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Arcángel

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This article is about the singer. For the religious figure, see Archangel.
Arcángel

Austin Santos[1] (born December 23, 1986)[2], better known by his stage name Arcángel, is an American singer-songwriter and actor.[1] He was born and raised in New York City, and eventually moved to Puerto Rico in 2002, with hopes of following in the footsteps of the popular musical phenomenon, reggaeton.[3] While living in Puerto Rico, he would eventually form part of a popular then-underground reggaeton act, Arcángel & De La Ghetto. The duo eventually went on to make songs that became popular among reggaeton fans in the United States and Puerto Rico such as "Agresivo", "Sorpresa" and "Mi Fanática" during the mid-2000s.[1]

Arcángel went on to release his debut studio album, El Fenómeno, in late 2008. The album included songs that were produced back in 2008, as well as the DJ Nelson produced "Chica Virtual", which was produced back in 2007. Half of the album also included newly produced tracks, ones including "Pa' Que la Pases Bien" and "Por Amar a Ciegas", which went on to become successful airplay songs on American Latin Urban radio stations across the United States.

Early life

Arcángel was born and raised in New York City, New York to a Dominican mother named Carmen Santos, and a Puerto Rican father.[3] His mother was a former member of the all-women merengue group, Las Chicas del Can, who were popular during the early 1980s to the late 1990s.[4] Arcángel also has two smaller brothers.[2] Growing up listening to various types of music like rock music and salsa, he was always a true fan of rock music.[3] One artist in particular is Robi Draco Rosa, a Puerto Rican pop/rock artist and a former member of Menudo.[2] Arcángel was not always a fan of reggaeton music, and claims that it is not actually his favorite music, but it is easy to sing to.[3] During the early 2000s, when reggaeton music was more underground type of music, Arcángel grew fond of the new kind of music. Listening to artists like Tego Calderón and Tempo, it inspired him to try and pursue a singing and rapping career in reggaeton music.[1]

The stage name "Arcángel" is Spanish for "archangel", which is an angel that uses celestial messages to communicate.[5] Arcángel claims to do the same that an archangel does in communication, just with reggaeton music.[4]

Music career

2004–2007: Beginning of career

File:ArcangelyDeLaGhetto.jpg
Arcángel (right) & De La Ghetto

After moving to Puerto Rico in 2002, Arcángel had decided to follow in the footsteps of the ongoing musical phenomenon which was the upbringing of reggaeton music.[3] He eventually went on to form part of a popular then-underground reggaeton act, Arcángel & De La Ghetto. The duo were signed to reggaeton singer-songwriter Zion's record label, Baby Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. The duo were also involved with Machete Music in 2004 during the time that they were recording for reggaeton compilation albums. Arcángel & De La Ghetto rose to fame in 2006 on the reggaeton compilation album hosted by Héctor "El Father", Sangre Nueva, with their hit song "Ven y Pegate."[6] They were also featured on the Luny Tunes-hosted compilation Mas Flow: Los Benjamins in 2006.[6] The duo eventually went on to make other songs that became popular among reggaeton fans in the United States and Puerto Rico such as "Agresivo", "Sorpresa" and "Mi Fanática" during the mid-2000s.[1]

Though an active musical duo, Arcángel & De La Ghetto had never released a studio album or live album since the formation of the duo. Any production they had been involved with only resulted in tracks and recordings being included on compilation albums or leaked onto the Internet. This was due to a conflict with Baby Records because the company was not releasing any material by Arcángel & De La Ghetto onto an album of their own. Arcángel had claimed to have even spent US$150,000 on producing an album, and resulted in the label not releasing it to market. The tracks that were produced were said to have been leaked onto the Internet instead.[2] Arcángel had then filed a lawsuit with Baby Records in 2007 for US$1,000,000 and would eventually leave the record company in December of 2006, when he announced that he was embarking on a solo career and founding a label of his own.[2][6]

After the separation of the duo in 2007, Arcángel went on to perform solo, working with various reggaeton producers and performers on compilation albums. Most notable of them was a compilation album produced in 2007, Flow la Discoteka 2, which was produced by songwriter and record producer DJ Nelson. The album was a upbringing of different artists trying to rise to fame, one of those including Arcángel, who made a track titled "Chica Virtual", which went on to be be one of his most recogizible songs, as well as being a popular airplay single on American Latin Urban radio stations, charting at number 9 on the Billboard Latin Rhythm Airplay chart.[7] It also charted at number 22 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart.[8]

