Luis Fonsi

Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi is a seasoned veteran with over two decades of experience in music, but he insists there's still room to grow.

Born in Puerto Rico, Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero was four years-old when he began his singing career as a member of the prestigious Coro de Niños de San Juan children's choir. At 10 he was growing up on a steady diet of Menudo, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder when he and his family moved to Orlando, Florida. As a teen, Fonsi joined the boy band Big Guys where he performed alongside Joey Fatone – a future member of the behemoth boy band *NSYNC – and developed a knack for complex dance routines that remains one of his hallmarks. The group disbanded and Fonsi graduated from high school to Florida State University where he studied music.

While still in college, Fonsi signed to Universal Music Latino, which released his debut, Comenzaré, in 1998. The album of mostly grown-up pop ballads spawned hits like Si Tu Quisieras and Perdonamé. After two more albums, Eterno and Amor Secreto, Fonsi attempted a cross over with Fight the Feeling (2002), an English-language album featuring previous hits like Quisiera Olvidarme de Ti (I Wish) and Díselo Ya (Tell Her Tonight). Despite an opening slot on a Britney Spears tour, the response from American fans was lukewarm. Fonsi was unfazed, proceeding to drop the Spanish-language album, Abrazar la Vida, just a year later.

In 2005, Fonsi released the rock-tinged Paso a Paso, before taking a break from music to be with his wife, soap opera star Adamari López, as she fought – and won – a struggle with breast cancer. Last month, Fonsi returned to the limelight with No Me Doy Por Vencido, a soaring pop-rock song about keeping hope alive. With a new album, Palabras Del Silencio, scheduled for release in late August, a now 30 year-old Fonsi maintains he has much to accomplish: "What's left for me to do? Everything."