Luis Fonsi

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Luis Fonsi, in full Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero, was born in 1978 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. When he was ten the family moved to Orlando, Florida. At high school he sang in an a cappella group that also included Joey Fatone, later a member of *NSYNC. In 1995 he began the music programme at Florida State University on a full scholarship, but he dropped out to focus on his career. He then received a recording contract with Universal Music Latin.

Music and breakthrough

His debut album Comenzaré was released in 1998 and became a hit in Puerto Rico and Latin America. It was followed by, among others, Eterno in 2000, Abrazar la vida in 2003 and Palabras del silencio in 2008. In 2009 he won a Latin Grammy for Song of the Year with Aquí estoy yo. In 2002 he tried to conquer the American market with the English-language album Fight the Feeling.

Influence

The worldwide hit came in January 2017 with Despacito, a duet with Daddy Yankee. In April an English remix with Justin Bieber was released. Until 2020 the video was the most-viewed video on YouTube. The music combines Latin American pop with reggaeton, a style with danceable rhythms. In 2017 Fonsi became tourism ambassador of Puerto Rico. With Despacito he showed that a Spanish-language song could top the charts worldwide.

Listening

• 
  Despacito · Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee, 2017
  Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

• 1998Comenzaré
• 2000Eterno
• 2002Amor secreto
• 2002Fight the Feeling
• 2003Abrazar la vida
• 2005Paso a paso
• 2008Palabras del silencio
• 2011Tierra firme
• 20148
• 2019Vida
• 2022Ley de gravedad
• 2024El viaje

Mentioned in other articles

• Reggaeton GenreIn 2004, Daddy Yankee scored a worldwide hit with Gasolina, and Despacito (2017) by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee became one of the most streamed songs ever.