The Barrio Boyzz were a Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 pop group. The group were made up of Puerto Rican American and Colombian American

Colombian American

Colombian Americans are citizens of the United States who trace their nationality or heritage from the South American nation of Colombia. They are the largest South American ethnic group in the United States.-Causes of migration:...

s who grew-up in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. They gained popularity during the 1990s, especially when they became label-mates with the Mexican-American singer-songwriter Selena

Selena

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez , known simply as Selena, was a Mexican American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits...

, and landed their first Billboard number-one song entitled "Donde Quiera Que Estes

Donde Quiera Que Estés

"Donde Quiera Que Estés" is a duet by American Tejano pop singer Selena and Nuyorican band the Barrio Boyzz, released as the lead single from the Barrio Boyzz album Dondequiera Que Estés . It was written by K. C. Porter, Miguel Flores, Desmond Child, and produced by A.B. Quintanilla III, Domingo...

" (Where Ever You Are) in 1993, from the album of the same name.

Career

The group was formed in 1991 when they were introduced to each other by manager Joe Jacket (of New Kids on The Block

New Kids on the Block

New Kids on the Block are an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts, assembled in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr. The band currently consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.New Kids on the Block enjoyed success in the late 1980s and...

), who was looking to create a mainstream Latino group. After auditioning to Charles Koppelan, the CEO of EMI Records, they were then signed to SBK Records

SBK Records

SBK Records was a record label of the EMI Group that was founded in 1988.Stephen Swid, Martin Bandier, and Charles Koppelman formed the production company SBK in 1989 after they purchased the music publishing division of CBS Records in 1986....

, a pop sub-division of EMI

EMI Records

EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...

. They initially wanted to crossover

Crossover (music)

Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...

 as mainstream American pop singers, similar to Gloria Estefan

Gloria Estefan

Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...

, Jon Secada

Jon Secada

Jon Secada is a Cuban-American singer and songwriter. Secada was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Hialeah, Florida. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 20 million albums since his English-language debut album in 1992. His music fuses funk, soul, pop and Latin percussion...

, and Selena

Selena

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez , known simply as Selena, was a Mexican American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits...

. The following year, they released their debut album, "Crazy Coolin'", which they toured in middle and high schools across New York City, and made motivational speeches

Motivational speaking

A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...

. Their single "Muy Suavemente", charted on the Billboard Latin Charts; its accompanying music video was shot in the barrios of New York City, sticking to their heritages. Their follow-up album "Dondequiera Que Estes" (1993) peaked on Billboard Latin Pop Albums at number-seven, whereas the album peaked at number-fifteen on the Billboard Top Latin Albums

Billboard Top Latin Albums

Latin Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine and is labeled as the most important music chart for Spanish language, full-length albums in the American music market. Like all Billboard album charts, the chart is based on sales...

. The duet, with Selena, peaked at number-one on three Billboard charts in 1994 as Selena and the Barrio Boyzz promoted the song during her Amor Prohibido Tour

Amor Prohibido Tour

The Amor Prohibido Tour was the final concert tour by popular Latin-American singer, Selena, before she was shot and killed on March 31, 1995. After her "Amor Prohibido" tour she would be getting ready for her "Crossover"-tour that would be from late April 1995- until June 1995 in Texas, then...

. The song helped the Barrio Boyzz crossover to Southern United States Their next album, "Una Vez Mas" peaked at number three on the Latin Pop Albums, while managing on the top twenty of the Billboard Top 50 Latin Albums. Their crossover album, "How We Roll", an all-English language album, was released in 1995. The group continued to chart on Billboard until the release of Destiny in 2000. The group released their last studio album, "Destino" in 2001, before the band broke up. On 5 April 2005, during the benefit concert Selena ¡VIVE!

Selena ¡VIVE!

The tribute concert was followed up with the release of the album of the performance, released on May 10, 2005. Though it did not include many of the songs performed, it does include many of the highlights.-Track listing:# "Tú Sólo Tú" - Ana Gabriel...

, the Barrio Boyzz reunited and sang "Dreaming of You

Dreaming of You (Selena song)

"Dreaming of You" is the name of a Selena love song written by Franne Golde and Tom Snow. It was Selena's biggest single, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.The song was released at the end of the first quarter of 1995, after Selena's murder...

" along with Colombian-American singer Soraya

Soraya (musician)

Soraya was an American singer/songwriter, guitarist, arranger and record producer.A successful Colombian music star, she had two number-one songs on Billboard's Latin Pop Airplay charts...

, who died of breast cancer within a year.

Members

• Angel Ramirez (1991–1997)
• Fredy Correa (1991–1994)
• David Davilla (1991–2001)
• Hans Giraldo (1994–2001)
• Louie Marrero (1991–2001)
• Robert Vargas (1994–2001)

Discography

Studio albums

• Crazy Coolin (1992)
• Dondequiera Que Estes (1993)
• Una Vez Mas (1995)
• How We Roll (1995)
• Navidad, Tu y Yo (1995)
• Ven A Mi (1997)
• Destiny (2000)
• Destino (2001)

Complication albums

• 10 Super Exitos (1994)
• 12 Super Exitos (1997)
• The Best of Barrio Boyzz (2000)
• Sólo Lo Mejor: 20 Exitos (2002)
• Latin Classics (2003)
• Los Romanticos (2007)