While most 13 year-old boys were out pursuing girls and shooting hoops, Romeo opted to stay home, penning his first songs. Romeo found no greater joy in life than creating his own poetry in the form of song. Most people focus on the artist performing the song, but Romeo always wanted to know who actually wrote the song. It is well known that Romeo’s idol in bachata, a popular Dominican genre of music, is Antony “El Mayimbe” Santos. However, his obsession with the popular genre commenced when he discovered the likes of Camilo Sesto, Manuel Alejandro, Juan Gabriel, Omar Alfano, and – of course – Juan Luis Guerra. His blossoming love affair with songwriting was only the beginning of a journey he never envisioned.

As fate would have it, Romeo soon joined his church choir with his cousin Henry. Shortly thereafter, Romeo and Henry would meet their destiny and join Lenny and Mikey to form the band Aventura. From the group’s inception, Romeo wrote (arranged and produced in collaboration with Lenny) Aventura’s songs, recording only one cover (“Gone” as found on We Broke The Rules) throughout the group’s amazing track record. A string of original hits including – “Obsesion,” “Cuando Volverás” (When Will You Return), “Todavia Me Amas” (You Still Love Me), “Hermanita” (Little Sister), “La Boda” (The Wedding), “Un Beso” (A Kiss), “Mi Corazoncito” (My Heart), “Los Infieles” (The Cheaters), “El Perdedor” (The Loser), “Por un Segundo” (For a Second), “Su Veneno” (Her Poison), “Dile al Amor” (Tell Love) and “El Malo” (The Bad Guy) to name a few – were Aventura’s catalyst to stardom. Amusingly, Romeo was so passionate about releasing his own original material that he was almost disappointed when his incredibly soulful rendition of “Lagrimas” – recorded for a TV tribute to Jose Jose – went viral overnight.

By late 2002 Romeo’s Megahit, OBSESION as performed by Aventura, had traveled the world – Latin America, Asia and Europe, including Israel, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, and Russia, to name a few. There were a plethora of cover recordings to “Obsesion,” including one by Third Wish, a band based in Germany. At one point in 2004, Obsesion by Aventura was #1 and the Third Wish version was #2 on the charts. In 2006, after Frankie J’s cover to Obsesion was the #1 song on mainstream charts for nearly 22 weeks, Romeo took the ASCAP (American Society of Composers Authors & Publishers) “Song of The Year” in Tropical Music and another in the American market in Pop – the first time a Hispanic writer had ever won an ASCAP award in the American market. In 2007, Romeo took the Billboard “Composer of the Year” Award over legendary writers such as Marco Antonio Solis and Joan Sebastian. He has also penned hits for artists such as Wisin & Yandel (“Noche de Sexo”), Thalia (“No No No”), El Torito (“Me Voy” aka “El Anillo”) and Anthony “El Mayimbe” Santos (“Matame”).
 It is well-known to insiders that Romeo will not write songs for just anyone. He has been extremely selective, as he believes there must be a visceral connection between himself and the artist he is writing for. In fact, a defining factor of Romeo’s career is his continued desire for exclusivity and privacy in general.

However, this is not the story of Aventura; this is the story of Romeo Santos and another “aventura” that has just begun. When fans look at Romeo today, they see a charismatic artist whose formidable showmanship captivates his audience and whose suave sensuality has enslaved numerous hearts around the world. This, however, has not always been the case. It is hard to believe that as recent as 3 or 4 years following Aventura’s debut in 2000, Romeo was a shy boy, afraid to show an ounce of emotion. Through the inspiration of his own music and with the help of his fans and his friends, Romeo was able to shed this timid skin and release the passionate tiger within.

In 2011, Romeo made a historic move, launching his solo career with the album Fórmula, Vol. 1. The artist had chosen an eclectic mix of bachata, R&B, ballads, up-tempo and fusion to delight his fans. While all of the bachata tracks are written, arranged and produced by Romeo himself, he invited A-list producers to collaborate on the English-language tracks such as Rico Love.

