Early career and Aventura (1994–2011) Romeo was the lead singer, songwriter, and co-producer of
Aventura. He formed the group in 1994 with his cousin
Henry Santos "Hustle Hard", and friends
Lenny Santos "Len Melody", and
Max Santos "Mikey a.k.a. Max Agende". Romeo and Henry met Lenny and Max in 1993. The following year, they formed a band and called themselves Los Tinellers. In 1995 they met a man by the name of Elvin Polanco who would eventually manage and help them record their first album titled
Trampa de Amor (1996). Polanco went through some health problems, which ended things between him and the group. Later on they met Julio César García, who would become their manager and would re-invent them as Aventura. In 1998, they signed with Premium Latin Music with Franklin Romero. Aventura released their debut album in 1999 titled
Generation Next with the hopes of bringing bachata into the mainstream from its traditional base and fuse it with
hip hop and
R&B. The album included the single "
Cuándo Volverás", which is one of their popular songs. In 2002, the song "
Obsesión" achieved huge success in many countries, topping charts in France, Germany and Italy. It was part of their second album,
We Broke the Rules. Aventura released three more studio albums and three live albums in a decade, spawning many top 10 internationally famous hits like "
Hermanita", "
Ella y Yo" featuring
Don Omar, which elevated the group's success in 2005, "
Un Beso", "
Los Infieles", "
El Perdedor", "
Por un Segundo", and "
Dile al Amor". They were the first bachata act to sell out
Madison Square Garden in 2007. They broke multiple records in arenas and stadiums worldwide. In February 2007, he made his first cameo appearance alongside
Aventura in the Dominican comedy film
Sanky Panky, starring
Fausto Mata and directed by José Enrique Pintor (Pinky), which became the highest-grossing film in Dominican cinema. In 2009, Aventura was invited to perform for President
Barack Obama at the
White House. In 2011, Aventura took a hiatus. According to Romeo, the group was "on pause to do individual projects".
Solo career and Formula, Vol. 1 (2011–2013) Acceso Total in 2011 In April 2011, after his success as a songwriter and lead singer for Aventura, Romeo announced he was leaving the band to pursue a solo career. Romeo Santos signed with
Sony Music Latin on April 7, 2011. On May 9, 2011, Santos released his first single off his debut album
Formula, Vol. 1, called "
You". The song peaked at 97 on the
Billboard 100 and at number 1 on the
Hot Latin and
Tropical Songs
Billboard charts. The music video was released on May 9, 2011. The second single, "
Promise" was released on September 1, 2011, and featured a collaboration with R&B singer
Usher. The single peaked at number 83 on the
Billboard 100 and at number 1 on
Hot Latin,
Latin Pop and
Tropical Songs Billboard charts. The song was certified
Diamond, 34×
Platinum as of August 31, 2022, in the United States by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The music video was released on October 4, 2011, and it was directed by
Anthony Mandler. A full English version in which Romeo is singing in English was also made. He released
Formula, Vol. 1 on November 8, 2011. The album featured collaborations with Usher,
La Mala Rodríguez,
Mario Domm from the trio
Camila,
Tomatito,
Lil Wayne and
George Lopez. It also featured
bachata legends
Antony "El Mayimbe" Santos,
Luis Vargas, and
Raulin Rodriguez as they united for the song "
Debate de 4". In February 2012, he sold out New York City's Madison Square Garden for three nights. The first night kicked off
The King Stays King tour, which was the tour of his first solo album. The tour featured artists like
Antony "El Mayimbe" Santos,
Luis Vargas,
Wisin & Yandel,
P. Diddy, and Usher. On August 20, 2012, a live version of the song "
Llévame Contigo" was released as a single to promote Santos' first live album as a solo artist. On November 6, 2012, Santos' released
The King Stays King: Sold Out at Madison Square Garden. It is a CD and DVD based on the three nights at MSG. This is his first live album and concert film as a solo artist. The live album peaked at number 65 on the
Billboard 200 and at number 1 on both the
Top Latin and
Tropical Albums
Billboard charts. In December 2012, he sold out twice in a row at the
Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in
Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic on the 15th and 22nd of that month. Santos made history selling out two nights at a stadium with a capacity of over 50,000 for concerts. This was the end of the 2012 portion of the tour. In February 2013. He started the 2013 portion of the tour with two nights at the
José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in
San Juan, Puerto Rico on the 14th and 15th of that month. The tour would continue until July 2013.
