About this Artist
Carlos vives is one of the most important figures of Latin music known as the pioneer of the Colombian and Latin American sound. Renowned musician, songwriter, actor and entrepreneur, Vives is one of the most acclaimed artists in Latin America. He began his career in 1982 as an actor but it wasn’t until 1986 that he began to sing ballads. In 1991, he began with the classic vallenatos, which led him into being the face of the new Colombian sound around the world.
Inarguably, Carlos Vives has a refined ability to merge the traditional with the modern. His approach to taking traditional Colombian vallenato music and reviving it with pop and rock elements has taken the genre and expanded it to an international audience. In his already extended career, Vives has managed to win 12 Latin Grammys and two Grammy Awards. Vives’ interpretation of vallenato music into pop hits has led to the success of his albums. In fact, in 2019, he won the Latin GRAMMY®, “Best Contemporary Tropical Album”, for his latest studio album VIVES. With the release of his fourteenth studio album ‘Cumbiana” in May 2020, the album scored his 19th Top 10 Billboard Tropical Airplay chart with the first single “No Te Vayas” and became a five-time Latin GRAMMY® nominated album, including “Album of the Year,” for a total of 6 nominations. Through this album and his documentary, El Mundo Perdido de Cumbiana, released on Amazon Prime Video, he has allowed his audience to discover the origin of cumbia. In October 2020, Vives made headlines as he shared an intimate performance on the internationally recognized NPR Tiny Desk Home Concert video series. In addition, he received the Hall of Fame award at the 2020 Billboard Latin Music Awards for his artistic excellence and incredible influence in multiple fields that go beyond music. Today, he is preparing for the release of his highly anticipated book, Cumbiana, relatos de un mundo perdido which he will present at the 2020 Miami Book Fair online event.
Throughout his career, Vives has sold over 20 million albums worldwide and is recognized abroad as the greatest exponent of Colombian music with hit songs such as, “La Gota Fría”, “Fruta Fresca”, “Volví a Nacer”, “Bailar Contigo”,"La Bicicleta (with Shakira)” and “Robarte un beso.” He’s amassed 18 #1 radio hits in the US and multiple sold-outs during his last tour in the United States, Europe and Colombia. In addition, Carlos Vives leads the initiative “Tras La Perla" which seeks to achieve sustainable development and quality of life improvement in his native Santa Marta, Colombia.