Romain Virgo (born 24 January 1990) is a Jamaican singer, specializing in the

lovers rock Lovers' rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.Larkin, Col ...

style of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

music and past competitor of local music competition called Rising Stars.

Biography

Virgo hails from Stepney in

Saint Ann Parish Saint Ann is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called "the Garden Parish of Jamaica" on ac ...

. At Aabuthnott Gallimore High School he sang on the school choir, with which he participated in the television choir contest ''All Together Sing'' in 2006. As a solo singer he won the Digicel Rising Stars competition in 2007, two months before his graduation from high school.Johnson, Richard (2012)
Virgo launches album with hundreds in the park
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 1 June 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012 At age 17, he was the youngest contestant to ever win top prize at the competition, which included a JA$1,000,000 prize (the equivalent of 6656 euros) and a recording contract with

Greensleeves Records Greensleeves Records & Publishing, shortened to ''Greensleeves Records'', is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records star ...

.Romain Virgo Reminisces On Digicel Rising Stars
, ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'', 25 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013 A few weeks after winning the competition, Virgo met

Donovan Germain Donovan Germain (born 7 March 1952 in Jamaica) is a reggae producer, one of the most successful of the digital era. Biography Germain's entry into the music industry was via his record shop in New York City in the 1970s.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The V ...

who produced his first hit record "Mi Caan Sleep" on the Penthouse label. Several hit singles followed, including "Wanna Go Home", "Live Mi Life", and "Alton's Medley". In June 2010,

VP Records VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York (state), New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and Soca music, soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami ...

released his debut self-titled album. After winning the Digicel competition, Virgo performed at dances and stageshows, including

Rebel Salute Rebel Salute is an annual music festival held in Jamaica. It is held on January 15 of every year, the birthday of promoter Tony Rebel. It is one of Jamaica's biggest music festivals, known for its focus on roots and conscious music. Rebel began the ...

, Passa Passa, and Weddy Weddy. In the autumn of 2010, he joined fellow artists

Capleton Clifton George Bailey III (born 13 April 1967),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 67–69 better known by his stage name Capleton, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician. He is also referred to as Kin ...

and Munga on a tour of the United States. In addition to his music career, Virgo is pursuing his bachelor's degree at the

Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, formerly Jamaica School of Art and Crafts, is an art school in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1940, Edna Manley pioneered evening art classes at the Institute of Jamaica's Junior Centre but it was ...

in Kingston, majoring in voice and minoring in keyboard. In 2014 his

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

's " Stay With Me" produced by Nicholas Browne of Lifeline Music, topped the charts in several Caribbean countries. Virgo as a young boy growing up in rural Saint Ann emulated his cousin

Bryan Art Bryan Art (formerly ''Brah Yhan'' or ''Brahyhan Art''), born Bryan Joseph Grant in Murray Mount, Saint Ann Parish is a Jamaicans, Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and guitarist. He is a former touring member of the Legen ...

, an established singer and musician who specializes in Lover's Rock and Roots Reggae. Virgo's 2018 album ''Lovesick'' gave him his first number one album on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Reggae Albums chart.

Personal life

On 24 January 2020 his wife, Elizabeth Virgo gave birth to twins.

Discography

Albums

*''Romain Virgo RV'' (2010),

*''The System'' (2012),

– US Reggae no. 6Jackson, Kevin (2015)
Virgo's Lifted enters Billboard
, ''

'', 13 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015 *''Lovesick (2018),

– US Reggae no. 1

EPs

*''Introducing...Romain Virgo'' (2010), VP *''Lifted'' (2015), VP – US Reggae no. 7

Singles

*"Love Doctor" (2008),

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

*"Wanna Go Home" (2009), Vikings Production *"Watch Over Me" (2010), Juke Boxx Productions – B-side of

Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

's "Don't Trust Dem" *"Live My Life" (2010), Juke Boxx Productions – B-side of

Busy Signal Reanno Devon Gordon (born 24 January 1979), better known by his stage name Busy Signal, is a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist. Biography Reanno Devon Gordon p/k/a Busy Signal was born in Saint Ann Parish,Johnson, Carolyn (2006)A Very Busy Chil ...

's "Dem Nuh Care" *"Ghetto" (2010), Juke Boxx Productions *"Taking You Home" (2011), Penthouse *"Wha Dis Pon Me" (2011), Penthouse *"California" (2011), VP – Romain Virgo & Larry Gatlin *"Can't Sleep", VP/Penthouse *"Who Feels It Know's It", VP/Penthouse *"Cry Tears for You" (2012), Penthouse *"Cold Side"(2013), Juke Boxx Productions *"Lifted" (2015),VP Records *"LoveSick" (2016),VP Records *"Still" (2018) *"Now" (2018) *"Melanin" (2019), Chimney Records *"Dutty Man" (2019) *"Beautiful to Me" (2021) *"Good Woman" (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgo, Romain Living people Jamaican reggae singers 1990 births Jamaican male singers VP Records artists