Proyecto M

Last updated

Proyecto M was a Puerto Rican boy band from the 1980s and 1990s. [1] The band's name came about because all band members were at one point members of boy band Menudo.

Band members initially included Johnny Lozada, Rene Farrait and Xavier Serbia. Initially, other former Menudo like Fernando Sallaberry and Melendez brothers Carlos, Oscar and Ricky Melendez reunited on a project - a group- they were going to call XCHANGE. In 1987, there was some publicity, and they recorded a few demos, but were not offered a recording contract and disbanded. Eventually, Farrait, Lozada and Serbia formed Proyecto M that same year. A few years later, Serbia left the band and was substituted by Ray Reyes, the same singer who had also replaced him in Menudo. [2]

The band had success in Puerto Rico and in Venezuela, where they participated as actors in a telenovela named "Alba Marina". [3]

Including three greatest hits compilations, Proyecto M released a total of eight albums before disbanding in 1994.

In the late 1990s, Ray Reyes contacted with various other former members of Menudo to form "El Reencuentro", a band which first performed in 1998 and enjoyed more success than Proyecto M and which included Reyes, Lozada, Farrait, Ricky Melendez, Miguel Cancel and Charlie Masso. Serbia declined to participate in El Reencuentro, citing personal reasons.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menudo (group)</span> Puerto Rican boy band

Menudo is a Puerto Rican boy band formed by producer Edgardo Díaz. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo has been ranked as one of the biggest boy bands of all time by several publications, including Billboard, Us Weekly, Seventeen, and Teen Vogue, being the only Latin band on their lists.

Edgardo Díaz Meléndez is a Puerto Rican music producer and songwriter. He is the creator of the "boy band" Menudo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">René Farrait</span> Puerto Rican musician and actor

Rene Farrait Nieves is a Puerto Rican singer, actor, and former member of the boy band Menudo.

Ricky Meléndez is a Puerto Rican singer, lawyer and actor, best known for his tenures as a member of boy band Menudo and of El Reencuentro.

Johnny Lozada Correa is a Puerto Rican singer, actor, host, and television personality.

Miguel Ángel Cancel Vázquez is a Puerto Rican singer, actor and retired police officer who began his career with the Puerto Rico-based boy band Menudo.


Carlos Javier Rivera Massó, better known as Charlie Massó, is a Puerto Rican singer and actor. Massó is a former member of Menudo, joining the band at the height of Menudo's worldwide fame. He replaced Rene Farrait and quickly became a fan favorite with his participation on the albums of Por Amor and Una Aventura Llamada Menudo, which was the name of both Menudo's second movie and of the soundtrack album for it. Charlie recorded 14 albums with Menudo, two were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album in 1984 and 85.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Reyes</span> Puerto Rican singer (1970–2021)

Ray Reyes León was a Puerto Rican singer who was a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo.

El Reencuentro was the name that six ex-members of musical group Menudo used for their comeback project remembering Menudo's golden era. Ricky Melendez, Rene Farrait, Miguel Cancel, Johnny Lozada, Ray Reyes, and Charlie Masso re-joined to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their success in Latin America, North America, Spain and several other countries in the world. They started in 1998 as an experimental project and they had an unexpected success that continued until 2015 through North and Latin America.

Sube a mi Motora is song by Menudo from their 1981 album Quiero Ser. It became arguably the album's most popular song, topping the charts in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Venezuela. It is considered by many Menudo fans to have been the group's best song ever and their signature song. Rene Farrait was the lead singer for this song.

<i>Reaching Out</i> (Menudo album) 1984 studio album by Menudo

Reaching Out (1984) is the fourteenth studio album by the boy band Menudo, and their first in English.

<i>Feliz Navidad</i> (Menudo album) 1982 studio album by Menudo

Feliz Navidad (1982) is Menudo's 12th album, and third Christmas album. The album was originally released in late 1982 with ten tracks and reissued in late 1983 with fourteen tracks. Both versions of this album have two different covers, with the second cover featuring Ricky Meléndez, Johnny Lozada, Xavier Serbiá, Miguel Cancel, and Charlie Massó. Both are compilations containing songs from their past Christmas albums Felicidades and Es Navidad. This would eventually be the last album Xavier Serbiá and Miguel Cancel to be in, since Xavier would be replaced by Ray Reyes in Early 1983 during the first week in New York and then few months went by, Miguel decided to voluntarily to quit the group because he felt unhappy since his voice suddenly changed and wasn't able to do his song, and was replaced by Roy Rossello

<i>Fuego</i> (Menudo album) 1981 studio album by Menudo

Fuego (1981) is Menudo's seventh Spanish album.

<i>Quiero Ser</i> 1981 studio album by Menudo

Quiero Ser is Menudo's ninth Spanish album and the second one released in 1981, featuring Ricky Meléndez, René Farrait, Johnny Lozada, Xavier Serbiá and Miguel Cancel. With this album, their popularity started rising all over Latin America. This would eventually be the last Menudo album René Farrait sang on.

<i>A Todo Rock</i> 1983 studio album by Menudo

A Todo Rock is Menudo's thirteenth album in Spanish. It features Ricky Meléndez, Johnny Lozada, Charlie Massó, and new members Ray Reyes, who replaced Xavier Serbiá after Xavier reached the age limit and Roy Rosselló, who replaced Miguel Cancel after Miguel decided to quit the group. This was the first time that a member decided to leave before his time was due. According to an interview made in 1998, Miguel was unhappy that he was not able to sing his songs after a sudden voice change and opted to leave before his scheduled departure, thus being replaced by Roy. This is the last album that Johnny Lozada recorded as a member of the group. Robby Rosa, sang in this album but was not credited for it. He later would become part of Menudo. The album was the first Menudo's album to sell over 1 million copies worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karina (Venezuelan singer)</span> Musical artist

Karina is a Peruvian-born Venezuelan Latin pop music singer, songwriter, and actress.

Alba Marina is a 1988 telenovela produced by Venevisión. The telenovela was written by Mariela Romero and stars Karina and Xavier Serbiá as the main protagonists.

<i>Menudo: La Película</i> 1982 Puerto Rican-Venezuelan film

Menudo: La Pelicula is a 1982 Puerto Rican-Venezuelan film production featuring Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. The film was filmed entirely in Venezuela. It was directed by Alfredo Anzola. Marisela Buitrago also acts in the film.

<i>Súbete a Mi Moto</i> (2020 TV series) Biographical drama web television series

Súbete a Mi Moto is a biographical television series about the Latin boy band Menudo. The series narrates the history of the band from its creation to its evolution and international success. Menudo was the band that launched music stars such as Ricky Martin and others. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020, in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. In the United States, the series premiered on Estrella TV on February 14, 2021.

<i>El Reencuentro: 15 Años Después</i> 1998 live album by El Reencuentro/Menudo

El Reencuentro: 15 Años Después is the first live album to be released by the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo when six of their former members reunited in 1998 under the name El Reencuentro.

References

  1. "Biografía de Proyecto M". www.buenamusica.com.
  2. Español, Por Redacción Los Angeles Times en (May 1, 2021). "Muere Ray Reyes, ex vocalista del grupo Menudo y Proyecto M". Los Angeles Times en Español.
  3. "Alba Marina Telenovela on Univision in A Todo Dar | Commercial | Retro Junk".