Machete Music is an urban music label owned by Universal Music Group. The record label had been largely associated with reggaeton music, but in recent years, it has been also been signing non-urban artists such as Malverde, Mala Rodriguez and Chino XL.^[2][3] The label is part of Universal Music Latin Entertainment. Machete Music is one of the strongest label mainly about Reggaeton.

According to Toy Selectah (also known as Toy Hernández, A&R of the label from 2004 to 2007), its president Gustavo López "suggested the name Machete, in part because of Control Machete, Hernández's former band".^[1]

Artists signed on with Machete Music[link]

• AKWID
• Angel & Khriz
• Black Guayaba
• Barenaked Ladies
• Carlos & Alejandra
• Chino & Nacho
• Don Omar
• Eddy Lover
• El Roockie
• Ivy Queen
• Jery
• Jowell & Randy
• La Factoría
• Makano
• Mach & Daddy
• Ñejo & Dalmata
• Wisin & Yandel
• Xtreme

Affiliated Labels[link]

• Mas Flow Inc
• Pina Records
• VI Music
• Panama Music
• WY Records

See also[link]

• Universal Music Group
• Universal Music Latin Entertainment
• Reggaeton
• List of reggaeton artists
• List of record labels

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Official MySpace Site

This article about a Puerto Rican record label is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

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]

See also[link]

	Puerto Rico portal
	Biography portal
	Music portal

• List of famous Puerto Ricans
• List of Puerto Rican songwriters

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Don Omar

• Official website
• Official website for iDon album
• Official page at MySpace
• Official page at Facebook

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

Nando Boom is a Reggaeton and Reggae en Español group from Panamá led by Fernando Brown.^[1]

Brown began singing in 1977, and Nando Boom started in 1985.^[1] Nando Boom's new and speedy music style has influenced heavily the evolution of Latin music over the past few years as one of the fathers of reggaeton. His vm grinding dance moves have also changed the way people dance since the middle 1990s. These backwards dancing style is now the representative dancing of reggaeton listeners. His most representative and popular songs are "A Danzar" and "Esa Chica Me Vacila", still one of the main songs played in night clubs all over Latin America.

For many fans and critics he is considered to be a pioneer of Reggaeton and one of the most important figures in Reggae en Español. He received the key to the city in Panama. [1]

The band received the Caracol of the Caribbean award from Colombia in 1992 and a Stefano award in Miami in 1994.^[1]

Partial discography[link]

• Nando Boom (1988)
• Spanish Reggae (1991)
• Nando Boom & The Explotion Band (1992)
• Imperial China and the State Cult of Confucius (1994)
• Back to Work (1996)
• Boom City (1997)
• All Aboard the Boom Express (1998)
• All Aboard the Boom Express (Millennium Edition) (1999)
• Talkin' 'Bout Jesus (2000)
• Hymie Myths (2002)
• Hitler Blues (2005)
• Walkin' With Spike (est. release date January 23, 2008)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nando Boom at Allmusic

This article on a singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This Panamanian biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Jay Sean
Sean at the 2009 Indian Day Parade in New York City
Background information
Birth name	Kamaljit Singh Jhooti
Also known as	Jay Sean
Born	March 26, 1981 (age 31) Harlesden, Brent, London, England
Genres	Pop, R&B, hip hop, bhangra, electropop, British soul
Occupations	Singer–songwriter, beatboxer, record producer, arranger, Rapper
Instruments	Guitar, piano
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Jayded, 2Point9, TM3 Records, Cash Money, Universal Republic
Associated acts	Rishi Rich, Lil Wayne, Birdman
Website	jayseanworldwide.com

Kamaljit Singh Jhooti^[1][2], better known by his stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer-songwriter, rapper, beatboxer and record producer.^[3] He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You", which reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart in 2003. This led to him being signed to Virgin Records and having two UK top 10 hits as a solo artist in 2004: "Eyes On You" at #6 and "Stolen" at #4. They were included in his critically acclaimed debut album Me Against Myself which,^[4] though only moderately successful in the UK, sold more than two million copies across Asia and remains his most successful album to date.^[5][6][7] Alongside the Rishi Rich Project, Sean was a pioneer of Bhangra-R&B fusion, which his debut album helped popularize among the worldwide South Asian diaspora.^[8]

