Lucas Prata (born December 30, 1978) is an American

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

musician and DJ from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. His singles include "Never Be Alone", "And She Said", "Love of My Life", and "Let's Get It On". Prata and

Dan Bălan Dan Mihai Bălan (born 6 February 1979) is a Moldovan artist, songwriter, and record producer. He is the founder of Moldovan eurodance band O-Zone, and wrote their international hit single "Dragostea Din Tei", which topped the charts in 32 count ...

produced The "Ma Ya Hi Song", an English version of the international hit "

Dragostea din tei "Dragostea Din Tei" (; official English title: "Words of Love", also informally known as "Maya Hi" and "Numa Numa") is a song by Moldovan pop group O-Zone, released as the second single from their third studio album, ''DiscO-Zone'' (2004). The s ...

" by Bălan's original band,

O-Zone O-Zone was a Moldovan Eurodance group that was active from 1999 to 2019. Originating in 1998 as a duo consisting of Dan Bălan and Petru Jelihovschi before the latter's departure, their official trio lineup in 1999 consisted of Dan Bălan, Rad ...

Early life and career

Prata was born in

Bayside, Queens Bayside is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fresh Meadows ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, in 1978. He attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

in Florida, where he was a member of the

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College (now the University of Richmond), and its national headquarte ...

fraternity. In his senior year, Prata won the Mr. University of Miami contest. After graduating with a double major in business and sociology and a minor in theater, Prata moved back to New York and recorded and released his own singles, while appearing as a dancer on the MTV show ''

Club MTV ''Club MTV'' is a half hour television show modeled after ''American Bandstand'' that aired on MTV from August 31, 1987, to June 26, 1992. ''Club MTV'' was part of MTV's second generation of programming, as the channel was phasing out its origi ...

'', hosted by

Downtown Julie Brown Julie Dorne Brown, better known as Downtown Julie Brown, is an English-born actress, television personality, SiriusXM DJ and former MTV VJ. Brown is best known as the host of the television music show ''Club MTV'', which ran from 1987 until 19 ...

. He subsequently worked as a backing dancer for

George LaMond George Lamond (born George Garcia, February 25, 1967), sometimes styled George LaMond, is an American freestyle music and salsa music singer. LaMond has released seven albums (five via Sony Music) between 1989-2014. Best known for his 1989 #2 ...

for 10 years.

Pop success

In the summer of 2000, Prata joined

Salt-n-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...

as the opening act for their 96-city North American tour, around the time of his hit single "Fly Away". At an audition at the

C+C Music Factory C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C" ...

studios, Prata met Ricky Crespo, the programmer/co-producer for C+C, and they began working together on music that was played on major radio stations across the US. Prata's hit single "Let's get it on" became a #1 hit in 18 markets in the US. Over the following months, Prata's singles "Never Be Alone", "And She Said", and "Love of My Life" (featuring Reina) all received substantial airplay on radio stations

WKTU WKTU (103.5 FM) is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighbo ...

and

WMPH WMPH (91.7 FM, "Super 91.7") is Delaware's first high school radio station, located in Wilmington. The Brandywine School District Board of Education owns the license granted by the FCC. The call letters WMPH stand for Mount Pleasant High and o ...

. The second single from his debut album, "And She Said", had crossover success on the

pop station, Z100 where it gained national exposure, holding the #1 dance airplay single spot for four consecutive weeks in ''Billboard''. The track became the 2006

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

anthem, in a parody version, "And We Say...Let's Go Mets", written by David Brody from New York's

Elvis Duran and the Morning Show Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

, which Prata performed live at the team's 2006 postseason rally on October 3. The song and its video were regularly played at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

season and postseason. The song also enjoyed commercial success internationally. A Christmas version of the song was also recorded by Prata and released in December.

2006-present

In 2006, while Prata was working as promotions director at

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

's Party 93.1, his single "Let's Get It On" became the #1 requested record at the station. Prata was the featured performer on an episode of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's '' My Super Sweet Sixteen'' in 2006. In 2007, Prata's album ''Never Stop Dreamin was licensed by

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

in the UK. A track from the album, "I Think I'm Falling In Love" was released in Sweden with mixes by

Da Buzz Da Buzz is a Swedish Eurodance/pop music group. Members of the group are writers/producers Per Lidén and Pier Schmid and lead-singer Annika Thörnquist. All three are from Karlstad. The band has had a successful career in their native Sweden, ...

, and the following U.S. single, "We've Got It Going On", was also been remixed by the producer, Discopunx. His next single was "DYWM", a cover of

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

's "

Don't You Want Me "Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synthpop group the Human League (credited on the cover as The Human League 100). It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, '' Dare'' (1981). The band's best ...

" performed as a duet with

Kim Sozzi Kim Sozzi is an American dance-pop singer from Long Island, New York. Career Kim Sozzi's career began in 1999 when she signed a contract on Columbia Records for her first major album, ''Life Goes On''. Her first single from the album was "Til ...

. It was debuted live on New Year's Eve at Mirage on Long Island, and later performed live at

Beatstock Festival on August 19, 2007. In March 2007 and March 2008, Prata performed with Reina at a benefit event for

Muscular Dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

hosted by two high schools in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

. In 2008, Prata released a remake of " Something About You" by

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the ...

, a duet with

George Lamond George Lamond (born George Garcia, February 25, 1967), sometimes styled George LaMond, is an American freestyle music and salsa music singer. LaMond has released seven albums (five via Sony Music) between 1989-2014. Best known for his 1989 #2 ...

. In 2008 Coca-Cola and the Olympics used "And She Said" as part of their campaign, along with a bottle dedicated to the song and Prata for China. Prata now works as a mentor and consultant for young talent from his home in New Jersey, while continuing to write for other artists.

Albums

* "Let's Get It On" 2005

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label formed in New York City in 1995 by former PolyGram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey. As of December 23, 2012, Ultra entered a global partnership with Sony Music, giving its artists access to ...

, Avex Trax (Japan Release) * "Never Stop Dreamin'" May 20, 2008 * Christmas With Lucas Prata (Lucas Prata Album) December 2008 Ultra Records

Singles

Notes

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prata, Lucas 1978 births Living people American pop musicians American people of Cuban descent American people of Italian descent People from Bayside, Queens Singers from New York City Robbins Entertainment artists Ultra Records artists University of Miami alumni 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from New York (state)