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Don Omar

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Don Omar
Don Omar in 2015 promoting The Kingdom Tour
Background information
Birth nameWilliam Omar Landrón Rivera
Also known asEl Rey (The King)[1][2]
King of Kings[3]
Kong[4]
Born (1978-02-10) February 10, 1978 (age 46)
Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • actor
DiscographyDon Omar discography
Years active1996–2017; 2019–present
Labels
Websitedonomar.com
AwardsFull list
Signature

William Omar Landrón Rivera[a] (born February 10, 1978),[5] known professionally as Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is also known as the "King of Reggaeton" by music critics and fans alike.[6] The artist was recognized by Billboard and Rolling Stone as one reggaeton legend.[7][8] He is often cited as an influence by other Hispanic urban performers.[9]

Landrón was born in Santurce, a neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico.[5] He is one of the artists credited with presenting reggaeton to audiences around the world and having turned the musical genre into a global phenomenon.[10][2] He jumped to stardom with the release of his first studio album, The Last Don, released in 2003. The album sold 411,000 units in the US[11] and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[12] Since then, he has sold around 15 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists.[13] On September 1, 2017, after a long musical career he announced that he would retire after a series of concerts at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico, scheduled to be held on December 15, 16 and 17. However, he returned to music on April 20, 2019 with his song single "Ramayama" featuring Farruko.[14][15]

During his career, Don Omar earned numerous accolades, including three Latin Grammy Awards, one Billboard Music Awards, 17 Billboard Latin Music Awards, three Lo Nuestro Awards, eight Viña del Mar International Song Festival Awards, among others.

Don Omar has also portrayed Rico Santos in four films in the Fast & Furious franchise. He first played the character in 2009's Fast & Furious and then returned for Fast Five (2011), The Fate of the Furious (2017) and F9 (2021).[16]

Early life

Don Omar was born in Santurce, a neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico,[5] where he was raised, the oldest son of William Landrón and Luz Antonia Rivera. From an early age, he showed interest in the music of Vico C and Brewley MC.[5] 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.[17]

Career

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 el Father, helped him produce his first solo album.[17]

Omar's career rose to stardom with the release of his first studio album, The Last Don with Frankie Needles. 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.

In 2005, Don Omar featured on rapper Cuban Link's hit single "Scandalous" which peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. The song was released as the second single to Cuban's second and official debut album Chain Reaction.[18]

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".[19] Omar was also able to beat the in-store appearance sales record at Disney World's Virgin Megastore previously set by pop star Britney Spears.[20]

With the highest charting debut by a reggaeton artist, Omar's King of Kings entered at No. 7 with 74,000 beating. In April 2007, Don Omar received the Billboard Latin Music Award for Reggaeton Album of the Year for King of Kings.[21] 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.[22]

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 with Frankie Needles.[23]

Omar's third studio album, iDon, was released on April 28, 2009. This album is of Sold over 2.5 million. "Virtual Diva" became the most requested song on Latin radio stations.[24][25] The second official single, titled "Sexy Robótica", 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 Kaponi, Syko, Plan B, Zion & Lennox, Yaga & Mackie and Danny Fornaris. "Danza Kuduro" appears on the Fast Five soundtrack and is the song played at the conclusion of the movie. He is signed to VI Music and Machete Music through Universal Music Latino. The album sold over 3 million.

The album Don Omar Presents MTO²: 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 & Lennox. The album includes the singles "Hasta Que Salga el Sol", which won the award for Best Urban Song at the 2012 Latin Grammy Awards, and "Dutty Love" featuring Natti Natasha, which was also nominated. The album also features collaborations with Juan Magán, Mims, Syko, Vinny el Vendito, and Yunel Cruz. The album has been well received as it won the award for Best Urban Music Album at the 2012 Latin Grammy Awards.[26]

After a decade-long rivalry feud with fellow artist Daddy Yankee for the "King of Reggaeton" title, in early 2016 Daddy Yankee and Don Omar announced in a Billboard press conference that they would perform together on stage in a concert series called The Kingdom Tour.[27] The tour announcement left many fans in disbelief, while selling out in minutes in cities like Las Vegas, Orlando, Los Angeles, New York.[28] Discussing the tour and his rivalry with Daddy Yankee, Don Omar said "Let me clarify: I am not his best friend, and he is not my best friend, but we respect each other. That desire to be the best is what has pushed us to be better."[29]

In September 2021, Omar signed a multi-year partnership with Saban Music Group.[30] In February 2022, Omar was announced as a headliner of the 2022 Los Della Festival in San Bernardino, California.[31]

Personal life

In 2003, Omar had his first son, Nicolás Valle Gómez. Omar married forecaster/journalist Jackie Guerrido on April 19, 2008. In March 2011, it was revealed they had divorced.

