Club Eifel's DJ Blaze performing at the 2009 Air Force Ball.

A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" (sometimes spelled "disk", although this is now uncommon) referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.

There are several types of disc jockeys. Radio DJs or radio personalities introduce and play music that is broadcast on AM, FM, shortwave, digital, or internet radio stations. Club DJs select and play music in bars, nightclubs, or discothèques, or at parties or raves, or even in stadiums. Hip hop disc jockeys select and play music using multiple turntables, often to back up one or more MCs, and they may also do turntable scratching to create percussive sounds. In reggae, the DJ (deejay) is a vocalist who raps, "toasts", or chats over pre-recorded rhythm tracks while the individual choosing and playing them is referred to as a selector.^[1] Mobile DJs travel with portable sound systems and play recorded music at a variety of events.

Equipment and techniques[link]

Technics 1200 MK2, Technics 1210 MK2 & Pioneer DJM-500 shown in a common DJ configuration

A DJ at Sundance Film Festival 2003

Club DJ equipment may consist of:

• Sound recordings in a DJ's preferred medium (for example, vinyl records, Compact Discs, computer media files, etc.);
• A combination of two devices (or only one, if playback is digital) to play sound recordings, for alternating back and forth to create a continuous playback of music (for example, record players, Compact Disc players, computer media players such as an MP3 player, etc.);
• A multiple Sequencer which can mix MIDI tracks with Digital Audio;
• A sound system for amplification or broadcasting of the recordings (for example, portable audio system, PA system) or a radio broadcasting system;
• A DJ mixer, which is an (usually 2- or 4-channel) audio mixer usually equipped with a crossfader used to smoothly go from one song to another, using two or more playback devices;
• Headphones, used to listen to one recording while the other recording is being played to the audience, or to listen to both recordings simultaneously; and
• Optionally, a microphone, so that the DJ can introduce songs and speak to the audiences.

Other equipment could or can be added to the basic DJ setup (above), providing unique sound manipulations. Such devices include, but are not limited to:

• Electronic effects units (delay, reverb, octave, equalizer, chorus, etc.). Some club DJs use a subharmonic synthesizer effect which either doubles low frequencies with energy added an octave lower or synthesizes harmonics such that the impression of a very low bass sound is added to the mix.
• A computerised performance system, which can be used with vinyl emulation software to manipulate digital files on the computer in real time.
• Multi-stylus headshells, which allow a DJ to play different grooves of the same record at the same time.
• Special DJ digital controller hardware can manipulate digital files on a PC or laptop;
• Samplers, sequencers, electronic musical keyboards (synthesizers), or drum machines.
• A Midi Controller used to trigger different aspects of DJ Software, such as Serato Scratch Live, Virtual Dj, and Traktor.

Several techniques are used by DJs as a means to better mix and blend recorded music. These techniques primarily include the cueing, equalization, and audio mixing of two or more sound sources. The complexity and frequency of special techniques depends largely on the setting in which a DJ is working. Radio DJs are less likely to focus on music-mixing procedures than club DJs, who rely on a smooth transition between songs using a range of techniques.

Club DJ turntable techniques include beatmatching, phrasing, and slip-cueing to preserve energy on a dancefloor. Turntablism embodies the art of cutting, beat juggling, scratching, needle drops, phase shifting, back spinning, and more to perform the transitions and overdubs of samples in a more creative manner (although turntablism is often considered a use of the turntable as a musical instrument rather than a tool for blending recorded music). Professional DJs may use harmonic mixing to choose songs that are in compatible musical keys.

History[link]

Parts of this section (those related to The history section of this article needs to be updated, starting with the end of 1999 to the start of 2011.) may no longer be up to date. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished. Please see the talk page for more information. (May 2012)

19th century to 1920s[link]

In 1892, Emile Berliner began commercial production of his gramophone records, the first disc records to be offered to the public. In 1906, Reginald Fessenden transmitted the first audio radio broadcast in history also playing the first record, that of a contralto singing Handel's Largo from Xerxes.^[2]

The world's first radio disc jockey was Ray Newby, of Stockton, California. In 1909, at 16 years of age, Newby began regularly playing records on a small spark transmitter while a student at Herrold College of Engineering and Wireless, located in San Jose, California, under the authority of radio pioneer Charles "Doc" Herrold.^[3][4]

We used popular records at that time, mainly Caruso records, because they were very good and loud; we needed a boost... we started on an experimental basis and then, because this is novel, we stayed on schedule continually without leaving the air at any time from that time on except for a very short time during World War I, when the government required us to remove the antenna... Most of our programming was records, I'll admit, but of course we gave out news as we could obtain it...^[3]

—Ray Newby, I've Got a Secret (1965)

By 1910, regular radio broadcasting had started to use "live" as well as prerecorded sound. In the early radio age, content typically included comedy, drama, news, music, and sports reporting. The on-air announcers and programmers would later be known as disc jockeys. In the 1920s, juke joints became popular as places for dancing and drinking to recorded jukebox music. In 1927, Christopher Stone became the first radio announcer and programmer in the United Kingdom, on the BBC radio station.

