At only 21 years old, there’s a new artist in town that’s taking the right steps to make it in the music business. With his feet well on the ground, this young Dominican singer is breaking into the international market with his catchy tunes, sweet lyrics and incredible movements. We’re talking about the new sensation Renzo.
For an artist who debuted only last year, his accomplishments are quite striking. During 2013, Renzo was featured on Primer Impacto in a lengthy segment recorded on South Beach with Tony Dandrades. He participated in promotional events across the Northeast where his single, "Mi favorita" lingered at number 1 for weeks. In July, he performed as part of the concert series Descarga- a major summer event in the Latin industry hosted by Mun2 and Telemundo.
When he started singing, he already had a firm professional background in dance and choreography, and a brilliant future as a singer/songwriter and he has found a unique way to blend the signature sound of Quisqueya with the mosaic of musical styles heard on the streets of New York.
Renzo is in the process of recording his album, slated for release in 2014, and in anticipation, Latin Times sat down with him to find out more about this intriguing new musical promise.
Tell us about yourself. How did you start this artistic journey?
"I started off as a dancer when I was six. I used to listen to Michael Jackson, and then I started inclining towards hip-hop and began figuring out my style. I used to take classes and I became a professional dancer. The last thing I did was Dominican Republic’s most famous award show back in 2011. At the same time, I was always singing, although it was more like a hidden passion. Both my parents caught me singing once and they began encouraging me to sing so I could complement my dancing. Nevertheless, I didn’t really listen to them then. But after working at the award show as a dancer, and seeing everything around me, I finally gave into the idea of singing."
What was next for you? What did you do to really fulfill that new dream?
"When I finally decide to shift to singing, my dad was very supportive and he agreed to produce a single for me. That was ‘Mi Favorita.’ He also helped me a lot with the music video for that song, and we ended up setting up a media tour in Dominican Republic. My dad took me to a lot of shows to get interviewed, to present my new project, and after all that whirlwind, we went to New York, to present this to a close friend of the family, who worked in the industry. A year later that person contacted me and said they were ready to work with me. That was a dream come true."
What inspires you to keep going, to write?
"Girls inspire me. I’m the kind of person that loves being in a relationship. And when I’m in a relationship all my focus goes to it. I give that person my all. That’s something to write about. Also, situations that I’ve been through with past girlfriends make good stories. Things that happen to my friends also inspire me to write because I can see myself in their shoes."
Where are you now in this whole process of being a new artist?
"Currently we’re giving the album the finishing touches. Now I’m promoting ‘Perdí El Control’ and also, we’re looking for what’s going to be the third single. We want something strong that people can fully enjoy. I’m working a lot, thinking on how the next song and video are going to be."
How would you define your musical style?
"My musical style… I would call it Merengue-RnB. I would say there’s a little bit of pop too."
Who do you admire and would like to collaborate with in the future?
"I’m a huge fan of Usher. I have all his CDs and DVDs, as well as Michael Jackson’s. I think after Michael, comes Usher for me. A Latino I would like to work with is Alex Bueno, he’s an amazing ‘merenguero,’ also Romeo Santos, it would be a great honor. Actually, ‘Perdí el Control’ is actually his song. It was a song written for Aventura, but eventually didn’t make it into the album. So my record label, which also works with Romeo Santos, decided to give it a try as a merengue, and gave it to me."
Take a look at Renzo’s latest single, “Perdí el Control” below.
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