Michael Stuart (born January 13, 1975) is an American

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

singer, songwriter and actor.

Early years

Stuart was born in New York City, to Puerto Rican parents who settled in the 1960s after moving from

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Stuart received his primary and secondary education in Arecibo Puerto Rico. He was musically influenced by his uncle Israel Stuart. Stuart grew up listening to

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

music. He grew to love many kinds of music, especially

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...

. Stuart would accompany his uncle to many rehearsals where he would sing and play the

maraca A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...

s or

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s. He taught himself to play the trumpet and most of the times he would sing to the tones of

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican salsa music, salsa singer. Widely regarded as one of salsa’s most important and influential vocalist ...

and

El Gran Combo El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican salsa orchestra based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, it was often considered Puerto Rico's most successful musical group. The ...

. It was

Domingo Quiñones Domingo Quiñones is a singer of salsa music. He is also a composer, producer and actor. Domingo Quinones was born on August 9, 1963, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. When he was four years old he moved to Puerto Rico with his parents and lived in C ...

who had influenced Stuart's style of singing.

Singing career

With the help of his uncle, it was not long before Stuart was singing back-up to the likes of

Johnny Rivera Johnny Rivera is an American salsa singer of Puerto Rican descent. Rivera was born in the Bronx, NY, on February 4, 1962. He attended high school at Benjamin Franklin High School. He moved briefly to Puerto Rico before returning to New York ...

and

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

. In 1996, Stuart recorded his first CD, ''Cuento de la Vecinidad'' (''Tale of the Neighborhood''), which included a remake of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's "The Lady in My Life". His debut CD was a hit in the

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

community. He was awarded the ''Farandula Magazine'' "New Artist of the Year 1996–97 Award" and The Tropical New Artist 1997 Award by the Tu Musica Awards and was nominated for the "New Artist of the Year" at the Lo Nuestro Awards in 1997. That year Stuart also sang in a Banco Popular production honoring

Bobby Capó Félix Manuel "Bobby" Rodríguez Capó (January 1, 1922 – December 18, 1989) was a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. He usually combined ballads with European classical music, classical music and was deeply involved in Puerto Rican folk ...

, featuring

Danny Rivera Danny Rivera (born 27 February 1945) is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter born in San Juan whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is well known in Puerto Rico for his political activism. In 2008, Rivera acquired Dominican Republic citizenship. ...

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (; born September 10, 1945) is a Puerto Rican musician. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' " Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song "". Music genres he explo ...

, and

Chucho Avellanet Armando Hipólito Avellanet González, nicknamed "Chucho", is a Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor of Spanish-Catalan descent. Avellanet was involved with the Nueva ola movement in the 1960s. See also * List of Puerto Ricans This is a ...

. In 1998, Stuart recorded his second CD, ''Retratos'' (''Pictures''). Among the awards that he won for this recording were the "New Salsa Artist Award" and the Paoli Award. He also debuted in the Puerto Rican version of the musical play ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'' in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, alongside

Olga Tañón Olga Teresa Tañón OrtizIn this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is ''Tañón'' and the second or maternal family name is ''Ortiz''. (born April 13, 1967) is a Puerto Rican singer. Over the course of her career, she has earned two G ...

. Stuart was awarded the "Best New Actors Award" by the Theater Circle for his performance. In the 1998 Banco Popular production honoring composer Rafael Hernández, Stuart sang alongside

Ricky Martin Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...

and

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés (), nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three mi ...

. In 1999, Stuart received a special recognition from the

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

, and he also received the "Peoples Choice Award" in the Tropical category at the Tu Music Awards.Michael Stuart
In 2000, Stuart released his third album, ''Subeme el Volumen'' (''Bring up the Volume''). That year he sang "Algo En Ella" ("Something in Her") for the film soundtrack of '' Under Suspicion'', a movie that included the participation of

Miguel Ángel Suárez Miguel Ángel Suárez (July 5, 1939 – April 1, 2009) was a Puerto Rican soap opera and movie actor. Early years Suárez and his sister were born into a middle-class family and raised in the Santurce section of San Juan, Puerto Rico. His fathe ...

and

Nydia Caro Nydia Caro (born June 7, 1948) is a Puerto Rican-American singer and actress. Early years Caro was born in New York City to parents from Rincón, Puerto Rico, and initiated her career in the arts at a very young age while living in New York. She ...

. The soundtrack also included songs by fellow Puerto Ricans

Carlos Ponce Carlos Armando Ponce Freyre Jr. (born September 4, 1972) is a Puerto Rican actor, musician, model, and television personality. Ponce began his acting career by participating in Spanish language soap operas for Televisa and Telemundo. Ponce contin ...

Ednita Nazario Edna María Nazario Figueroa (born April 11, 1955) is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age and has released twenty-three studio albums, seven live ...

and

. Stuart also sang two songs in ''Obra Maestra'' (''Masterpiece'') by

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. ...

and the late

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

. In 2002, Stuart released his fourth CD, ''Michael Stuart''. In 2004, Stuart released the

Latin Pop Latin pop () is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. It originates with List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking ...

album ''Sin Miedo'', which was nominated for

Latin Grammy Awards of 2005 The 6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium on Thursday, November 3, 2005. It was the first ceremony to be broadcast by Univision in the United States. Ivan Lins was the big winner, winning two awards, in ...

for Best Tropical-Contemporary Album of the Year. In 2005, he starred in a musical event titled ''Homenajes'' that toured throughout the United States, South America, and Europe, paying tribute to historic performers of

. In 2006, Stuart released ''Back to da Barrio'', which is a salsa album of notable

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

songs sung by other reggaeton artists, such as "Ven Bailalo", "Pobre Diabla", and "Mayor Que Yo"... Stuart is active in the music business and participates on stage productions in Puerto Rico. Stuart participated in a beach festival named "Back to School", on August 9, 2008.

Discography

* 1996: Cuentos de la Vecindad (

RMM Records RMM Records, also known as RMM Records & Video Corp, was an independent Latin music record label established in 1987 and based in New York City. The label was most active during the late 1980s and early 1990s and produced primarily salsa, Latin j ...

) * 1998: Retratos (

) * 2000: Súbele el Volumen (

) * 2002: Michael Stuart (

/Universal Music Latino) * 2004: Sin Miedo (

/Universal Music Latino) * 2006: Back To Da Barrio ( Machete Records) * 2006: Grandes Exitos (CD & DVD) (

/Universal Music Latino) * 2006: Pura Salsa (

/Universal Music Latino) * 2007: Sentimiento De Un Rumbero ( Machete Records) * 2011:Tributo a Louie Ramirez (Amanece y Sigue Caliente) (RLM Productions)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Michael 1975 births Living people American male actors Salsa musicians American musicians of Puerto Rican descent Universal Music Latino artists RMM Records artists