1930s–1950s[link]

In 1935, American radio commentator Walter Winchell coined the term "disc jockey" (the combination of disc, referring to the disc records, and jockey, which is an operator of a machine) as a description of radio announcer Martin Block, the first announcer to become a star. While his audience was awaiting developments in the Lindbergh kidnapping, Block played records and created the illusion that he was broadcasting from a ballroom, with the nation’s top dance bands performing live. The show, which he called Make Believe Ballroom, was an instant hit. The term "disc jockey" appeared in print in Variety in 1941.^[5]

Prior to this, most music heard on radio was live; most radio stations had an orchestra or band on the payroll.^[6][7] The Federal Communications Commission also clearly favored live music, providing accelerated license approval to stations promising not to use any recordings for their first three years on the air.^[5] Many noted recording artists tried to keep their recorded works off the air by having their records labeled as not being legal for airplay. It took a Federal court ruling in 1940 to establish that a recording artist had no legal right to control the use of a record after it was sold.^[5]

In 1943, Jimmy Savile launched the world's first DJ dance party by playing jazz records in the upstairs function room of the Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherds in Otley, England. In 1947, he claims to have become the first DJ to use twin turntables for continuous play, and in 1958 became a radio DJ at Radio Luxembourg. Also in 1947, the Whiskey à Go-Go nightclub opened in Paris, France, considered to be the world's first commercial discothèque, or disco (deriving its name from the French word meaning a nightclub where the featured entertainment is recorded music rather than an on-stage band). Regine began playing on twin turntables there in 1953. Discos began appearing across Europe and the United States.

The postwar period coincided with the rise of the radio disc jockey as a celebrity separate from the radio station, also known as a "radio personality". In the days before station-controlled playlists, the DJ often followed their personal tastes in music selection. DJs also played a role in exposing rock and roll artists to large, national audiences. While at WERE (1300 AM) in Cleveland, Ohio, DJ Bill Randle was one of the first to introduce Elvis Presley to radio audiences in the northeastern US.^[8]

Notable US radio disc jockeys of the period include Alan Freed, Wolfman Jack, Kasey Kasem,^[9] and their British counterparts such as the BBC's Brian Matthew, Radio London's John Peel, and later in the 60s, Radio Caroline's Tony Blackburn.^[10]

Freed is commonly referred to as the "father of rock and roll" due to his promotion of the music and his introduction of the phrase "rock and roll" on radio in the early 1950s. Freed also made a practice of presenting music by African-American artists rather than cover versions by white artists on his radio program. Freed's career ended when it was shown that he had accepted payola, a practice that was highly controversial at the time, resulting in his being fired from his job at WABC.^[11]

In the 1950s, American radio DJs would appear live at "sock hops" and "platter parties" and assume the role of a human jukebox. They would usually play 45-rpm records, featuring hit singles on one turntable while talking between songs. In some cases, a live drummer was hired to play beats between songs to maintain the dance floor. In 1955, Bob Casey, a well-known "sock hop" DJ, brought the two-turntable system to the U.S. Throughout the 1950s, payola continued to be a problem and one result of the payola scandal was tighter control of the music by station management. The Top 40 format emerged, where popular songs are played repeatedly.

In the late 1950s, sound systems, a new form of public entertainment, were developed in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica. Promoters, who called themselves DJs, would throw large parties in the streets that centered on the disc jockey, called the "selector," who played dance music from large, loud PA systems and bantered over the music with a boastful, rhythmic chanting style called "toasting". These parties quickly became profitable for the promoters, who would sell admission, food, and alcohol, leading to fierce competition between DJs for the biggest sound systems and newest records.