He eventually left Virgin in 2006 and founded his own independent label, Jayded Records. After a gap of nearly four years, he returned in 2008 with "Ride It", which reached #11 in the UK and topped the charts in several Eastern European countries, including Romania where it was one of the best-selling singles of the year. It was followed by hits such as "Maybe", which reached #7 on the Japan Hot 100,^[9] and "Tonight". They were included in his second album, My Own Way, which became his most successful album on the UK Albums Chart, reaching #6, and topped the UK R&B Chart. At around this time, he began increasingly incorporating electropop sounds into his R&B music.^[10]

Since the end of 2008, has he been signed to Cash Money Records. In 2009, his American debut single "Down" topped the Billboard Hot 100, making him the first solo artist of South Asian origin and first UK urban act to top the Hot 100.^[11] It was the seventh-best selling song of 2009, having sold more than three million copies in the United States that year,^{[12][13][14][15]} eventually reaching four million sales in the United States^[16] and six million sales worldwide,^[17] making him the most successful British/European male urban artist in US chart history.^[18][19] As of 2011, it is the fifth best selling song by a British artist in the digital era.^[20] It was soon followed by another hit, "Do You Remember", which has sold more than a million copies in the US,^[21] and entered the top ten on the Hot 100,^[22] making him the first male act since Chingy in 2003 to "simultaneously appear in the Hot 100 top 10 with his first two charting singles."^[23] They were included in his American-debut album All or Nothing, which debuted at #37 on the US Billboard 200 and reached #11 on the Japan Oricon Albums Chart.^[24] Sean is sometimes referred to as a "one-man boy band"^[25][26] and was ranked #35 in Billboard's Hot 100 Artists of 2009.^[27]

Life and career[link]

1981–2002: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Jay Sean was born as Kamaljeet Singh Jhooti in Harlesden, Northwest London^[28] to Sharan and Bindi Jhooti, Punjabi Sikh immigrants. His year of birth is uncertain, with different sources giving dates ranging from 1979^[29] to 1983.^[3] He was raised in Southall, west London,^[30] and displayed musical talent at an early age. At age 11, he and his cousin Pritpal Rupra formed a hip hop duo named "Compulsive Disorder". His stage name at the time was MC "Nicky J", with the "J" being derived from the first letter of his last name "Jhooti".^[31] He eventually came to be known by the nickname "Jay" among his friends.^[2]

He was a student at Latymer Upper School, the same private school that Hugh Grant, Heston Blumenthal and Lily Cole had attended.^[32] He left the school in 1997.^[33] He finished his GCSEs as a "straight-A student" and then completed his A Levels with an A grade in Biology and B grades in Mathematics and Chemistry.^[32] He later enrolled in Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London, to study Medicine before he dropped out in 2003 to pursue a singing career. For his music career, he chose the stage name Jay Sean; "Jay" was the nickname his friends knew him as (derived from his previous stage name "Nicky J"), while "Sean" is derived from "Shaan"—a nickname he was called at home by his grandmother—which means "shining star" or "pride" in Punjabi.^[2][34][35]

[edit] 2003–06: Me Against Myself with Relentless Records

After Sean's track "One Minute" fell into the hands of producer Rishi Rich,^[36][37] the Rishi Rich Project was formed (consisting of Rich, Sean and Juggy D) in 2003. Their first taste of UK chart success was the Asian underground song, "Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)", which became a Top 20 hit, peaking at #12.^[38] This led to Sean signing a £1m deal with Virgin Records, under their label Relentless Records.^[37] His second single, "Eyes on You," was his first solo effort and became a Top 10 hit, peaking at #6.^[39] His third single, "Stolen," peaked at #4,^[40] with Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu making an appearance in the video. His debut album, Me Against Myself, was released in 2004 and received much critical praise and acclaim.^[4][41][42] Sean was referred to as an "Asian sensation" and was praised for his experimental, creative fusion of contemporary R&B, British hip hop and Indian music.^[43][44] The title track in particular was considered innovative, featuring two alter egos of himself, one an R&B singer and the other a rapper, clashing in a rap battle.^[45]

