Discovery
and Early Career
His
singing career began by chance, during a concert at
his high school's graduation party by salsa superstar
Gilberto Santa Rosa. At the instigation of classmates,
who were going on about their friend the sonero, Santa
Rosa invited Victor to jump up on stage and sing a song
with him. To Santa Rosa's surprise, not only could Victor
sing, but he "free-styled" the improvisational
soneo lyrics in the song, and traded soneos with Santa
Rosa. Shortly thereafter, on Santa Rosa's recommendation,
Puerto
Rican bandleader Don Periñon hired teenage Victor
as a backup singer. During these years of apprenticeship
he performed with numerous salsa greatsThanks again
to Santa Rosa, Manuelle was eventually signed as a solo
artist to Sony Tropical. His debut album, Justo A Tiempo
("Just in Time"), which Santa Rosa produced,
was released in 1993. (A list of his studio albums and
notable songs appears at the end of this article.)
The
2000s
Victor Manuelle has become one of the best-selling salsa
performers of recent years, with his albums selling
a combined 1 million-plus copies in the U.S. Three studio
albums, 1999's Inconfundible ("Unmistakable"),
2001's Instinto Y Deseo ("Instinct and Desire")
and 2004's Travesía ("Crossover"),
have cracked Billboard's overall Top 200 Albums chart,
and the latter two reached #1 on the Latin Album chart
(Inconfundible reached #2). Interestingly, while several
of his singles have made the Top 5 or Top 10 on the
Latin charts, he had to wait for 2004's Tengo Ganas
("I'm in the Mood") to score a Billboard #1
Latin hit.
Perhaps
his moment of greatest visibility came when he, to the
happy surprise of the attendees, sang an a capella version
of Celia Cruz's signature song, La Vida Es Un Carnaval
("Life is a Carnival"), at her funeral at
St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York in July 2003. This
scene was replayed numerous times in the ensuing days
on Spanish-language television. A few months before,
he had performed the song for Miss Cruz, with full orchestra,
at a televised tribute concert for her, the last one
at which she ever performed on stage. (When he recorded
his live album at Carnegie Hall in late 2004, his closing
number was another rousing rendition of La Vida Es Un
Carnaval.)
Songwriting
Manuelle
also is an increasingly accomplished and prolific songwriter,
and now records mostly material he has written or co-written
himself. His favorite composition, however, he wrote
for Gilberto Santa Rosa: 2003's huge salsa hit Si Te
Dijeron
("If They Told You").Jennifer Lopez recently
recorded a Victor Manuelle composition, Si Te Fueras
De Mi ("If You Should Leave Me"), to be featured
on her forthcoming Spanish-language album, Como Ama
Una Mujer. Recent Activity
Manuelle released his 10th studio album, Decisión
Unánime ("Unanimous Decision"), in
May 2006. Six months earlier, in November 2005, he and
his mentor, Gilberto Santa Rosa, released a joint live
album, Dos Soneros, Una Historia ("Two Soneros,
One History"), recorded at Roberto Clemente Stadium
outside San Juan, Puerto Rico. Manuelle's own live album,
Victor Manuelle En Vivo: Desde El Carnegie Hall, came
out in early 2005.He served as co-host of the 7th annual
Latin Grammy awards show, held November 2, 2006, in
New York.
Personal
Details
Victor Manuelle is a divorced father of three (two girls
and a boy), who says he prefers to spend his free time
with his children and family, and playing pick-up basketball.
He was romantically linked to actress Roselyn Sanchez
for several years, until they ended their relationship
in December 2005. He is reportedly known to his family
by the nickname Binki.Studio Albums, with Hits and Notable
Songs
Justo A Tiempo, 1993 -- Estás Tocando Fuego;
Me Dará El Consentimiento
Solo Contigo, 1994 -- Apiádate De Mi
Victor Manuelle, 1996 -- Pensamiento Y Palabra; Hay
Que Poner El Alma
A Pesar De Todo, 1997 -- He Tratado; Así Es La
Mujer; Dile A Ella; El Aguila
Ironias, 1998 -- Se Me Rompe El Alma; Que Habría
Sido De Mi; La Dueña De
Mis Amores
Inconfundible, 1999 -- Pero Dile; Como Duele; Si La
Ves; Por Ella
Instinto Y Deseo, 2001 -- Me Da Lo Mismo; Como Se Lo
Explico Al Corazón
Le Preguntaba A La Luna, 2002 -- En Nombre De Los Dos;
Poco Hombre;
El Tonto Que No Te Olvidó
Travesía, 2004 -- Tengo Ganas; Te Propongo; Lloré,
Lloré; No Me Hace Falta
Decisión Unánime, 2006 -- Nuestro Amor
Se Ha Vuelto Ayer; Maldita Suerte
(ft. Sin Bandera)References
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Manuelle
Victor Manuelle Oficial Web Site: http://www.victormanuellesonero.com