On June 17, 2024, Omar posted on his Instagram a picture of his arm with an Orlando Health wristband on, stating in the caption that he has cancer. He ended off the caption with the words "See you soon," then the hashtag "#fuckcancer."[32]

Just a day after the post regarding his cancer diagnosis, Omar announced he was cancer free. "Today I woke up cancer free and grateful," said Omar.[33]

On September 18, 2007, Omar was briefly detained in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia due to a legal dispute. A Bolivian concert promoter 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.[34][35][36] The organization claimed that he had defrauded US$70,000 due to the cancellation.[36] Omar responded that he canceled the concert because the company did not provide air tickets in time.[36] After the case was presented before a local judge, both parties reached an agreement.[36] Omar 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 football stadium.[37][full citation needed]

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Don Omar

Puerto Rican rapper Don Omar has won 33 awards from 69 nominations, being one of the most successful artists of the genre. He has been nominated for 11 Latin Grammy Awards, 1 Grammy Awards,[38] 23 Billboard Latin Music Awards, 4 Billboard Music Awards, 19 Lo Nuestro Awards, 4 International Dance Music Awards, 2 American Music Awards, 2 Premios People en Español, 2 MTV Video Music Awards and 1 Premio MTV Latinoamérica. He has received 3 Latin Grammy Awards, 17 Billboard Latin Music Awards, 1 Billboard Music Award, 3 Lo Nuestro Awards, 8 Viña del Mar International Song Festival Awards and 1 Guinness World Record.[39]

He released 7 studio albums between 2003 and 2018, including the Billboard Latin Music Award winner King of Kings (2006) for the Reggaeton Album of the Year. Rivera was also responsible for the production of his 4 collaboration albums, including the Latin Grammy Award winner Meet the Orphans 2: New Generation (2012) for Best Urban Music Album. His fifth studio album, The Last Don II was released in June 2015.[40][41] The artist made record in the history for Billboard.[42][43] The artist was the Guinness World Record for the video most views in YouTube.[39]

Discography

Main article: Don Omar discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation & Greatest Hits albums

Concert tours

Filmography

† Denotes films/television series that have not yet been released
Year Title Role
2007 MTV Cribs[52] Himself
2009 Fast & Furious[53][54] Rico Santos
Los Bandoleros
2011 Fast Five
2017 The Fate of the Furious
2021 F9

See also

Notes

  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Landrón and the second or maternal family name is Rivera.

