Carlos Vives
Carlos Vives is a multiple Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and actor from Colombia. He is globally renowned for his command of traditional styles such as vallenato, porro, cumbia, and champeta, as well as pop, rock, and reggaeton.
He has sold tens of millions of recordings and his videos regularly garner billions of views. He has been releasing singles and albums since 1986, starting with Por Fuera y por Dentro (recorded while he was still a successful actor in telenovelas and films). Later outings, such as 1992’s Clásicos de la Provincia, sold more than 1.2 million copies in Colombia alone. 2002’s Déjame Entrar won the Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album, while 2015’s Más + Corazón Profundo took home the award for Best Tropical Latin Album. Furthermore, Vives has won numerous Latin Grammys and been nominated more than 30 times; he has also won several Premios Nuestra Tierra industry prizes. He has duetted on videos with Sebastian Yatra (“Robarte un Beso”) and Shakira (“La Bicicleta”), which have registered more than a billion views each and topped Latin Songs charts. In 2019, Vives was chosen by Billboard magazine as one of the Top Latin Artists of the 2010s (number 45 out of 100).
The following year, he took home another Latin Grammy for Best Tropical Song for “Canción Para Rubén,” with Rubén Blades, off 2020’s Cumbiana. In 2021 he issued Latin Grammy-winning
“Canción Bonita” with Ricky Martin and provided the theme song for the popular Disney animated film Encanto.
In 2019, after a world tour, Vives released a number of duets. They included “Si Me Das Tu Amor” (feat. Wisin) and “Indira Il” (feat. Gusi).
After being chosen by Billboard magazine as one of its Top Latin Artists of the 2010s, Vives began the next decade with several charting singles including “No Estas Solo: Canciones Para Es Enfermos” (feat. Rubén Blades) and “No Te Vayas,” the latter peaked at number four on the Hot 100 in May. Its remix with Manuel Turizo followed immediately, becoming an international club hit within two weeks of release. In 2020, he released Cumbiana, which found him further embracing Latin pop and reggaeton. Included on the album was the song “Canción Para Rubén,” again featuring longtime friend Rubén Blades. The track won Best Tropical Song at the Latin Grammy Awards. In April 2021, Vives joined Ricky Martin for
“Canción Bonita.” Later that year, Vives performed the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned theme song for the Disney animated feature film Encanto. He followed it over the next two years with a variety of singles including the 2022 Camilo collaboration “Baloncito Viejo” and 2023’s “Las Mujeres” with Juanes.