Tommy Torres
Encyclopedia
Tommy Torres is a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 winning producer, singer, and songwriter. Named as the No. 1 Hot Latin Tracks producer of 2007 by Billboard Magazine and Composer of the Year at 2010 ASCAP's Latin Music Awards, Torres has written and produced songs for many artists such as Ricardo Arjona
Ricardo Arjona
Edgar Ricardo Arjona Morales, , known as Ricardo Arjona , is a Guatemalan singer...

, Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age, and has released over twenty albums throughout her career....

, Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz , is a Spanish singer-songwriter and musician. For his work, Sanz has won a total of fifteen Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards. He has won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times, more than any other artist...

, Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

, and Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...

.

Early life

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Torres learned to play the violin and keyboards at a young age. He started composing when he was in high school. He then enrolled in Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...

 where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a dual major of "Music Production & Engineering"and "Commercial Arranging". Torres lived in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 for a while working as a studio assistant at the famed Sony Music Studios
Sony Music Studios
Sony Music Studios was a well-known former music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The music and broadcasting complex was located at 460 W. 54th St., at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan...

 and later moved to Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 in 1998.

Writer and producer

His first recorded composition was "No Puedo Olvidar" by pop group MDO on 1999. The song made it to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. That same year, another one of his compositions, "Llegar A Ti" was recorded by Christian artist Jaci Velasquez and quickly climbed to the No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, earning him an ASCAP Song of the Year award. In 2001, his production of "Cuando Seas Mia" by group Son By Four
Son By Four
Son by Four is a salsa music group from Puerto Rico, well-known for their English U.S. pop hit "Purest of Pain ". The group is signed to Sony Music Entertainment....

 also made it to the No. 1 spot on Billboard.

His work on "Acustico" by Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age, and has released over twenty albums throughout her career....

 as co-producer, songwriter, and featured artist, earned his first Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...

 nomination on 2002. Later that year, he produced the critically acclaimed "Encuentro" featuring singer-songwriter's Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra is a singer, songwriter and producer from the Dominican Republic who has sold over 30 million records, and won numerous awards including 12 Latin Grammy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and two Latin Billboard Music Awards...

, Ruben Blades
Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres...

, and Draco Rosa
Draco Rosa
Draco Cornelius Rosa Suárez , also known as Robi Draco Rosa, Robby Rosa, Draco Rosa or simply Draco, is a Puerto Rican Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award...

. On 2003 he produced Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...

's "Almas del Silencio", an album that included songwriting collaborations with artists Franco de Vita
Franco De Vita
Franco De Vita is a singer-songwriter of Latin music. His first disc as a solo artist garnered three Spanish-language hits in Venezuela. He signed with the Sony label in 1988, and in 1990, his album Extranjero had a song that reached No. 1 on the U.S. Latin charts and won an MTV Video Music Award...

, Ricardo Arjona
Ricardo Arjona
Edgar Ricardo Arjona Morales, , known as Ricardo Arjona , is a Guatemalan singer...

, Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz , is a Spanish singer-songwriter and musician. For his work, Sanz has won a total of fifteen Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards. He has won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times, more than any other artist...

, and Juanes
Juanes
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...

. The album broke the Soundscan one week sales record for an all-Spanish album. The single "Tal Vez" topped the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks for 12 weeks. The song, written by Franco de Vita
Franco De Vita
Franco De Vita is a singer-songwriter of Latin music. His first disc as a solo artist garnered three Spanish-language hits in Venezuela. He signed with the Sony label in 1988, and in 1990, his album Extranjero had a song that reached No. 1 on the U.S. Latin charts and won an MTV Video Music Award...

 with musical arrangements and production by Torres, went on to win "Song of the Year" at that 2003's Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...

. The album also gave 3 additional No. 1 singles. Later that year Torres produced the album "Por Ti" by Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age, and has released over twenty albums throughout her career....

. Both Nazario's "Por Ti" and Martin's "Almas del Silencio" went on to win Best Pop Album Awards (Female/Male) at 2004's Billboard Latin Music Awards
Billboard Latin Music Awards
The Billboard Latin Music Awards grew out of the Billboard Music Awards program from Billboard Magazine, an industry publication charting the sales and radio airplay success of musical recordings. The awards began in 1990...

 earning Tommy his first nomination for Producer of the Year at the Billboard Latin Music Awards
Billboard Latin Music Awards
The Billboard Latin Music Awards grew out of the Billboard Music Awards program from Billboard Magazine, an industry publication charting the sales and radio airplay success of musical recordings. The awards began in 1990...