Formula, Vol. 2 and Aventura reunion (2013–2016) in 2015 On July 30, 2013, he released the first single off his second album, "
Propuesta Indecente". It peaked at number 79 on the
Billboard 100 and at number 1 on the
Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. As of 2021, it is the second best-performing Latin song of all-time on that chart. It lasted on the chart for 125 weeks in which 4 of those weeks were positioned at number 1. It also peaked at number 1 on the
Latin and
Tropical Airplay Billboard charts. The song was certified 51× Platinum in the United States by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it his most certified song to this day. It received a
Lo Nuestro Award for
Tropical Song of the Year in 2014. The music video for this single reach over 2 billion views on
YouTube as of 2023. On January 28, 2014, second single, "
Odio", was released. It featured Canadian rapper
Drake. It peaked at number 45 on the
Billboard 100, making it Romeo's best single in that chart to this day. It peaked at number 1 on the
Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart as well and lasted 13 weeks on that position. It also peaked at number 1 on the
Latin and
Tropical Airplay Billboard charts. This song was the first time Drake sang in Spanish. It was certified
Diamond, 34×
Platinum as of August 31, 2022, in the United States by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second album,
Formula, Vol. 2, was released on February 25, 2014. It featured collaborations with
Drake,
Nicki Minaj,
Marc Anthony,
Carlos Santana,
Tego Calderón, and
Kevin Hart.
Formula, Vol. 2 became the best-selling Latin album of 2014. In 2020, the album was awarded
Billboard Top Latin Album of the decade at the 2020
Billboard Latin Music Awards. It is his most certified album to this day as it was certified 27× Platinum in the United States by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In July 2014, he sold out an entire double-header show at
Yankee Stadium on the 11th and 12th of that month. Santos was the first Latin artist to headline at the stadium. The Fania All-Stars last did so, one block south at the
old Yankee Stadium on August 24, 1973. This show featured a special
Aventura reunion to close out night two. On November 6, 2014, Santos would perform for a second time at the White House to co-headline an event in honor
Veteran's day for war veterans. This was his first performance as a solo artist. He would perform the song "Jose", which is a song from Aventura. This event was hosted by
44th President of the United States Barack Obama and former first lady
Michelle Obama. The event aired the next day on
PBS in a special titled
A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House. In July 2015, he sold out three nights at the
Barclays Center in
Brooklyn,
New York on the 10th, 11th, and 12th of that month. On December 1, 2015, it was announce that Aventura would reunite to have a series of concerts for the whole month of February 2016 at the United Palace Theater in New York City. Their first concert since their split began in front of a sold-out crowd on February 4, 2016, with the final concert on February 28, 2016. After that, Romeo continued with his Vol. 2 tour until August 2016.
Golden (2017–2018) On February 10, 2017, he released the song "
Héroe Favorito". It is the lead single for his third studio album
Golden. Santos partnered with
Marvel Comics to design the art cover for the single. It debut at number 2 on the
Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and lasted 13 weeks on that position. It also debut at number 1 on the
Billboard Latin Airplay Chart It also debut at number 1
Tropical Airplay chart and lasted 8 weeks on that position. The music video was released 4 days later on Valentine's Day 2018. It was shot in
Los Angeles,
California. It featured American actress
Génesis Rodríguez, who voiced
Honey Lemon in Disney's 2014 film
Big Hero 6. On June 23, 2017, he released his second, "
Imitadora". It peaked at number 5 on the
Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. It also peaked at number 1 on the
Billboard Latin Airplay Charts, which lasted four weeks on that position, and on the
Tropical Airplay chart, which lasted 10 weeks on that position. The music video was released on July 18, 2017. It was directed by Carlos Pérez and won Best Bachata Video at the Videoclip Awards 2018. He released his third studio album titled
Golden on July 21, 2017. It featured collaborations with
Swizz Beatz,
Juan Luis Guerra,
Ozuna,
Nicky Jam,
Daddy Yankee,
Julio Iglesias, and
Jessie Reyez. This was his first studio album to not be part of the Formula series. It was nominated for Best Latin Album in the
Billboard Music Awards 2018. In February 2018, Santos would kick off the
Golden Tour, which was the tour for the album
Golden, the same way he did for
The King Stays King tour in 2012. He once again sold out
New York City's famous
Madison Square Garden three nights in a row on the 15th, 16th, and 17th of that month. The tour would end in February 2019 with two nights at
San Juan, Puerto Rico's
José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum on the 8th and 9th of that month.
