Aventura was an American bachata group formed in The Bronx, New York. With the lineup always consisting of the members Romeo Santos, Henry Santos, Lenny Santos, and Max Santos, they are regarded as one of the most influential Latin groups of all time. All of the members are of Dominican descent, although Romeo is also half Puerto Rican on his mother's side. They were the first major bachata act to have originated in the United States instead of the Dominican Republic. The group was integral to the evolution of bachata music and are the pioneers of the modern bachata sound. Aventura released five studio albums in a decade, creating many top 10 hits like "Cuándo volverás", "Un Beso", "Mi Corazoncito", "Los Infieles", "El Perdedor", "Por un Segundo", "Dile al Amor", among others. They have sold out many arenas including the world famous Madison Square Garden. Aventura has been nominated for awards such as American Music Awards, the Latin Grammy Awards, Billboard Latin Music Awards, and Premio Lo Nuestro. Aventura is one of the most internationally recognized Latin groups of the last two decades and frequently refer to themselves as "K.O.B.", or "Kings of Bachata".
Domingo Antonio Santos Muñoz, known professionally as Antony Santos, is a Dominican musician and singer. One of the top-selling bachata artists of all time, he is known as one of the pioneers of modern bachata in the early 1990s, with his role in redefining the genre to include romantic lyrics, poppy guitar licks, and implementation of new instruments, such as the piano and saxophone. He became the first rural bachatero to reach a mainstream audience with his hit single, "Voy Pa'lla". He has had success with other hits like "Por Mi Timidez", "No Te Puedo Olvidar", "Me Quiero Morir", "Lloro", "Solo Te Amo", "Se Acabó El Abuso" among others. Today, Santos is unanimously considered the greatest bachata artist of all time. He is known as "El Mayimbe" of Bachata, and is the second Dominican musician to acquire this moniker, after Fernando Villalona. He is also known as El Bachatú, the nickname he originally started with.
Frank Reyes is a Dominican singer. Known as the Prince of Bachata, he is regarded as one of the best known bachata artists of all time and famous throughout Latin America. He is a 7 time Bachata of the Year winner at the Soberano Awards, making him the most awarded artist in that category. He is known for hits like "Vine a Decirte Adios", "Con el Amor No Se Juega", "Tu Eres Ajena", "Nada De Nada", "Quién Eres Tu", "Princesa", "Amor a Distancia", "Decidí", among others.
We Broke the Rules is the second studio album by the American band Aventura, released on July 2, 2002, by Premium Latin music. On the album, Aventura incorporated elements of pop, hip hop, and R&B into bachata, giving what critics thought was a new flavor to the genre and extending its appeal to those who preferred urban music styles. The album introduces to the mainstream a new style of bachata known as "the New York school", or "urban bachata", characterized by the inclusion of electric guitars instead of acoustic, and lyrics in Spanish and English instead of just Spanish. In addition, the singing style takes after R&B melodies. The album's themes mainly included heartbreak and melancholy, although it also included social themes like in "Amor de Madre", or "Mother's Love", which is a song describing the lifelong struggle of a prostitute and her son.
God's Project is the fourth studio album released by bachata group Aventura. It was released on April 26, 2005, by Premium Latin Music and distributed by Sony Latin Music. The album production was based on bachata with elements of rock, merengue and mordem and urban music such as R&B, exploring new sounds with Reggaeton with an Urban hip-hop Black American flavor. This combination of rhythms was classified by some critics as "neo-bachata". It features guest appearances by Judy Santos, Anthony Santos, Nina Sky and reggaeton superstars Tego Calderon and Don Omar.
Lenny Santos a.k.a. Len Melody is an American guitarist, composer, producer and entrepreneur. He rose to global fame as the co-founder of the bachata group Aventura where he served as producer, lead guitarist, vocalist, composer and musical director. Lenny is responsible for the group's distinctive sound. He is the one who dared to experiment with bachata, adding fusions of R&B, hip hop and pop. He added electric guitars and effects like tremolo, phaser and wah. Lenny is considered the pioneer and creator of urban bachata, and is one of the most sought out music producers in the Latin music industry to this day. Aside from being a musician and producer, he owns multiple businesses such as restaurants and lounges in the New York City area.
Xtreme is an American music duo consisting of members Danny D and Steve Styles of Dominican descent. The duo focuses on the Dominican genre bachata. Xtreme was formed in 2003 and since then has enjoyed success among Hispanics in the United States. The original line up included another vocalist name Elvis Rosario, who was also a guitarist in the group. He left after 2005 or 2006.
Toby Love is an American singer, rapper and songwriter of Puerto Rican descent. Based on The Bronx, New York, he is best known for being a former member of Aventura before pursuing a solo career, mostly known for their 2002 album We Broke the Rules, later performing a style of bachata music that combines traditional and urban singing and production. In 2006, he embarked on a solo career, thus gaining success. His debut single, "Tengo Un Amor", helped him rise to fame in mainstream Latin music. Since then, he became one of the most successful bachata artists of the 2000s and 2010s with hits like "Llorar Lloviendo", "Te Parece Poco", "Lejos", "Vestida De Blanco", among others.
Elvis Martínez a.k.a. El Camarón is a Dominican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is a well known Bachata artist from the Dominican Republic. He is known for hits such as "Maestra", "La Luz De Mis Ojos", "Asi Te Amo", "Yo Te Voy Amar", "Laudano", "Directo al Corazon", "El Profesor","Aventura", among others.