A tremendous production from beginning to end, Fórmula Vol. 1 received an overwhelming outpouring of support from critics, fans and new audiences. To date, the album has produced no fewer than five consecutive chart-topping singles atop Billboard’s “Hot Latin Songs” Chart – “You,” “Promise” featuring Usher, “La Diabla” (The She-Devil), “Mi Santa” (My Saint) and “Llevame Contigo” (Take Me With You). The album also includes “Rival,” featuring Mario Domm from the popular Mexican rock band, Camila, and Romeo even featured an R&B song, “All Aboard”, with world-renowned Hip Hop artist, Lil’ Wayne. These instant classics have furthered his dominance among Latin fans and raised his profile among English-speaking audiences as well.

Fórmula Vol. 1 was the #1 selling Latin album of the Year in 2012 according to Billboard. Even though the album was released in November of 2011, the sustained sales in 2012 have still outdone any other Latin album released since. Formula Vol. 1 debuted with Latin music’s strongest first week sales in over five years. The album spent over four months at #1 on Billboard’s “Top Latin Albums” chart. On July 11, 2012, Fórmula Vol. 1 was certified Triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales in the U.S. and Puerto Rico exceeding 300,000 units. It now concluded 2012 by topping four different Billboard Year-End Charts. The album started and finished 2012 as the hottest Latin Album.

Aside from its record-breaking performance, Fórmula Vol. 1 has already won some other esteemed awards. The album has already won the Best Latin and the Best Tropical album Latin Billboard Awards, and the 2012 Billboard Music Award For “TOP LATIN ALBUM”. Furthermore, Romeo has personally won the MTV VMA For “BEST LATINO ARTIST OF 2012”, and the “ASCAP LATIN SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR” making Romeo the 2010, 2011 and 2012 ASCAP “Composer of the Year”. Finally, Fórmula Vol. 1 has recently received a Grammy nomination for best tropical Latin Album.

In February of 2012, Romeo Santos unveiled his tour with three sold-out concerts at the iconic Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, featuring guests such as P. Diddy, Usher, and Wisin & Yandel. The best moments from these concerts are captured in the recently released DVD The King Stays King – Sold Out at Madison Square Garden, whose release date was November 6, 2012. This 2-hour concert video was premiered exclusively at movie theaters across the United States at a one-night-only event on November 5, 2012, making Romeo Santos the first Latin artist in the U.S. to premiere a concert DVD in cinemas, which was subsequently licensed by HBO and is currently airing worldwide on their networks.

Today Romeo owns the stage as well as the “skin he is in.” His confidence, humor and intimate connection with his fans are what keep drawing them back to him. With Aventura and as a solo act, Romeo Santos has sold out Madison Square Garden 8 times to date as well as most of the world’s most famous arenas in his record breaking sold out tours. In fact, in December of 2012 Romeo Santos was set a record in the Dominican Republic being the first person to have performed at the Estadio Olimipco for two nights drawing in over 100,000 people.

Romeo wears multiple hats in his solo career – producer, composer and vocalist. It is clear that with such abundant talent, the sky is the limit. He is, above all, a master wordsmith, whose colorful palette of metaphors paints vivid portraits of love, passion, anger, and jealousy; he possesses a profound ability to tap into the human psyche, captivating the tough young audience, even when he turns to serious themes such as domestic violence. Romeo’s unparalleled creative flow has made him an icon in the music industry with multiple individual awards apart from the myriad of honors bestowed upon Aventura for nearly a decade. Almost every year since 2005, Romeo has won awards in one or more categories at ASCAP and Billboard.

Romeo Santos belongs to and influences today’s diverse, bicultural generation. Romeo recently signed to Overbrook Entertainment, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s production company, as he will soon be bringing his talents to Hollywood. With more projects on the way in various media formats, he is certain to become even more of a household name in not only the Latin market, but in the American market as well.