William Omar Landrón (born February 10, 1978 in Puerto Rico), is a Latin Grammy Award-nominated reggaeton singer/rapper. He is best known as Don Omar.
Don Omar is one of the best known reggaeton artists in Latin America. His cross over success in the U.S. has given him more exposure to English speaking Reggaetón fans, making him one of the more recognizable faces of Reggaeton. Don Omar's popularity is currently rising and he recently appeared on MTV. Omar is best known for his songs "Dile" and "Dale Don Dale" from his first album The Last Don and "Reggaeton Latino" from the album The Chosen Few. His songs center around life and love; some examples of these would be "La Recompensa" (The Reward), "Pobre Diabla" (Poor Devil (fem.) and "Aunque te Fuiste" (Even Though You Left).
Musical career
He started his career after facing many obstacles when Héctor Delgado (from the duo Héctor y Tito) gave him an opportunity to be a backup singer. After that, he sang in a live concert with Héctor and Tito in 2003, which was released later as a CD and DVD, which included the songs that became instant hits, Baila Morena and Amor de Colegio.
His debut album, The Last Don, sold over 350,000 units in South America. Both "The Last Don" and the live edition of it have been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Worldwide, The Last Don: Live [CD & DVD] sold over one million copies, according to the official website. His debut single, "Dale Don Dale", sold over 100,000 copies in South America. He received the awards for "Latin Pop Album of the Year" and "New Artist & Latin Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year" by the Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2003. The Last Don: Live [CD & DVD] was also nominated for "Urban Music Album" at the 2005 Latin Grammy Awards
Both a singer and composer, Don Omar has made a significant impact on the Spanish market, participating in three sold-out concerts which filled the Canary Island's venues with more than 31,000 fans.
The first single released from Reggaeton Latino, "Dale Don Dale [Remix]" , which features rapper Fabolous, debuted at #1 on the crossover chart.
He is currently signed to VI Music and Machete Music through Universal Music Latino.
Don Omar's May 2006 album, "King Of Kings", became history's highest ranking reggaeton LP in the top 10 US charts, with its debut at # 1 on the Latin sales charts and the #1 spot on the Billboard Latin Rhythm Radio Chart with his single "Angelito". Don Omar was also able to beat the in-store appearance sales record at Disneyworld's Virgin music store previously set by pop star Britney Spears.
With the highest charting debut by a reggaetón artist, Don Omar's "King Of Kings" (VI) enters at No. 7 with 87,000, besting Daddy Yankee's No. 24 entry with 2005's "Barrio Fino En Directo." "King Of Kings" crowns the Top Latin Albums chart as well. In April 2007, Don Omar received the Latin Billboard award for "Reggaeton Album of the Year" for King of Kings.
The songs Los Bandoleros and Conteo were featured in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift during the scene with the cameo appearance of Vin Diesel.
Philanthropy
Founded in 2004, Treasure Kids Fund is an organization created by Don Omar, dedicated to autistic children. Proceeds from the sales of his second tennis shoe will be donated to the organization.
Don Omar continues to expand awareness for Reggaetón music, becoming one of the few artists in this music genre to embark on global tours through some of the largest cities in Europe, U.S. and Central and South America.