O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou GRAMMY?
OPINION The 2014 Latin GRAMMY Awards just around the corner with 48 categories and countless nominees, and we only have one question in mind: Where’s Romeo…
FILE – Bachata crooner Romeo Santos has made history and topped music charts. However, the singer has never been nominated for a Latin GRAMMY, which we find unfair. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)
OPINION
The 2014 Latin GRAMMY Awards just around the corner with 48 categories and countless nominees, and we only have one question in mind: Where’s Romeo Santos?
All while the Latin GRAMMY Awards debuted its first show back in 2000, until it’s quinceañera celebration this year, the bachata crooner has topped charts and made history.
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By now you’d think he’d have a collection of golden gramophones back home –but he doesn’t; in fact, he’s yet to even receive a nomination as a solo artist.
So what’s the deal with the Latin Recording Academy not taking any of this into account?
Santos is no new face in the game; he began his musical career in the mid-1990s as an aspiring singer and in 2000 stepped into the music world as the lead singer of Aventura –composed of his family members and friends.
Romeo Santos has been in the music business two decades, and though he’s a huge star, he’s never received a Latin GRAMMY. (Photo: Facebook/@RomeoSantosOficial)
Together, they became a new wave of neo-bachata stars, and by their fifth studio album “The Last” in 2009, the urban bachata infused band had made their way to the hearts of hundreds of thousands of fans all over the world.
As a group, they lasted nearly a decade, but only once did the Latin Recording Academy admire their hard work and back-to-back hits, nominating them for “Best Contemporary Tropical Album” in 2007, which was nabbed by Oscar D’ Leon.
But to everyone’s surprise, their album “The Last,” which became the top selling Latin album in 2009, spending 23 weeks at No. 1 in the Latin Billboard chart, did not make the cut at the 10th annual Latin GRAMMY Awards.
It was an outcome that Santos said to the LA Times that “definitely made them sad.” But despite the mishap, Santos made his peace with the idea and added: “I feel the first award any artist can have is his audience.”
The group split in 2011, leaving many memories, hits and albums behind, but with no Latin GRAMMY in hand, considering that Aventura singlehandedly revolutionized the bachata genre (SMH).
But the fight to seize the Latin Recording Academy did not stop there for the former frontman.
As a solo artist, Santos kept conquering the world with his 2011 solo debut, “Formula, Vol. 1.” which was an immediate hit among fans and the music charts proved it.
To be fair –unlike the Latin Recording Academy– the (English) Recording Academy knew that Romeo Santos was not an ordinary act, accolading the album with a GRAMMY nomination for “Best Tropical Latin Album,” but still, no Latin GRAMMY, and no GRAMMY win at all.
The bilingual singer-songwriter keeps making the rounds with his sophomore album “Formula, Vol. 2,” featuring big names such as Marc Anthony, Drake and Carlos Santana. With this album, he has once again made history.
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While on a promotion tour earlier this year, Santos became the first Latin artist to headline at the Yankee Stadium, selling out an entire double-header show. The only Latino artist or band to ever do this was the Fania All Stars in 1973.
Uh, that’s freaking impressive and sort of a big deal if you ask me.
Bachata star Romeo Santos enters the Yankee Stadium history books after becoming the first Latino to perform at the ballpark in 40 years. (Photo: Facebook/@RomeoSantosOfficial)
And to make matters a lot worse, Santos’s younger bachata rival Prince Royce has been a favorite at the Latin GRAMMYs since 2010. This year he’s got four nominations with “Darte un Beso” and his album “Soy el Mismo.”
Not that we’re hating on Royce, but honestly it’s a bit unfair. Why? Because not only does Santos have a longer trajectory, but he’s also (with the help of Aventura) the first Hispanic-American to bring forward a fresh new sound to the bachata genre.
We keep asking ourselves, why does the Latin Recording Academy ignore all these achievements done by a 33-year-old megastar?
We’re not sure, and we’re not quite sure if Santos himself knows the reason. But they need to stop tripping.
Two decades in the biz and no recognition from the Latin Recording Academy is a bit too long. As a result, Dominican/Puerto Rican penned his feelings in one of this latest songs.
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One of his lyrics from “Si Yo Muero” reads: “Maybe I’ll die without winning a Grammy, I could care less. Apparently, they can’t stand me in the Academy.”
Another Latin GRAMMY is approaching in Las Vegas, and once again the Latin Recording Academy has dropped the ball by not even considering Santos’s skyrocketing career.
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(Inviting him to the 2011 Latin GRAMMYs to sing “Promise” on-stage with Usher does not count!)
“O Romeo, O Romeo, wherefore art thou GRAMMY?” We would go crazy trying to solve this mystery, and if it were up to us, this man would have already been a Latin GRAMMY “Person of the Year”.
In the end, whatever the outcome, GRAMMY or no GRAMMY, the king stays king, and not one person can ever take that away from him.