1960s and 1970s[link]

In the mid-1960s, nightclubs and discothèques continued to grow in Europe and the United States. Specialized DJ equipment, such as Rudy Bozak's classic CMA-10-2DL mixer, began to appear on the market. In 1969, American club DJ Francis Grasso popularized beatmatching at New York's Sanctuary nightclub. Beatmatching is the technique of creating seamless transitions between records with matching beats, or tempos. Grasso also developed slip-cuing, the technique of holding a record still while the turntable is revolving underneath, releasing it at the desired moment to create a sudden transition from the previous record. (This technique had long been used in radio.)

By 1968, the number of dance clubs started to decline; most American clubs either closed or were transformed into clubs featuring live bands. Neighborhood block parties that were modelled after Jamaican sound systems gained popularity in Europe and in the boroughs of New York City.

In 1973, Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc, widely regarded as the "father of hip-hop culture," performed at block parties in his Bronx neighborhood and developed a technique of mixing back and forth between two identical records to extend the rhythmic instrumental segment, or break. Turntablism, the art of using turntables not only to play music but to manipulate sound and create original music, began to develop.

In 1974, Technics released the first SL-1200 turntable, which evolved into the SL-1200 MK2 in 1979—which, as of the early-2010s, remains an industry standard for DJing. In 1974, German electronic music band Kraftwerk released the 22-minute song "Autobahn," which takes up the entire first side of that LP. Years later, Kraftwerk would become a significant influence on hip-hop artists such as Afrika Bambaataa and house music pioneer Frankie Knuckles. During the mid-1970s, Hip-hop music and culture began to emerge, originating among urban African Americans and Latinos in New York City. The four main elements of Hip Hop culture are graffiti, DJing, breakdancing, and MCing (rapping).

In the mid-1970s, the soul-funk blend of dance pop known as disco took off in the mainstream pop charts in the United States and Europe, causing discothèques to experience a rebirth. Unlike many late-1960s clubs, which featured live bands, discothèques used the DJ's selection and mixing of records as the entertainment. In 1975, record pools began, providing disc jockeys access to newer music from the industry in an efficient method.

In 1975,^[12] hip-hop DJ Grand Wizard Theodore invented the scratching technique by accident. In 1976, American DJ, editor, and producer Walter Gibbons remixed "Ten Percent" by Double Exposure, one of the earliest commercially released 12″ singles (aka "maxi-single"). In 1979, the Sugar Hill Gang released "Rapper's Delight", the first hip-hop record to become a hit. It was also the first real breakthrough for sampling, as the bassline of Chic's "Good Times" laid the foundation for the song.

In 1977, Saratoga Springs, NY disc jockey Tom L. Lewis introduced the Disco Bible (later renamed Disco Beats), which published hit disco songs listed by beats per minute (tempo), as well as by either artist or song title. Billboard ran an article on the new publication, and it went national relatively quickly. The list made it easier for beginning DJs to learn how to create seamless transitions between songs without dancers having to change their rhythm on the dance floor. Today, DJs can find the beats per minute of songs in the BPM List.

1980s[link]

In 1981, the cable television network MTV was launched, originally devoted to music videos, especially popular rock music. The term "video jockey", or VJ, was used to describe the fresh-faced youth who introduced the music videos. In 1982, the demise of disco in the mainstream by the summer of 1982 forced many nightclubs to either close or change entertainment styles, such as by providing MTV-style video dancing or live bands. Released in 1982, the song "Planet Rock" by DJ Afrika Bambaataa was the first hip-hop song to feature synthesizers. The song melded electro hip-hop beats influenced by Yellow Magic Orchestra with the melody from Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express." In 1982, the Compact Disc reached the public market in Asia, and early the following year in other markets. This event is often seen as the "Big Bang" of the digital audio revolution.

In the early 1980s, NYC disco DJ Larry Levan, known for his eclectic mixes, gained a cult following, and the Paradise Garage, the nightclub at which he spun, became the prototype for the modern dance club where the music and the DJ were showcased. Around the same time, the disco-influenced electronic style of dance music called house music emerged in Chicago. The name was derived from the Warehouse Club in Chicago, where resident DJ Frankie Knuckles mixed old disco classics and Eurosynth pop. House music is essentially disco music with electronic drum machine beats. The common element of most house music is a 4/4 beat generated by a drum machine or other electronic means (such as a sampler), together with a solid (usually also electronically generated) synth bassline. In 1983, Jesse Saunders released what some consider the first house music track, "On & On." The mid-1980s also saw the emergence of New York Garage, a house music hybrid that was inspired by Levan's style and sometimes eschewed the accentuated high-hats of the Chicago house sound.

