Elvis Crespo, Victor Manuelle, Jerry Rivera, Frank Reyes, El Blachy, and DJ Alex Sensation

Born in New York City, U.S., however raised in the city of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Elvis Crespo’s musical journey began as a member of the Willie Berrios Orchestra in 1988. The singer subsequently became a member of Toño Rosario for six years, after which he studied business administration at the Metropolitan University of Puerto Rico, before joining the popular merengue group Grupo Manía. The addition of Crespo to the group in 1994 led to Grupo Mania’s most successful period, with the release of the popular albums “Explotó el Bombazo” (1994) and “Dance Manía” (1995).

In 1998 Elvis Crespo, named after Elvis Presley, decided to pursue a solo career and released his debut album “Suavemente” the same year. Aided by its crossover appeal to English-speaking listener, the album performed remarkably well in both Latin America and the U.S., later winning the Best Male Tropical/Salsa Album of the Year from Billboard Magazine. A year later arrived

Crespo’s sophomore album “Píntame”, which peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and won the Grammy Award for Best Merengue Album of the year. Aided by the singles “Pintame”, “Por el Caminito”, and “Tiemblo”, the album also won the Premio Lo Nuestro Award for “Tropical Album of the Year”.

An album of remixes appeared in 1999 suitably titled “The Remixes”, followed by his third full-length “Wow! Flash” in November 2001. Featuring a more mature singer-songwriter, moving away from a traditional merengue sound, Crespo’s fourth studio album “Urbano” was released in 2002. The singer’s 2004 album “Saboréalo” won the Latin-Grammy for Best Merengue Album in 2005, and paved the way for his sixth studio album “Regresó el Jefe” released in 2007. “Indestructible” followed in December 2010 featuring Voltio, which was succeeded by “Los Monsters” in 2012.

Born in The Bronx but raised in Isabela, Puerto Rico, Victor Manuelle spent much of his childhood immersed in the culture of salsa. Following a successful performance at his high school’s graduation, he was introduced to singer Santa Rosa, and subsequently became a backup singer for Don Perignon. During his time with the band Manuelle honed his singing and performance skills and later secured a solo recording contract with Sony Tropical. The singer’s debut album “Justo a Tiempo” arrived in 1993 produced by Santo Rosa. Spawning two hit singles “Me Dará el Consentimiento” and “Estás Tocando Fuego” the album set the scene for what would prove to be an illustrious salsa career.

Manuelle’s sophomore album “Sólo Contigo” was issued in 1994, followed by the singer’s mainstream breakthrough. Aided by the talents of salsa production guru Sergio George, Manuelle’s self-titled third album peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, and produced seven hit singles. The salsa singer-songwriter went from strength to strength heading into the new millennium with the albums “A Pesar de Tobo” (1997), “Ironías” (1998), and “Inconfundible” (1999) spawning consecutive hits. Despite this, critics argued that the singer’s romantic formula had become too predictable and in a move designed to prove them wrong, Manuelle enlisted the help of producers José Lugo and Bobby Valentín. The fruit of this collaboration was the 2001 album “Instinto y Deseo”, arguably his most straightforward salsa album to date. The record shot to No. 1 on the Hot Latin Albums Chart and spawned a pair on No. 1 singles, “Me Da Lo Mismo” and “Cómo Se Lo Explico al Corazón”.

The singer’s eighth studio album “Le Preguntaba a la Luna” arrived in 2002, followed by the No. 1 Hot Latin Album “Travesía”, featuring Emelio Estefan and the Gaitán Bros on production duties. In 2005 Manuelle issued the live album “Dos Soneros, una Historia”, ahead of the 2006 album “Decisión Unámine” noted for its guest contributions from Don Omar, Eddie Palmieri, and Yuridia. Following the 2006 Latin Grammys which the singer co-hosted, Manuelle won the 2007 Premio Lo Nuestro award for Best Salsa Artist. A string of successful albums followed including “Una Navidad a Mi Estilo” in 2008, “Soy” in 2008, “Busco Un Pueblo” in 2011, and “Que Suenen Los Tambores" in 2015.

Born the son of singers Edwin “Pino” and Domingo Rivera, the young Puerto Rican began singing with his parents at concerts and gatherings in his early teens. After raising his confidence and honing his live performance skills this way, Rivera’s parents recorded a demo of the 14-year old which they sent to CBS/Sony Discos. Rivera subsequently signed a long recording contract with the label, who issued his debut album “Empezando a Vivir” in 1989. Led by the single “De la Cabeza a los Pies”, which also landed on the compilation album “Non-Stop Dacning, Vol. 2”, the album catapulted the singer to national recognition.

The following year Rivera’s follow-up, 1990’s “Abriendo Puertas”, cemented his appeal, spawning a pair of singles “Dime” and “Más Que Tu”. The record paved the way for his third, the Billboard Tropical/Salsa chart-topping “Cuenta Congo”, which subsequently became one of the best-selling salsa albums of all time. 1995’s “Magia” and 1996’s “Fresco” both found the top of the Salsa Charts once again and secured platinum certification shortly after their release. Looking to expand the scope of his musical output, the singer began drawing influences from tropical pop ballads as well as boleros, releasing “Ya No Soy el Nino Aquel” in 1997 and “De Otra Manera” in 1998.

Following a well-deserved hiatus for the singer, Rivera returned in 2000 to released his most experimental album to date, “Para Siempre”. The record turned out to be his last release on Sony Records, after which Rivera signed with EMI Latin, who released the collection of ballads “Vuela Muy Alto” in 2002. The tribute album “Canto a mi Idolo… Frankie Ruiz” arrived in 2003 spawning the singles “Mi Liberated” and “Puerto Rico” and earning Rivera a Grammy nomination. Influenced by Caribbean themes and featuring reworked tangos, in 2007 the singer issued the full-length “Caribe Gardel”, followed by an album of ballads “El Amor Existe” in 2011.