There are but a handful of young, solo artists who dare to tackle the challenge of performing bachata music at the international level like Prince Royce has.
There are fewer still who embody the charisma and talent to make the genre their own, in a way that nobody has before.
In a relatively short time, Prince Royce has done just that and then some by introducing the genre of bachata to a worldwide mainstream audience who had never been exposed to it and reaching unprecedented success in the Latin music industry.
Prince Royce’s self-titled debut album has been certified Double Platinum by the RIAA and garnered a 2010 Latin GRAMMY® nomination (for Best Tropical Contemporary Album), three 2011 Premio Lo Nuestro Awards and four 2011 Latin Billboard Awards.
“Prince Royce” features mostly bachatas fused with other contemporary rhythms like Pop and Rhythm and Blues, nine of them written by Royce himself. It includes Royce’s tour de force first single, a bilingual and bachata cover of the classic and timeless 1961 Ben E. King song, “Stand By Me” which he had the honor of performing with none other than Ben E. King himself at the 2010 Latin GRAMMY® Awards.
Prince Royce’s rendition of “Stand By Me” became the first bachata song ever to be played on mainstream (Pop and R&B) radio in the United States.
The video of the song has been viewed more than five million times on YouTube alone. This, in addition to remaining on the top of the Latin Charts on Billboard and iTunes for many consecutive weeks and being asked to perform on the most highly-rated Latin TV programs and award shows, has made the 21 year old the top new solo artist in the industry.
In April 2011, fifty-eight weeks after its release, “Prince Royce” became the #1 album in the country marking an unprecedented achievement for a developing Latin music artist. The album which debuted at #15 on March 5th of 2010, was in the top 20 by June and then reached the top 10 in September of the same year. On the last week of September 2010 the album reached the top 5 and “Prince Royce” has remained at the top 5 ever since, with the exception of one week in which it charted at #6.
“Stand By Me” reached the #1 position on Billboard for tropical radio airplay and the #6 position on Billboard for overall Latin radio airplay (across all genres of Latin music). . . something phenomenal for a new Latin artist with his first single.
And then, follow-up single “Corazón Sin Cara” fared even better, shooting up to #1 on Billboard’s Latin songs chart (which measures Latin airplay across all genres), #1 on the tropical songs chart, #1 on the urban chart and #2 on the pop songs chart. Both songs have reached #1 on the tropical downloads chart and the top five on the Latin downloads chart.
The young artist recently completed a sold-out US Tour and he has toured Europe twice, spending several months last year selling out venues in Spain, Italy, Holland, Switzerland and Vienna.
Prince Royce’s talent as a composer, singer and actor in both Spanish and English, make him a triple threat . . . a gifted young man, already poised to become a major force in the entertainment industry.
So how does this young artist react to his sudden rise to fame? In typical Prince Royce-style, he takes it in stride, exuding confidence and humility.
“I had envisioned this a long time ago so it feels right and very normal. I always had faith, almost a feeling of certainty that this would happen as long as I worked hard enough and focused on my music . . . now the overwhelming feeling is one of gratitude,” he says smiling.