During the mid-1980s, techno music emerged from the Detroit club scene. Being geographically located between Chicago and New York, Detroit techno artists combined elements of Chicago house and New York garage along with European imports. Techno distanced itself from disco's roots by becoming almost purely electronic with synthesized beats. In 1985, the Winter Music Conference started in Fort Lauderdale Florida and became the premier electronic music conference for dance music disc jockeys.

In 1985, TRAX Dance Music Guide was launched by American Record Pool in Beverly Hills. It was the first national DJ-published music magazine, created on the Macintosh computer using extensive music market research and early desktop publishing tools. In 1986, "Walk This Way", a rap/rock collaboration by Run DMC and Aerosmith, became the first hip-hop song to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song was the first exposure of hip-hop music, as well as the concept of the disc jockey as band member and artist, to many mainstream audiences. In 1988, DJ Times magazine was first published. It was the first US-based magazine specifically geared toward the professional mobile and club DJ.

Starting in the mid-1980s, the wedding and banquet business changed dramatically with the introduction of DJ music, replacing the bands that had been the norm. Bandleaders, like Jerry Perell and others, started DJ companies, such as NY Rhythm DJ Entertainers. Using their knowledge of audience participation, MC charisma, and "crowd-pleasing" repertory selection, the wedding music industry became almost all DJ while combining the class and elegance of the traditional band presentation. New DJs as well as bandleaders with years of experience and professionalism transformed the entire industry.

1990s[link]

During the early 1990s, the rave scene built on the acid house scene. The rave scene changed dance music, the image of DJs, and the nature of promoting. The innovative marketing surrounding the rave scene created the first superstar DJs who established marketable "brands" around their names and sound. Some of these celebrity DJs toured around the world and were able to branch out into other music-related activities. During the early 1990s, the Compact Disc surpassed the gramophone record in popularity, but gramophone records continued to be made (although in very limited quantities) into the 21st century—particularly for club DJs and for local acts recording on small regional labels. During the mid-1990s, trance music, having run rampant in the German underground for several years, emerged as a major force in dance music throughout Europe and the UK. It became one of the world's most dominant forms of dance music by the end of the 1990s, thanks to a trend away from its repetitive, hypnotic roots, and towards commercialized song structure.

In 1991, Mobile Beat magazine, geared specifically toward mobile DJs, began publishing. In 1992, MPEG which stands for the Moving Picture Experts Group, released The MPEG-1 standard, designed to produce reasonable sound at low bit rates. The lossy compression scheme MPEG-1 Layer-3, popularly known as MP3, later revolutionized the digital music domain. In 1993, the first internet "radio station", Internet Talk Radio, was developed by Carl Malamud. Because the audio was relayed over the internet, it was possible to access internet radio stations from anywhere in the world. This made it a popular service for both amateur and professional disc jockeys operating from a personal computer.

In 1998, the first MP3 digital audio player was released, the Eiger Labs MPMan F10. Final Scratch debuted at the BE Developer Conference, marking the first digital DJ system to allow DJs control of MP3 files through special time-coded vinyl records or CDs. While it would take sometime for this novel concept to catch on with the "die hard Vinyl DJs", This would soon become the first step in the new Digital DJ revolution. Manufacturers joined with computer DJing pioneers to offer professional endorsements, the first being Professor Jam (aka William P. Rader), who went on to develop the industry's first dedicated computer DJ convention and learning program, the "CPS (Computerized Performance System) DJ Summit", to help spread the word about the advantages of this emerging technology.

In 1999, Shawn Fanning released Napster, the first of the massively popular peer-to-peer file sharing systems. During this period, the AVLA (Audio Video Licensing Agency) of Canada announced an MP3 DJing license, administered by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. This meant that DJs could apply for a license giving them the right to perform publicly using music stored on a hard drive, instead of having to cart their whole CD collections around to their gigs.

Photo gallery[link]

• 

  Club Sevillas's DJ 2CAN performing in a local club in the Inland Empire of California.