Utopía and Aventura reunion tour (2019–2021) On April 5, 2019, he released his fourth studio album
Utopía where he united with pioneers and legends of traditional modern bachata.
El Chaval de la Bachata,
Frank Reyes,
Raulin Rodriguez,
Elvis Martinez, Kiko Rodriguez, Teodoro Reyes, Joe Veras,
Zacarias Ferreira,
Luis Vargas,
Monchy & Alexandra, and
Anthony "El Mayimbe" Santos all participated in the album to show that unification within bachata is possible. The band
Aventura, as a group, released an official song within this album titled "
Inmortal". It was released as the lead single for the album. On the
Billboard charts it peaked at 95 on the
Billboard Hot 100, at number 5 on
Hot Latin Songs, and at number 1 on both
Latin and
Tropical Airplays. Later on, the other songs from the album all got music videos with the exception of the song "Bellas". On September 21, 2019, Romeo Santos sold out
MetLife Stadium making him the first Latin artist to do so. The concert was based on the album
Utopía. It featured almost every bachata artist from the album, including the other members of Aventura. Not only did each artist sang the songs from the album, but also got to sing one or two of their greatest hits. This concert celebrated the history of bachata. The concert also featured artists from other genres like
Cardi B,
Ozuna, and
Wisin & Yandel. In the same year, Santos decided to do a tour around Dominican Republic during November and December. These shows were free to watch and went to different towns and cities. On December 8, 2019, Romeo Santos posted a video saying that Aventura would go on tour around the United States in 2020 called Gira Inmortal (
Inmortal Tour) They would eventually tour until the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to cancel. On July 22, 2020, he released the single, "
Nuestro Amor" with Dominican singer,
Alex Bueno. This song is a remix and a duet version of a one of Bueno's songs. The original solo version by Bueno was released back in 2007 as part of the studio album,
Queda Algo. The duet version was supposedly planned to be part of Santos' fourth studio album, but was not added to it, thus being released as separate single a year later. On June 25, 2021, a film based on the MetLife concert premiered on
PPV and then on
HBO Max on July 30, 2021. On August 3, 2021, Aventura released the song "Volví" with
Bad Bunny. On August 20, 2021, he released a live version of the song "
Inmortal". It's from the MetLife concert film and became a single for Santos' second live album titled
Utopía Live from MetLife Stadium. The live album was released on September 10, 2021. It was named after the concert film released earlier that year. In 2021, he would return with the group to finish the tour. But instead of performing in the venues originally schedule, they would perform at stadiums instead. They performing 4 shows in the United States. These stadiums were the
Hard Rock Stadium in
Miami,
Wrigley Field in
Chicago,
Dodger Stadium in
Los Angeles, and at MetLife Stadium
East Rutherford, New Jersey. They ended the tour with two nights at the
Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in
Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic on December 18, and 19, of 2021.