2008–present: Solo career and debut album

Since the departure from the duo, as well as his former record label Baby Records, Arcángel had originally decided release his debut studio album titled La Maravilla during early 2008. The decision to release the album, however, was cancelled due to the album being leaked onto the Internet during Spring 2008.[6] The tracks were distributed through his official website and file sharing sites relating to reggaeton under the title La Maravilla. One of the internet leaks, a song titled "Pa' Que la Pases Bien", went on to be a popular airplay track on American Latin Urban radio stations across the United States. The unreleased album being leaked onto the internet resulted in making Arcángel more popular among reggaeton fans in the United States, as well as Puerto Rico.

Arcángel founded Flow Factory Inc. during 2008, and his mother became his manager afterwards.[2] He claimed that it was a lot easier having his mother be his manager so that he wouldn't need to pay 20 percent to anything.[2] Arcángel went on to release his debut studio album El Fenómeno in late 2008. The album included songs that were produced in the last quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008, as well as the DJ Nelson produced "Chica Virtual", which was produced back in 2007. Half of the album was comprised of tracks that he originally produced for an album that was to be released in the first quarter of 2008. The other half of the album also included newly produced tracks, ones including "Por Amar a Ciegas", which went on to become a successful airplay single on American Latin Urban radio stations across the United States.

In Mid-January 2009, Arcángel announced plans of a European tour sometime during 2009, in promotion of not only his debut album El Fenómeno, but also to receive more exposure across the world by reggaeton fans.[9] To comment on the tour, he claimed that in order for it to be successful, good equipment is highly important, and by going along with the tour, he will be able to learn more on what the continental tour experience is like.[9] Arcángel also hopes for the tour to not have any major issues, and also wants to avoid people who plan to steal any equipment or any other materials that are involved with the tour.[9] Arcángel confirmed to be touring in countries such as Germany, France, Portugal, England, Holland and Denmark.[10]

Other ventures

Film career

In 2008, Arcángel starred in the independently-produced film Muerte en El Paraíso, which told the story of two brothers who make it into the music industry, but are swindled by two record company executives.[11] The film was directed by Abimael Acosta and opened on March 5, 2008 in selected theaters.[11] In the film, Arcángel starred as "Kalil", one of the brothers who were new to the music industry in the film. The film was distributed by independent film company, Producciones Nuevo-Enfoque, and was produced by Jeancarlo Rodríguez and Doel Alicea. Critics called the film plot to be somewhat similar to the idea of the 2008 film Talento de Barrio, a film starring Puerto Rican reggaeton recording artist Daddy Yankee.[11] Though both films were completely different in production, both recording artists were said to have enjoyed the filming experience.[11]

Discography

Main article: Arcángel discography

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Arcángel Biography. ArcangelLaMaravilla.Net. Retrieved on 08 March 2009
  2. ^ a b c d e f g González-Andino, Heriberto (2009-02-26). "El Arcángel urbano, en su disco 'El Fenómeno', el cantante neoyorquino va más allá del reggaetón". La Opinión (in Spanish). ImpreMedia. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  3. ^ a b c d e Pérez-Duthie, Juan (2009-01-23). "Arcángel da la batalla". Billboard en Español (in Spanish). Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
  4. ^ a b Martínez Tutek, Andrés (2009-03-04). "Arcángel: el irreverente del reggaetón". People en Español (in Spanish). Time Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  5. ^ Definition of "Archangel". Reference.com. Retrieved on 11 March 2009
  6. ^ a b c d Arcángel Biography. Allmusic (Macrovision Corporation). Retrieved on 10 March 2009
  7. ^ Latin Rhythm Airplay. Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). Retrieved on 08 March 2009
  8. ^ Hot Latin Songs. Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). Retrieved on 08 March 2009.
  9. ^ a b c Mo, Zayra (2009-01-15). "Arcángel se prepara para conquistar Europa en el 2009". EFE (in Spanish). Yahoo! Noticias. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  10. ^ "Arcángel aprovecha para descansar". ArcangelLaMaravilla.Net. Retrieved on 11 March 2009
  11. ^ a b c d Muerte en el Paraiso Overview. Cinemovida Entertainment. Retrieved on 10 March 2009

References

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