• 

  Romina Cohn @ Sobremonte (Mar del Plata, Argentina)

• JasonJollinsPachaBsAs.jpg

  Jason Jollins performing at Pacha, Buenos Aires

• 

  Jeff Mills, live with 3 CD and a Roland TR-909 drum machine, 2007

• 

  Trance DJ Ferry Corsten in Canada

• 

  DJ Hazel

• 

  Dj Markus radio Dj (exDFM)

See also[link]

• Computer DJ
• Digital DJ licensing
• Disc or disk (spelling)
• Live PA
• Mixset
• Record collecting
• Seoul World DJ Festival

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Assef, Claudia (2000). Todo DJ Já Sambou: A História do Disc-Jóquei no Brasil. São Paulo: Conrad Editora do Brasil. ISBN 85-87193-94-5.
• Brewster, Bill, and Frank Broughton (2000). Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3688-5 (North American edition). London: Headline. ISBN 0-7472-6230-6 (UK edition).
• Broughton, Frank, and Bill Brewster. How to DJ Right: The Art and Science of Playing Records. New York: Grove Press, 2003.
• Graudins, Charles A. How to Be a DJ. Boston: Course Technology PTR, 2004.
• Lawrence, Tim (2004). Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970–1979 . Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3198-5.
• Miller, Paul D. aka DJ Spooky, Sound Unbound: Writings on DJ Culture and Electronic Music, MIT Press 2008. ISBN 0-262-63363-9 ISBN 978-0-262-63363-5.
• Poschardt, Ulf (1998). DJ Culture. London: Quartet Books. ISBN 0-7043-8098-6.
• Corrado Rizza, Marco Trani, "I love the nightlife"' Wax Production (Roma), 2010
• Zemon, Stacy. The Mobile DJ Handbook: How to Start & Run a Profitable Mobile Disc Jockey Service, Second Edition. St. Louis: Focal Press, 2002

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Disc jockey

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Disc jockey

• DJs at the Open Directory Project

DJ Pierre is the stage name of Nathaniel Pierre Jones, a Chicago born DJ and performer of house music. He helped to develop the house music subgenre of Acid House, as member of Phuture, whose 1987 E.P. Acid Tracks, which has been called the "first Acid House recording."^[1] Allmusic.com calls Jones a "crucial DJ and the production wizard partly responsible for the development of Chicago acid-house." Jones' first single "Generate Power," "became standard fare for scores of producers during the next few years."^[2] Philippe Renaud, a journalist for La Presse in Montreal, states that the term "Acid house" was "coined in Chicago in 1987 to describe the sound of the Roland 303 bass machine, which made its first significant recording appearance on Phuture's Acid Trax (DJ Pierre) in that year."^[1]

Career[link]

Phuture[link]

Jones has recorded under the names DJ Pierre, Phuture, Phuture Phantasy Club, Pierre's Pfantasy Club, and Photon Inc. He formed the group Phuture with his friends Spanky (Earl Smith Jr. –founder/technical producer) and Herb J (Herbert R Jackson Jr. - keyboards). During the mid-1980s, the trio began using the "squelch" sound that became common in Acid House recordings after their initial experiments with a Roland TB-303 bass line synthesizer produced these "squelch" sounds. Living in the Chicago area, they were exposed to many house artists, such as Hot Mix 5 artists (Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, Ralphi "The Razz" Rosario, Kenny "Jammin" Jason, Mickey "Mixin" Oliver and Scott "Smokin" Seals) who were producing many tapes and vinyl recordings. Frankie Knuckles was DJing and the Warehouse club (where House Music may have derived its name).

First recordings[link]

Pierre and Spanky had been to Chicago DJ Ron Hardy's club called "Muzic Box." The first Acid House track they recorded was 'Acid Tracks' (renamed by Ron Hardy from its original title 'In Your Mind'), which had a slow burning, bassy, heavy, deep sound, and which was over eleven minutes long. Their first track was put on tape and first played in the Music Box club in the mid-1980s. Ron Hardy played it several times on its first night. It was rerecorded at Trax Records (produced by Marshall Jefferson) and released in 1986.

DJ Pierre went on to record many of the early Acid House tracks on Trax Records under the names Phuture, Phuture Pfantasy Club, Pierre's Pfantasy Club (with Felix Da Housecat), Phortune with songs such as Your Only Friend (Cocaine), The Creator, String Free, Got The Bug, Box Energy, Dream Girl, Mystery Girl, Fantasy Girl, We Are Phuture, Slam and Spank Spank. One of the tracks has a voiceover proclaiming "We are The Creator of Acid Music and we're back." DJ Pierre's track 'Your Only Friend' has an anti-drug message.

Post-Chicago[link]

In 1990, DJ Pierre moved away from Chicago, where the House Music scene was slowing down and joined Strictly Rhythm records, where he was also briefly the A&R manager. One of the problems that DJ Pierre and other Chicago House music artists faced was that they did not usually own their own copyrights; the music they produced was sometimes exported and licensed overseas, and they were not able to share in these revenues. Other hits he released since leaving Chicago include Generate Power by Photon Inc, Follow Me by Aly Us, and The Horn Song (featuring Barbara Tucker). He is still DJing and producing; on January 14, 2007 he appeared on Pete Tong's Essential Mix on British BBC Radio 1.

