Don Omar Biography

news-detailsWilliam Omar Landron Rivera was born February10, 1978 in Puerto Rico, and was later known worldwide as Don Omar. The son of William Landron and Luz Antonia Rivera was always a fan of music, leaving the chance to be a pastor at a young age to pursue a career in the field. Omar started hitting the right scenes at the right time, working as a backup singer for duo Hector & Tito among others. Hector Delgado would later produced his first album.

"The Last Don" marked the beginning of his professional career as a solo artist. Released in 2003, the album contains his collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Hector & Tito, Trebol Clan and Glory among others. It moved 300,000 units in South America and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2003 recognized him as New Artist, Latin Pop Album of the Year and Latin Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year.

Second album "King of Kings" came in May 2006 and debuted straight at number one on the Latin Billboard charts and peaked the Billboard 200 at No. 7, the highest rank in reggaeton history, thanks to his single "Angelito". Omar received the Latin Billboard award for Reggaeton Album of the Year for "King of Kings" in 2007. The album also marked the beginning of his association to "The Fast and the Furious" franchise. Two of his songs from the album were featured in "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift".

There was a slight trouble in 2007 when Omar was detained by police in Santa Cruz, Bolivia for not fulfilling a concert duty. The reggaeton argued that the company that sued him did not give him airline tickets in time for him to conduct the gig. A judge later dismissed the case when both parties reached an agreement.

Omar married forecaster/journalist Jackie Guerrido on April 18, 2008. They have four children together but sadly their marriage ended in 2011. Omar made his entry to movie industry as Omar Santos in "Fast & Furious" which was released in U.S. theaters in 2009. For someone new in the industry, Omar was entrusted with quite a big role as the main character's new crew.

Omar's third studio album was named "iDon" and released in April 2009 with "Virtual Diva" as the first single. Having electro-dance vibe, mixed with the typical Latin-Urban style of Don Omar, the album again secured the first spot on Latin Billboard charts. "Virtual Diva" was one of the songs featured as a soundtrack to "Fast & Furious".

"iDon" was quickly followed by "Meet the Orphans" in November 2010. It features even more extended collaborations withs such artists as Lucenzo, Kendo Kapponi, Danny Fornaris, Syko, Plan B, Zion & Lennox, and Yaga & Mackie. Most of these artists hail from his Orfanato Music Group. At the same time he was promoting the album, Omar shot "Fast & Furious" sequel "Fast Five" which was released in 2011. Omar's single "Danza Kuduro" from "Meet the Orphans" was made one of the soundtracks.

Omar was back with the sequel of "Meet the Oprhans", releasing "Mto 2 (New Generation) : Don Omar" on May 1, 2012. In the same year, Omar was one of the two biggest winners at Billboard Latin Awards, taking home eight categories for best Latin rhythm of the year, best songs of the year, best Latin rhythm artist of the year, best album of the year, best song of the year, best song of the year for airplay, and best Latin pop song of the year for his single "Taboo".