Despite initially failing to reach the top 20 on the UK Albums Chart (where it peaked at #29), the album gradually managed to sell 100,000 copies in the UK^[46] and went on to become a substantial hit in India, selling over two million copies there.^[5][6][7] He made a brief appearance in the 2005 Bollywood film Kyaa Kool Hai Hum, providing the song "Dil Mera (My Heart)" to the soundtrack, based on "One Night" from his own debut album.^[47] Beyond India, the album sold over 300,000 copies across other parts of the world,^[48] including Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia,^[3][49] and Hong Kong.^[50] His performance of tracks from Me Against Myself on MTV Asia (alongside the Rishi Rich Project) had a television audience as large as 165 million viewers.^[4][49] It helped establish Sean as a major recognized artist across Asia and among the worldwide Desi diaspora, and remains his most successful album to date. With his debut album, Sean was influential in popularizing Indian-R&B fusion sounds in Asian underground and Indian pop music.^[8] He recorded a 16 track album which was scrapped because Virgin felt the market had changed to where it was all about Pop music.^[51] In February 2006, after several delays of his second album, he left Virgin Records.^[52]

[edit] 2007–09: My Own Way and All or Nothing

After parting ways with Virgin Records, Jay Sean continued to work on his second album, which was initially named after the title track "Deal With It," but the song ended up being given to Corbin Bleu. Sean's background vocals remain on Bleu's version of the track. The song "Deal With It" earned Sean a BMI Songwriter Award^[53] and later inspired the 2009 single "Juliette" by South Korean band Shinee.^[54][55]

Jay Sean returned in late 2007 with the new single "Ride It", which was the first single from his second album My Own Way. It was to be the first album released as a joint-venture between his own label Jayded and 2Point9 Records. The video for "Ride It", released in early 2008, featured Jay Sean with a new style after being out of the limelight for nearly three and a half years. My Own Way debuted at #6 in the official UK Albums Chart and generated two more UK top 20 singles, "Ride It" and "Maybe". On the back of this Jay received two MOBO Award nominations, for Best UK Male (alongside Dizzee Rascal, Taio Cruz, Wiley and Sway) and Best R'n'B/Soul (alongside Usher, Estelle, Ne-Yo and Chris Brown). "Ride It" was successful in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia,^[56] Turkey and Romania, where it became one of the three best-selling singles of the year.^[57] "Maybe" was his most successful single in Japan, where it reached #7 on the Japan Hot 100 Singles.^[9] A Mandarin Chinese cover version of "Maybe" by Coco Lee has been released in China. Sean sang a Hindi version of the album My Own Way for release in India. The album sold more than 350,000 copies across the world.^[48][58]

Touch Magazine in the UK described him as "the U.K.'s answer to Ne-Yo," while The Independent called him "...an urban legend in the making." In August 2008, Jay Sean co-hosted London radio station Choice FM's Breakfast show a week in which he only performed previously unheard tracks, including a song whose title was left to the listeners to decide. The unknown track was later confirmed to be called "Tonight" and is included in My Own Way: Deluxe Edition. Jay Sean was confirmed for the third series of Celebrity Scissorhands in October 2008 but he withdrew before the show was aired for unclear reasons.^[59]

On 15 October 2008 during the MOBO Awards, Jay Sean announced that he had signed with the American hip-hop oriented record label Cash Money Records distributed via Universal Republic Records^[60] making him the first male British Asian singer to sign with an American label.^[61] His American-debut single was "Down" featuring American rapper and label mate Lil Wayne. It topped the Billboard Hot 100, replacing The Black Eyed Peas. This makes him the first British artist to top the Hot 100 since Freddie Mercury of Queen in 1980, and the first solo artist of Asian descent to do so.^[62] "Down" has sold more than six million copies worldwide,^[17] and three million digital copies in the US,^[13][14] making the song the best-selling single by a British/European male artist in North America since Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" in 1997.^[19][46][63] In addition, "Down" has received a large airplay of two billion listener impressions on radio worldwide.^[64][65] As of November 2011, "Down" has sold 4.1 million copies in the US, which is currently the fifth best-selling song by a British artist in the digital era.^[20] In November 2009, Sean's next single from his album, "Do You Remember", was released and featured Jamaican dancehall superstar Sean Paul plus US Southern crunk rapper Lil Jon.^[66] It entered the Hot 100 top ten on the week of 9 January 2009,^[22] breaking "a three-week streak of no titles moving into the top 10" since December 2009.^[23] Like its predecessor, it has sold more than a million copies in the United States.^[21]

