Abajo and the album's lead single Danza Kuduro featuring French singer Lucenzo, as well as collaborations from Don Omar’s Orfanato Music Group artists including Kendo Kapponi, Syko, Plan B, Zion & Lennox, Yaga & Mackie and Danny Fornaris. He is currently signed to VI Music and Machete Music through Universal Music Latino.
[edit] Personal life
William Omar Landrón is the father of four children. He married forecaster/journalist Jackie Guerrido on April 18, 2008.[10] Divorce rumors surrounded the couple two years into the marriage and were compounded by comments Landrón made via Twitter.[11] In March 2011, it was revealed they had divorced.[12] Landrón is banned from Univision, after Univision got involved with his marriage, he is no longer allowed to attend any award shows from Univision. Omar is also the owner of Orfanato Music Group.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- 2003: The Last Don
- 2006: King of Kings
- 2009: iDon
- 2010: Meet the Orphans
- 2012: Meet The Orphans 2
[edit] Live / special edition albums
- 2004: The Last Don Live
- 2006: The Last Don: The Gold Series
- 2006: King of Kings: Armageddon Edition
- 2007: King of Kings Live
[edit] Compilation albums
- 2005: Don Omar Presenta: Los Bandoleros
- 2005: Da Hitman Presents Reggaetón Latino
- 2006: Don Omar Presenta: Los Bandoleros Reloaded
- 2007: Don Omar Presenta: El Pentágono
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Los Bandoleros | Omar Santos |
| 2009 | Fast & Furious[13][14] | Omar Santos |
| 2011 | Fast Five | Omar Santos |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Don Omar news, music videos, pictures and albums – AOL Music. Music.aol.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-29.
- ^ a b Biografías. Prpop.org. Retrieved on 2012-01-29.
- ^ "Don Omar On Top of Charts with ‘King of Kings’ Debut". Latinrapper.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-29.
- ^ Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards. April 7–10, 2008. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, FL
- ^ a b c d "Flash!" (in Spanish). Don Omar: Pasa horas detenido. Puerto Rico: El Nuevo Día. 2007-09-19. p. 103.
- ^ Frances Tirado (2008-01-25). "Don Omar y Gilberto Santa Rosa juntos en concierto del amor". Primera Hora. http://web.archive.org/web/20090317190203/http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/musica/espectaculos_asi/don_omar_y_gilberto_santa_rosa_juntos_en_concierto_del_amor/150846. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ King of Kings Album Reviews. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-29.
- ^ Entertainment as a Second Language with Carlos Santos.
- ^ Wikiton Magazine (2008-06-25). "Orfanato Music Group es el sello de Don Omar". Wikiton Magazine. http://www.wikiton.net/orfanato-music-group-es-el-sello-de-don-omar. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
- ^ "Our Wedding Will Be a Fairy Tale" People en Espanol. February 21, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2008
- ^ Don Omar amenaza a Jackie Guerrido en Twitter. "People en Espanol". February 7, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2011
- ^ Jackie Guerrido y Don Omar ya están divorciados. "People en Espanol". March 27, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2011
- ^ Brunton, Richard. (2006-05-26) Don Omar in new Fast and the Furious film. Filmstalker.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-01-29.
- ^ Don Omar starring alongside Vin Diesel
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Don Omar |
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