References

  1. ^ Nunn, Jerry (September 27, 2015). "Don Omar Remains King of Reggaeton". ChicagoPride.com.
  2. ^ a b Gómez, Shirley (September 1, 2017). "Don Omar Retires: Reggaeton Star Announced Farewell Tour". Latin Times.
  3. ^ "The King is back Don Omar drops "Forever King"". Nuevo Culture. June 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Los 40 (May 26, 2023). "Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Beret, Álvaro de Luna y Ozuna se despiden de mayo con sus nuevas canciones" (in Spanish). los40.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b c d "Don Omar". Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  6. ^ Don Omar as King of Reggaeton:
  7. ^ Mamo, Heran (September 3, 2023). "Don Omar Strikes Multi-Year Partnership With Saban Music Group". Billboard Pro.
  8. ^ Lopez, Julyssa (September 29, 2022). "Don Omar's 'Let's Get Crazy' With Lil Jon Is a Delightful Blast From the Past". Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ El Tiempo (September 1, 2017). "Se retira Don Omar, el 'rey del reguetón'" (in Spanish). eltiempo.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  10. ^ Burgos, Jenzia (February 9, 2023). "Don Omar Is Renewed And Ready For the Best Chapter of His Career Yet". Rolling Stone.
  11. ^ "Don Omar Nets Fifth No. 1 Latin Album". Billboard Pro. June 25, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  12. ^ "RIAA's historic Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  13. ^ "Don Omar festejará cumpleaños 38 listo para "show" en Viña del Mar". Noticias de Sonora | EL IMPARCIAL (in European Spanish). February 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  14. ^ Mendonza, Alejandro (September 1, 2017). "Don Omar se retira". El País (America) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  15. ^ EFE (September 1, 2017). "Se retira Don Omar, el 'rey del reguetón'" (in Spanish). eltiempo.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  16. ^ Davies, Alan (June 24, 2021). "Nine Fast & Furious 9 cast members talk about their F9 characters". Welwyn Hatfield Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Biografías Archived July 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Prpop.org. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  18. ^ "Cuban Link ft. Don Omar - Scandalous". YouTube. March 16, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  19. ^ "Don Omar On Top of Charts with 'King of Kings' Debut" Archived August 27, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Latinrapper.com. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  20. ^ "Don Omar Beats Down Britney Spears and Invades Latin Hangout 90 Degree". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  21. ^ Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards Archived April 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. April 7–10, 2008.
  22. ^ King of Kings Album Reviews Archived June 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  23. ^ Tirado, Frances (January 25, 2008). "Don Omar y Gilberto Santa Rosa juntos en concierto del amor". Primera Hora. Archived from the original on March 17, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2008.
  24. ^ Entertainment as a Second Language with Carlos Santos Archived May 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  25. ^ "Orfanato Music Group es el sello de Don Omar". Wikiton Magazine. June 25, 2008. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
  26. ^ Dery, Yanik (November 16, 2012). "Latin Grammys : Don Omar wins the Urban categories". Reggaetonline. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
  27. ^ "Billboard Latin Music Conference: Daddy Yankee and Don Omar Rivalry Continues... Or Not?". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  28. ^ "Daddy Yankee and Don Omar Announce Dates for Their Kingdom Tour". E!. June 8, 2016. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  29. ^ "Don Omar & Daddy Yankee Lock In 4 Concert Dates". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  30. ^ Mamo, Heran (September 20, 2021). "Don Omar Strikes Multi-Year Partnership With Saban Music Group". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  31. ^ Flores, Griselda (February 24, 2022). "Christian Nodal & Don Omar to Headline Los Dells 2022 in California". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  32. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  33. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  34. ^ Maderazo, Jennifer Woodard. "Don Omar Detained and Released in Bolivia" Archived June 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Vivir Latino, September 19, 2007.
  35. ^ "Cantante 'Don Omar' recobra libertad en Bolivia" Archived May 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, El Mercurio Online, September 18, 2007.
  36. ^ a b c d "Flash!". Don Omar: Pasa horas detenido (in Spanish). Puerto Rico: El Nuevo Día. September 19, 2007. p. 103.
  37. ^ Ladron, W. (2009)
  38. ^ "Artist Don Omar". Recording Academy Grammy Awards. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  39. ^ a b "En 2011, el cantante rompió el récord de Guinness del el vídeo en Español de YouTube con más visitas". People en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  40. ^ Rivera, Zayda (June 16, 2015). "Don Omar returns with 'The Last Don II' featuring collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderon, Yandel, more". Daily News. New York. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  41. ^ Cobo, Leila (June 25, 2015). "Don Omar on No. 1 Album, Recording With J.Lo and Getting Wisin & Yandel Back Together: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  42. ^ "Rompe record histórico en los Premios Billboard Don Omar". El Latino San Diego (in Spanish). February 22, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  43. ^ "Don Omar, Gerardo Ortiz to Perform at Billboard Latin Music Awards". Billboard.
  44. ^ "Don Omar Announces Retirement Tour, Selling 99 Cent Tickets To Puerto Rico Concerts". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  45. ^ "Don Omar Preps U.S. Trek". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  46. ^ "Unico show de Don Omar, en el Olimpia". ABC (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  47. ^ "Don Omar Inicia Conciertos 'Meet The Orphans'". Los 40. January 31, 2011. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  48. ^ "Romeo Santos, Prince Royce 3BallMTY Join Don Omar Atop Latin Charts". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  49. ^ "Don Omar Para Las Fiesta El Cantante Boricua Extrenó Un DVD Con Los Shows Hechos En Puerto Rico" (in Spanish). CMTV. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  50. ^ "Don Omar: New 2019 Tour Dates". 2112 Lighting & Set Designs. March 18, 2019. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  51. ^ "Don Omar and Daddy Yankee to Tour Together: Exclusive". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  52. ^ "Don Omar Muestra Su Nuevo Adquisición". Reggaeton Sin Límite (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  53. ^ Brunton, Richard. (May 26, 2006) Don Omar in new Fast and the Furious film Archived October 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Filmstalker.co.uk. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  54. ^ "Don Omar starring alongside Vin Diesel". Voymusic.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
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