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

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), 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: ...

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 Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. There Stuart received his primary and secondary education. He was musically influenced by his uncle Israel "Timbalero" Stuart. Stuart grew up listening to hip hop 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 Wales ...

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

Latin music Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...

. His uncle "Timbalero" was a professional musician and bandleader. 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 (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

s or congas. 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 (30 September 1946 – 29 June 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe is considered to be possibly the best and most important singer and interpreter in the history of salsa ...

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 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, and attended high school at Benjamin Franklin High School. He moved briefly to Puerto Rico before returning to New York City to begin a car ...

and Marc Anthony. 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 one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

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

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

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 classical music and was deeply involved in Puerto Rican folk elements and even Andalusi ...

, featuring

Danny Rivera Danny Rivera (born 27 February 1945) is a 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. After 12 ye ...

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

, and

Chucho Avellanet Chucho Avellanet, nicknamed "Chucho", is a Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor of Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spa ...

. 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'' in San Juan, 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-songwriter. Over the course of her career, she has ...

. 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 Martín 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 spanning ...

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 million ...

. In 1999, Stuart received a special recognition from the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, 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 singer. Early years Caro was born in New York City to parents from Rincón, Puerto Rico, initiated her career in the arts at a very young age while living in New York. She attended James Monroe H. ...

. 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 musician, singer, and composer 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 (23) studio ...

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 Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. Early life Pal ...

and the late

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz ...

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

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 (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...

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 ''Back To Da Barrio'' is a salsa album by Michael Stuart which covers popular reggaeton songs in salsa. The album was nominated for Tropical Album of the Year by a Male Artist at the 2007 Latin Billboard Music Awards, losing to Víctor Manuelle's ...

( 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

Early years

Singing career

Discography

See also

References