Formula, Vol. 3 (2022–2023) On February 8, 2022, Romeo Santos announced that he would release a new album. It was first rumored, but then confirmed by Santos himself through YouTube and social media. It was also confirmed that it is part of the Formula series as this album is titled
Formula, Vol. 3. Fans expected the third volume to have been his third studio album. However, his third studio album ended up being titled
Golden and then
Utopía for his fourth. After those two albums, fans never thought Fórmula would get a trilogy, until now. Its first single,
Sus Huellas was released on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2022. It peaked at number 10 on the
Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. It also peaked at number 1 on the
Billboard Latin and
Tropical Airplay charts. On July 22, 2022, Santos performed on NBC's
Today as part of the
Citi Summer Concert Series. He said that he was planning to release the album on September 1, 2022, which is on his first born son's birthday. He did not confirm at the time that it would be the official released date, but he said he was working on it. On August 15, 2022, he posted a teaser and confirmed that the official release date was going to be on the date he had mention at the concert series. On September 1, 2022,
Formula, Vol. 3 was released. It was released along with the music video for the single "
Sin Fin" which featured American singer
Justin Timberlake. His fans were confused when on that day at midnight the album wasn't available. Later in the morning, Santos announced on social media that the album would be released at 11pm, which was 23 hours after the expected release time. The album featured collaborations with
Justin Timberlake,
Rosalía,
bachata veteran Luis Miguel Del Amargue,
Christian Nodal,
Chris Lebron, Lapiz Conciente, and
Katt Williams. It also featured
merengue legends
Fernando Villalona,
Rubby Pérez,
Toño Rosario, and
Ramon Orlando as they united for the song "
15,500 Noches" ("15,500 Nights"). Santos included his manager Johnny Marines,
requinto guitarist ChiChi, and producer MateTraxx for a skit which featured a special character. He also included his three sons in the intro along with Williams. Santos mentioned that one of the reasons this album is his most personal one is because of his sons being involved. In February 2023, Santos started his
Formula, Vol. 3 Tour with four sold-out shows at the
National Stadium of Peru in
Lima on the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 14th of that month. Santos would once again make history selling out four nights at a stadium with a capacity of over 43,000. This wasn't the only time in this tour that he sells out multiple nights in the same venue. In March 2023, he sold out nine nights at the
Movistar Arena in
Santiago,
Chile. He performed from March 21 to the 30th every night except on the 27th. In May 2023, Romeo would once again make history in
San Juan, Puerto Rico as he performed 2 nights at
Hiram Bithorn Stadium on the 20th, and 21st of that month. He sold out all both nights in a stadium with a capacity of 35,000 for concerts. On June 9, 2023, Santos performed at the home stadium of the
New York Mets,
Citi Field, in
Queens,
New York. He made history by becoming the first Latin act to sell-out the stadium. It featured DJ Mad as the opening act. The show included numerous Dominican artists like the new up and coming bachata singer El Nephew, urban music artist,
Natti Natasha, and merengue veterans
Fernando Villalona,
Rubby Pérez,
Toño Rosario, and
Ramon Orlando. He performed his greatest hit songs and songs from
Aventura as well. He ended the show with the songs
Sus Huellas and
Propuesta Indecente, and with the announcement that he will have a show in October 2023 at the world's most famous arena
Madison Square Garden. However, he did not perform at MSG in October. Instead, he performed at the
Barclays Center in
Brooklyn,
New York City, in front of a sold-out crowd on November 10, 2023. On November 16, 2023,
Formula, Vol. 3 won
Best Merengue/Bachata Album at the
2023 Latin Grammys, making it his first win in his career.
Aventura reunion tour and Better Late Than Never (2024–present) On February 25, 2024, Romeo posted a social media story about something that he was going to post the next day. The next day, Romeo, along with the other members of the group, posted a video that indicated that they were back. The following day, they announced dates for their tour,
Cerrando Ciclos, which is considered the group's final tour. On April 2, 2024, they released their first single since 2021 and first bachata song since 2019, "
Brindo Con Agua". It was released under his cousin Henry's record label Hustlehard Entertainment LLC. It is also the fifth song and first single from the group in which Henry is the lead vocalist. This is the second Aventura song to be featured in one of the members solo projects instead of an album by the group as it is the eighth and lead single for Henry's upcoming sixth studio album, 2.0. The album was released on May 31, 2024. On November 28, 2025, Santos released the surprise collaborative album
Better Late Than Never with
Prince Royce. The next month, the
Mejor Tarde Que Nunca Tour was announced for 2026. == Concert films and documentary ==