At the 2009 UK Asian Music Awards (AMA), Jay Sean won three awards, including "Best Male", "Best Urban Act" and "Best Album", the latter for his second album, My Own Way. He met with Rishi Rich, Juggy D and H-Dhami during the ceremony.^[67] After the award, he was in America for the first time since signing with Cash Money, he announced through an interview with MTV IGGY that he was recording five new songs for his album, then titled My Own Way (U.S. edition), one of which was his American-debut single with Lil Wayne, later titled "Down". Sean discussed a collaboration with Akon at the 2009 Grammy Awards, in addition to recording a song with Nadine Coyle^[68] and told viewers that the album will be released in third quarter of 2009.^[69] The album title was later changed to All or Nothing, and featured brand new songs and some of the songs from My Own Way. Despite success with two singles from the album, the album itself only debuted at #37 on the US Billboard 200. It was his lowest-charting entry on the UK Albums Chart, debuting there at #62. Despite this, it has become his highest-charting album in Japan, reaching #11 on the Oricon Albums Chart.^[24]

Sean was featured on a song called "Written on Her" alongside Birdman for the CEO’s project, released on 23 June 2009 on iTunes.^[70] This song was played during an interview on Westwood Radio 1 with Birdman and Jay Sean. Jay Sean has featured on Skepta's single "Lush" released on 10 June 2009 on iTunes.^[71] On 2 February 2010, Kevin Rudolf's single "I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)", featured Jay Sean alongside Birdman and Lil Wayne, was released.^[72] In early December 2009, it was confirmed that he has collaborated with Justin Timberlake and Esmée Denters on a song, "Love Dealer".^[73][74] There have been talks of collaborations with other American artists such as Ashley Tisdale, Taylor Swift,^[75] Nicole Scherzinger,^[76] Rihanna,^[77] Usher,^[78] and Jay-Z & Beyoncé.^[79]

Jay Sean was in early September 2009 nominated for the 30 Under 30 award.^[80] At the 2009 UK Urban Music Awards, he won the Best Collaboration award for "Down" alongside Lil Wayne.^[81] In early December 2009, he was ranked #35 in Billboard's Hot 100 Artists of the year.^[27] On 11 December 2009, he became the first South Asian origin artist since Freddie Mercury to perform at Madison Square Garden, as part of the Jingle Ball concert, alongside beatboxer MC Zani.^[82] Sean's performance "had the entire crowd – parents and children, teens and twenty-somethings – dancing."^[83]

[edit] 2010–present: Worth It All

Sean began working on his fourth album and second with Cash Money Records Freeze Time in July 2010.^[84] At the time, he stated that he had completed roughly 75 percent of the album and that guests included Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Nicki Minaj and Mary J. Blige.^[85] Three singles, "2012 (It Ain't the End)", "Hit The Lights" and "Like This, Like That" were released in support of the album. Sean also co-headlined with Joe Jonas on the Joe Jonas & Jay Sean Tour with JoJo as the opening act.^[86] Sean released a mixtape titled The Mistress in September 2011 and a Japan exclusive album titled Hit the Lights in January 2012.

Freeze Time was scrapped due to legal issues in 2011^[87] and Sean began working on a new, be more R&B influenced album altogether.^[88] Sean's upcoming album Worth It All is set for a 2012 release. The first single "I'm All Yours" featuring Pitbull was released on May 22 2012.^[89]

Community work[link]

Jay Sean is known for community work. He has worked with BBC Blast doing Q&A's on tour events in an effort to "give something back".^[90] He has supported the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) in the charity event Partnership Walk and Run by performing in Regent's Park in 2004 and 2009.^[91]

In 2009, Sean performed in Justin Timberlake's charity concert to raise funds for the Shriners Hospital for Children, alongside artists such as MC Zani, Taylor Swift and Alicia Keys. It became one of the highest-earning charity events of the year, raising more than $9 million.^[92]

In 2012, Sean became a part of Child Hunger Ends Here campaign along with artists like Owl City and Jewel.^[93] For this purpose he recorded a song named "Here's Hope"^[94] which was available for digital download on the Child Hunger Ends Here official site.

Awards and nominations[link]

Discography[link]

Studio

• Me Against Myself (2004)
• My Own Way (2008)
• All or Nothing (2009)
• Worth It All (2012)^[95][96]

Compilation

• Hit the Lights (2012)

Mixtape

• The Mistress (2011)

Filmography[link]

• Kyaa Kool Hai Hum (2005), himself

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Jay Sean at the Internet Movie Database