References[link]

External links[link]

• DJ Pierre Official Website
• Phuture on Discogs.com website
• Interview with DJ Pierre discussing his enduring acid house influence

Don Omar
Omar at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida, October 4, 2008
Background information
Birth name	William Omar Landrón Rivera
Also known as	El Rey
Born	(1978-02-10) February 10, 1978 (age 34)
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 (born William Omar Landrón Rivera; February 10, 1978 ^[1]), a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer-rapper and actor. He is sometimes referred to by his nickname El Rey (Spanish: "The King").

Early life[link]

William Omar Landrón Rivera is the oldest son of William Landrón and Luz Antonia Rivera. He was raised in Santurce, a barrio in the Villa Palmeras area of San Juan, Puerto Rico. From an early age, he showed interest in the music of Vico C and Brewley MC.^{[citation needed]} 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]

Career[link]

His first public performance in a night club was accompanied by disc jockey Eliel Lind Osorio. Afterwards he appeared regularly on compilation albums from popular DJs and producers including Luny Tunes, Noriega, and DJ Eric. He also worked as a backup singer for the duo Héctor & Tito. One of the members, Héctor Delgado, helped him produce his first solo album.^[2]

Don Omar's career rose 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.

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] Billboard recognized that King of Kings was the most successful album of the decade in Latin America, besides being the most successful in the history of the genre of reggaeton. Billboard estimated that the album sold over 4.1 million copies by the end of 2009.^[5]

The album's track "Salió El Sol" is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. The songs "Los Bandoleros" and "Conteo" were featured in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in the ending credits.

Don Omar participated in Gilberto Santa Rosa's presentation in an event titled "Concierto del Amor", presented in the Madison Square Garden on February 9, 2008. He closed the event and performed reggaeton themes.^[6]

Don Omar's third studio album, iDon, was released on April 28, 2009. This album was dedicated to his cousin Cordell Brown. "Virtual Diva" became the most requested song on Latin radio stations.^[7][8] The second official single, titled "Sexy Robotica", was released on July 6, 2009.

The album Don Omar Presents: Meet The Orphans was released on November 16, 2010. The album features the artists under Don Omar's 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 Portuguese-French singer Lucenzo, as well as collaborations from Orfanato Music Group artists including Kendo Kapponi, Syko, Plan B, Zion & Lennox, Yaga & Mackie and Danny Fornaris. He is signed to VI Music and Machete Music through Universal Music Latino.

The album Don Omar Presents MTO2: The New Generation was released on May 1, 2012. The album features newly signed to Orfanato Music Group Natti Natasha as well as many other signed artists and other reggaeton artists like Zion Y Lennox. The album includes the singles Hasta Que Salga El Sol and Dutty Love featuring Natti Natasha. The album also features collaborations with Juan Magan, Mims, Syko, Vinny el Vendito, and Yunel Cruz. The album has been well received^{[citation needed]} and is a top seller on iTunes.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

William Omar Landrón is the father of four children. He married forecaster/journalist Jackie Guerrido on April 18, 2008.^[9] Divorce rumors surrounded the couple two years into the marriage and were compounded by comments Landrón made via Twitter.^[10] In March 2011, it was revealed they had divorced.^[11]

Controversies and legal issues[link]

On September 18, 2007, Don Omar was briefly detained in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia due to a legal dispute. A Bolivian concert promotor sued him and some of his management after he canceled a concert scheduled for earlier that year in La Paz as part of the international tour Up Close.^[12][13][14] The organization claimed that he had defrauded US$70,000 due to the cancellation.^[14] Landrón responded that he canceled the concert because the company did not provide air tickets in time.^[14] After the case was presented before a local judge, both parties reached an agreement.^[14] 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 is banned from Univision.^{[citation needed]} After Univision became involved in his marriage and its end, he is no longer allowed to attend any award shows from Univision.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 2003: The Last Don
• 2006: King of Kings
• 2009: iDon
• 2010: Meet the Orphans
• 2012: Don Omar Presents-Meet The Orphans 2: New Generation

Live / special edition albums[link]

• 2004: The Last Don Live
• 2006: The Last Don: The Gold Series
• 2006: King of Kings: Armageddon Edition
• 2007: King of Kings Live
• 2012: Don Omar Present MTO 2 - New Generatio

Compilation albums[link]

• 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

Filmography[link]