Michael Stuart (born January 13, 1975) is an American salsa singer, songwriter and actor.
Early years
Stuart was born in New York City, to Puerto Rican parents who settled in the 1960s after moving from Puerto Rico. Stuart received his primary and secondary education in Arecibo Puerto Rico. He was musically influenced by his uncle Israel Stuart. Stuart grew up listening to hip hop and rock music. He grew to love many kinds of music, especially Latin music. Stuart would accompany his uncle to many rehearsals where he would sing and play the maracas or congas. He taught himself to play the trumpet and most of the times he would sing to the tones of Héctor Lavoe and El Gran Combo. It was Domingo Quiñones who had influenced Stuart's style of singing.
Singing career
With the help of his uncle, it was not long before Stuart was singing back-up to the likes of Johnny Rivera and Marc Anthony. In 1996, Stuart recorded his first CD, Cuento de la Vecinidad (Tale of the Neighborhood), which included a remake of Michael Jackson's "The Lady in My Life". His debut CD was a hit in the Hispanic community. He was awarded the Farandula Magazine "New Artist of the Year 1996–97 Award" and The Tropical New Artist 1997 Award by the Tu Musica Awards and was nominated for the "New Artist of the Year" at the Lo Nuestro Awards in 1997. That year Stuart also sang in a Banco Popular production honoring Bobby Capó, featuring Danny Rivera, José Feliciano, and Chucho Avellanet.
In 2000, Stuart released his third album, Subeme el Volumen (Bring up the Volume). That year he sang "Algo En Ella" ("Something in Her") for the film soundtrack of Under Suspicion, a movie that included the participation of Miguel Ángel Suárez and Nydia Caro. The soundtrack also included songs by fellow Puerto Ricans Carlos Ponce, Ednita Nazario and Olga Tañón. Stuart also sang two songs in Obra Maestra (Masterpiece) by Eddie Palmieri and the late Tito Puente.
Discography
- 1996: Cuentos de la Vecindad (RMM Records)
- 1998: Retratos (RMM Records)
- 2000: Súbele el Volumen (RMM Records)
- 2002: Michael Stuart (RMM Records/Universal Music Latino)
- 2004: Sin Miedo (RMM Records/Universal Music Latino)
- 2006: Back To Da Barrio (Machete Records)
- 2006: Grandes Exitos (CD & DVD) (RMM Records/Universal Music Latino)
- 2006: Pura Salsa (RMM Records/Universal Music Latino)
- 2007: Sentimiento De Un Rumbero (Machete Records)
- 2011:Tributo a Louie Ramirez (Amanece y Sigue Caliente) (RLM Productions)
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans