Domingo Johnny Vega Urzúa (born December 24, 1977), commonly known as Américo, is a Chilean singer. He became known as the lead artist of Américo y la Nueva Alegría. He is the son of a locally known
bolero
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...
s singer, Melvin "Corazón" Américo. Americo was a coach on the second season of La Voz Ecuador in 2016.
Biography
Beginnings
Américo started his musical career at the 8 years old, when unexpectedly, he had to replace his brother Darwin, who had to sing in the ''Carnaval del Parque Lauca'', one of the most populated areas of
Arica
Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...
. After that, he started participating in local and regional festivals. When he was 9 years old, he recorded his debut album, ''Para mis padres'', and later released his second album, ''Mi colegiala'', while he was a teenager.
When he released his album ''Tropicalmente Américo'', he was discovered by the bando Alegría, who at the time, were without a vocalist, and they invited him to join the band. With the band, Americo recorded 11 albums, such as ''El nuevo tropical'' (1997, remastered in 2001), ''En vivo, teatro monumental 1 y 2'' (1998), ''Somos parte de tu vida'' (1999), ''Tu corazón nos pertenece'' (2000), and ''En vivo entrega disco de platino'' (1999). He worked with them until 2002, when he decided to leave the band.
After he recorded his
bolero
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...
s album ''Por una mujer'', Américo went to Europe in 2003, where he was received by the Latin people, and was invited to go to countries such as
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, Germany and Spain.
Américo y La Nueva Alegría
In 2005 he formed ''Américo y La Nueva Alegría''. He soon moved back to Europe, where he worked with well-known musicians. His songs were often played on radio stations like
Radio Corazón. He released his first single, ''
El Embrujo'' in 2008.
After his success with ''Así Es'', Américo met Melitón Vera, a well-known Chilean manager.
In 2008, he signed for
Feria Music, the label with which he recorded ''
A Morir'' that, which went
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
after selling 8,000 albums within the album's first release weeks. In 2009, he performed a tour throughout Chile, that finished in the
Teatro Caupolicán of
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
, where he sang for the
President of Chile
The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...
Michelle Bachelet
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...
and 5,000 other people.
In May of the same year, he went to
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, where he started his international career.
He is currently recording his third album with La Nueva Alegría.
In 2009, Américo confirmed his show in the
2010 Viña del Mar International Song Festival. On February 25, in the festival his show was successful and received the Silver Torch, Golden Torch and two Silver Seagull.
Actually recorded duets with
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 ...
,
Luis Jara,
Los Nocheros,
Francisca Valenzuela, Crossfire and others artists; and released three covers,
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
's ''
Creep'',
Jorge González's ''Esta es para hacerte feliz'' and
Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...
's ''Amor prohibido''.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''La Plegaria de un Niño'' (1988)
* ''Tropicalmente'' (1997)
* ''Por una Mujer'' (2004)
* ''Así Es'' (2008)
* ''A Morir'' (2008)
* ''Yo Soy'' (2010)
* ''Yo Sé'' (2011)
* ''Américo de América'' (2013)
* ''Américo'' (2017)
* ''Soy Cumbia'' (2019)
* ''Por Ellas'' (2021)
References
External links
Official Americo's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Americo
1977 births
Living people
People from Arica
Chilean people of Basque descent
21st-century Chilean male singers
Chilean male singer-songwriters
Chilean singer-songwriters
Cumbia musicians
Chilean cumbia