- Latin/Salsa/Tropical music singer and songwriter born Marco Antonio Muñiz in New York, New York in 1968.
- Anthony’s heritage was Puerto Rican. His parents raised him in Spanish Harlem. His father was a part time musician who taught Marc to sing in Spanish and English. He listened to all types of music, but he particularly enjoyed Latin artists, especially Puerto Rican bandleader and percussionist Tito Puente. He changed his name to Marc Anthony to avoid confusion with the Mexican singer Marco Antonio Muñiz. By the mid 80s, he was working as a session vocalist for underground music acts in New York. Later, he was writing music and singing backing vocals for Latin acts like Menudo.
- In 1988, he released his first single, a latin electronic dance freestyle song titled Rebel. Over the next several years, he continued to work in freestyle music, writing, producing and singing backup for other artists. In 1991, he collaborated with Little Louie Vega to release an album titled When the Night Is Over. It produced one single that topped the dance music chart – Ride On the Rhythm.
- Anthony was reluctant to switch to the salsa sound, but in 1992, a record executive asked him to consider the style, and Anthony agreed. He signed with the label, and his debut album was released in early 1993 – Otra Nota. It charted on the Tropical Albums chart (peaking at #2) and Latin Albums chart, and three singles charted on the Latin singles chart. Billboard Magazine recognized him with a Best New Artist award at their Latin Music Awards ceremony. Anthony’s salsa style was less the traditional romantic style, with more of an urban sound, influenced by R&B and house music.
- He released two more tropical salsa albums between 1995 and 1997. Todo a Su Tiempo became the first salsa album ever certified gold in sales. Seven singles from the album topped the Tropical Singles chart and they also charted highly on the Latin Songs chart. The Contra la Corriente album was his first to top both the Latin and Tropical album charts, and it was his first to chart on the Billboard 200 album chart. It won a Grammy award for Best Tropical Latin Performance. Three singles topped the Tropical Songs chart, and the single Y Hubo Alguien became the first salsa single ever to top the Latin Tracks chart. His popularity had soared – several days before the release of Contra la Corriente album, he performed a sold out concert at Madison Square Garden
- In 1999, riding the wave of Latin crossover artists like Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias, Anthony released his first English language album, the self-titled Marc Anthony. It was his best selling album, certified 3x platinum and peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart. Two singles charted on the Hot 100 chart – I Need to Know peaked at #3 and You Sang to Me reached #2, and both topped the Latin Songs chart. The Spanish version of I Need to Know, titled Dimelo, won Song of the Year at the Latin Grammy Awards.
- During the 00s, Anthony released four Spanish albums and one English album. The Latin pop album Amar Sin Mentiras won the Grammy award for Best Latin Pop Album in 2005. Jennifer Lopez contributed to the album – by then, Anthony and J Lo were husband and wife. The song ¿Ahora Quién? from the album was his fourth to top the Latin Songs chart. The same year, he released a Salsa album titled Valió la Pena – it won a Latin Grammy in 2005 for Best Salsa Album, and the title track won a Latin Grammy for Best Tropical Song.
- From 2010 to 2019, Anthony released three Spanish albums, with four singles reaching the top 10 on the Latin Songs chart, including the #1 hit Vivir Mi Vida, which was named Record of the Year at the Latin Grammy awards. He also was the featured artist on many songs from other artists, with two songs topping the Latin chart, and two other songs peaking at #2 on the chart. In 2019, he won his third Grammy award for Best Tropical Latin Album for his Opus album.
- Alas, his marriage with J Lo ended in 2014. He performed acting roles in ten films as well as on stage on Broadway. He is the best selling tropical salsa artist of all time. Here’s the video to I Need to Know – how about a little Latin pop to get you through the day?