Biografia de Don Omar
Quinee Butler, Reggaetonline.net - Reggaeton is a music genre that began in Panama but traveled to Puerto Rico in the early ‘90s. El General, Vico C and Tempo were some of the first reggaeton artists. William Omar Landrón, better known as Don Omar to his fans, was born February 10, 1978 in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Today, he has proved himself to be one of the kings of reggaeton and become one of the most prominent artists on the ever-growing list of reggaeton’s finest. His voice adds a unique soulful sound to the reggaetón genre.
Don Omar performed with several groups, and eventually caught the eye of Héctor El Bambino, of duo Héctor and Tito. Hector was so impressed with Landron’s sound and style, that he soon began to work on collaborations with various artists, including his work with the 9 Plagues. With his first solo release on MVP he has demonstrated to the world of reggaetón that not only is he an accomplished composer and producer, but he is a powerhouse behind the microphone as well.
Landron is best known for his songs Dile and Dale Don Dale from his first album "The Last Don" which has sold over 60, 000 copies. Don Omar added one more success to with his album, “The Last Don Live.” It includes new tracks Pobre Diabla and Carta a un Amigo as well as his old songs preformed live, which allows you to experience them as if you are actually at one of his concerts. His most recent contributions to reggaeton include the smash hit Dile a Ella featuring Magnate y Valentino and he has produced a successful album called “Los Bandeleros.”
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William Omar Landrón (“Don Omar”) is today, one of the most recognized Urban/Reggaeton artists. Under his record label, VI Music, he recently achieved Platinum with his album “The Last Don Live”. He began performing at a young age, and enjoyed being part of many groups including the Christian Rappers. Don Omar’s passion for music has served to create a rich fabric of experience and has lead to his contributing to more than 20 Rap albums.
Shortly after launching “The Last Don,” Don Omar sold more than 350,000 copies and received industry recognition including “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 award signified a milestone for Don Omar, VI Music and his management team, Xtreme management, as the album enabled Don Omar to realize his goal of becoming an international artist.
“The Last Don Live” was a result of incredible collaboration, involving more than 100 people. A collaboration resulting in a two day, sold out concert in the Roberto Clemente stadium, only four months after the initial launch of his album. He has been the first within this music genre, to sell out the most important venue in Puerto Rico, three times over.
“The Last Don Live” is a fusion of more than fourteen musicians conducted by Eduardo Reyes; composer of many international artists including Melina León, JIVE 5 and Christian Castro. For the first time in Reggaeton’s history, instruments were used live during the recording of the album. In addition, Emilio Estefan, one of the music industry’s most recognized producers, took a keen interest in Don Omar, producing “Carta a un Amigo”. Other highly acknowledged collaborations include Dale Don Dale, Aunque te Fuiste, Guayaquil, Así Soy y Pobre Diabla. The album also enjoys the participation of many other influential artists including Andy Montañez, who for years, has been one of Puerto Rico’s largest Star as well as Glory, Gallego, Tego Calderón and Héctor and Tito “Los Bambinos”.
This album also introduced Don Omar as a solo artist and has allowed him to successfully expand his fan base globally. “The Last Don Live” was produced by Héctor “El Bambino” and also had other influential contributions from Eliel and LunyTuns as lead DJ’s as well as Eduardo Reyes with theme song, “Guayaquil”.
For the production of “MVP,” he recorded “Dale don Dale” which sold 100,000 copies in Spanish speaking countries. The success of this recording led to his establishment within Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries, allowing him to quickly become one of the most recognized Rap/Reggaeton artists.
Don Omar has been involved with other projects including “Grayskull” (Te Estás Calentado), “The Godfather” (Déjala), “Da’ Flex” (Acorrálala),”Unwrapped” (Tu Fotografía), Mas Flow (Entre tú y yo) to name a few. Don Omar has also partnered with Gloria Estefan, Andy Montañez, Franky J, and Panamanian group, Los Rabanes.
Both a singer and composer, Don Omar has made a significant impact on the Spanish market, participating in three sold-out concerts which filled the Canary Island’s venues with more than 31,000 fans.
His impact on Reggaeton has also been felt outside of the Studio through his recent partnership with UMBRO, a globally recognized football brand to launch the Don Omar casual clothing collection, the first urban clothing line launched by a Latin artist. The line is being distributed by Foot Locker in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Don Omar and UMBRO initiated the partnership in November of 2004 as an extension of the artist’s intent to bridge his creativity to a clothing line that best captures and represents the energy of Reggaeton and the urban lifestyle. This endeavor has special meaning for Don Omar and after enjoying extraordinary sales, of his first tennis shoe, he recognized this launch would have a significant impact on his foundation Treasure Kids Fund.
Founded in 2004, Treasure Kids Fund is an organization created by Don Omar, dedicated to autistic children. Proceeds from the sales of his second tennis shoe will be donated to the organization.
Don Omar continues to expand awareness for Reggaeton music, becoming one of the few artists in this music genre to embark on global tours through some of the largest cities in Europe, U.S. and Central and South America.