The Last is the fifth and final studio album by the bachata group Aventura, released on June 9, 2009. In the "Intro" of this album, Anthony "Romeo" Santos states that this could possibly be their last album; his prediction came true in July 2011 when the group publicly confirmed it was breaking up for good.
Anthony "Romeo" Santos is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who is best known as the frontman and lead vocalist of the bachata group Aventura. In 2002, the song "Obsesión" was number one in Italy for 16 consecutive weeks. He released several albums with Aventura before the group broke up. Since then, Santos has embarked on a solo career which has spawned seven number one songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart and seventeen number ones on the Tropical Airplay chart. Romeo Santos has sold over 24 million copies making him one of the best-selling Latin artists.
Henry Santos Jeter Taveras is a Dominican singer, songwriter, and producer. Best known for his tenure as a singer and songwriter in the bachata group Aventura. During his time with the group his voices were mostly heard in the songs "9:15", "Déjà Vu", "Voy Malacostumbrado", and Princesita. He made his debut as a solo artist in 2011. Since then, he has released hit singles like "Poquito A Poquito", "Por Nada", "My Way", "La Vida", among others. Santos has released 5 studio albums and 1 live album He has been featured in other songs with other artist. He is also a dancer, actor and art designer.
Fórmula, Vol. 1 is the debut studio album by American singer Romeo Santos, released on November 8, 2011 by Sony Music Latin. It is Santos's first album as a solo artist following the break-up of American bachata group Aventura, of which he was the lead singer. The record contains fifteen tracks, most of which were composed by Santos and co-produced with Ivan Chevere. The album experiments with the sound of bachata and other genres including R&B and flamenco. It features several Anglophone and Hispanophone guest artists including Usher, Tomatito, Mario Domm, and Lil Wayne. Recording for the album took place in 2011 at The Castle, Fight Klub, and EMG Studios in New York City. A deluxe edition of the album containing five extra tracks was released exclusively in Walmart retail stores in the United States.
"Tengo Un Amor" is the debut single by Puerto Rican-American singer and songwriter Toby Love from his self-titled debut studio album. It was released on July 18, 2006 by Sony BMG Norte. A remix version with R.K.M & Ken-Y was also recorded and included on the album. After separating from the bachata group Aventura in 2006, Toby Love set out on his own to record his debut album. The song became a success in the Latin market, reaching number one in the Billboard Latin Rhythm Airplay chart, the top five of both the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks and Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay charts while peaking at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.
Bachata #1's, Vol. 2 is a compilation album released by Machete Music. The recording features tracks performed by several artist from the bachata genre, such as Aventura, Xtreme, Toby Love, Óptimo, Monchy & Alexandra, Leny, Domenic Marte, Zacarías Ferreíra, Frank Reyes, Carlos & Alejandra, Joe Veras, Yoskar "El Prabu Sarante", and Alex Bueno. It also features a bachata performed by Latin pop singer Luis Fonsi exclusive to this release.
Bachata #1's is a compilation album released by Machete Music on July 3, 2007. The album features several artists from the bachata genre, such as Xtreme, Aventura, Monchy & Alexandra, Alex Bueno, Frank Reyes, and Los Toros Band with production being handled by Anthony Santos, Lenny Santos, Sergio George and Franklin Romero among others. Musically, the album features musical arrangements combining bachata and R&B.
Vena, currently DNA Latin Group, is an American bachata group formed by members Lenny Santos and Max Santos from Aventura alongside ex-vocalist Steven Tejada from Xtreme. They are known for their hits such as "Sangre De Mis Venas", "Corazón De Hierro", "Señora", "Dile A El", "Por Mentiras", among others. VENA alongside Larry Hernandez were nominated for a Billboard Premious Musica Mexicana award in 2012.
Utopía is the fourth studio album by American singer Romeo Santos, released on April 5, 2019 by Sony Music Latin. This album featured collaborations with some of the greatest artist in the history of Bachata. It also included the reunion of Aventura as Romeo along with Henry, Lenny, and Max would release their first single as a group in 10 years.
Trampa de Amor is the original first album by the bachata music group Aventura, when they use to call themselves Los Tinellers. It was named after the song with the same name. It was released under Elca Productions & Rincón Musical. Seven of the ten tracks are the original versions of some of the group's songs. One of the songs, "Por Tu Orgullo ", was added to God's Project. The other six were added to Generation Next. These seven songs were added to these two albums with each of them being more modern remakes. The other 3 tracks were never put in other albums nor ever had a re-make.
Romeo Santos: King of Bachata is a 2021 documentary film directed by Devin Amar and Charles Todd. It's about the history of bachata and bachata star Romeo Santos's journey to MetLife Stadium. It first premiered on Pay-Per-View on June 25, 2021, along with Utopía Live from MetLife Stadium concert film. On July 30, 2021, both films premiered on HBO Max. This film featured main stream celebrities and legendary bachata artists. It also featured The Kid Mero as the narrator for this documentary as he traveled to the restaurants and bars of the countryside of the Dominican Republic, where the sound originated and retraces its rise to international recognition. It tells the history of the genre and its struggles during its early days. It shows the history of Romeo Santos, including his time with Aventura. It also includes behind the scenes footage of his historic sold out show from 2019 at MetLife Stadium and highlights from the concert itself.