.

Later on in 2004, Torres began work on "Adentro" by singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona
Ricardo Arjona
Edgar Ricardo Arjona Morales, , known as Ricardo Arjona , is a Guatemalan singer...

. The album was an instant hit with both critics and the public. The song "Acompañame a Estar Solo", penned by Arjona with musical arrangements and production by Torres, became No. 1 on the Billboard Magazine charts. The album "Adentro" won several awards on 2005, including Best Latin Pop Album at the Grammy Awards and Best Pop Album at the Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...

.

On 2006, Torres produced Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...

's MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...

, which included new arrangements of early Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...

 hits and three new songs. The album was well received with both commercial and critical success. The song "Tu Recuerdo", penned by Torres, topped the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks for 7 weeks and maintained a top 20 spot on the chart for an astonishing 26 weeks. The song featured La Mari from flamenco-electronic group Chambao
Chambao
Chambao is a flamenco-electronic band originally from Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, known for a Flamenco Chill sound that fuses flamenco sounds and palos with electronic music...

 and Torres on acoustic guitar and vocal. The song "Tu Recuerdo" was nominated for Song of the Year on several awards in 2007, including the Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...

 and Billboard Latin Music Awards
Billboard Latin Music Awards
The Billboard Latin Music Awards grew out of the Billboard Music Awards program from Billboard Magazine, an industry publication charting the sales and radio airplay success of musical recordings. The awards began in 1990...

, Premios MTV Latinoamerica, and winning the coveted ASCAP Pop Song of the Year Award. The album "MTV Unplugged" picked up an equal amount of nominations and eventually went on to win two Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...

 for Best Pop Album and Best Longform Video. The song "Pegate
Pégate
"Pégate" is the second single from Ricky Martin's album MTV Unplugged. It was released on December 19, 2006.-Composition:...

", co-written by Torres, Martin, and Roy Tavare, became a Top 10 hit on several countries in Latin America and Europe. It also won an ASCAP recognition at the ASCAP Music Awards.

A new collaboration with singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona
Ricardo Arjona
Edgar Ricardo Arjona Morales, , known as Ricardo Arjona , is a Guatemalan singer...

 resulted in the song "Quien", from the album "Quien Dijo Ayer". The song was written of Arjona (lyrics) and Torres (music) reaching the top 10 of the Billboard charts. Also on the same album, Torres produced and arranged the songs "Quiero" and "Tarde (Sin Danos A Terceros)", a duet with Arjona and Spanish artist Marta Sanchez
Marta Sánchez
Marta Sánchez López is a Spanish female vocalist. She was born on 8 May 1966 in Madrid. Her father, Antonio Sánchez Camporro, was a Galician opera singer.- Biography :...

. The album "Quien Dijo Ayer", was nominated for Best Pop Album at the Billboard Latin Awards and Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...

. He also co-produced the song "Ya No Estamos Solos" ("Non Siamo Soli"), a duet with Eros Ramazotti and Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...

. The song became a No. 1 hit in several countries in Europe and Latin America but only reached Top20 status in the United States.

On December 2007, Billboard Magazine named Torres as the No. 1 Hot Latin Tracks producer of the year, becoming the first Puerto Rican to achieve that recognition.

On 2008, the song "Como Duele
Como Duele
"Cómo Duele" , is a song by Guatemalan pop singer Ricardo Arjona released in November 2008 as the first commercial single from his fourteenth studio album, 5to Piso ....

", performed by Ricardo Arjona became the No. 1 song in Mexico and U.S. Latin pop radio. Torres is credited as co-producer and arranger on the song as well as the songs "Tocando Fondo", "Sin Ti, Sin Mi", and the title track "Quinto Piso". The album received a Grammy Awards nomination for Best Latin Pop Album and a Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...

 nomination for Best Singer-Songwriter Album. The album also became Arjona's career highest selling debut week.

A new album by Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age, and has released over twenty albums throughout her career....

 titled "Soy" debuted No. 1 in Billboard Hot Latin Albums Charts and remained No. 1 for a second week in November 2009. Torres is listed as co-producer in 4 songs in the album and as composer of the song "Confesados".

Also on 2009, Tommy Torres produced the album "Paraiso Express" for Spanish singer-songwriter Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz , is a Spanish singer-songwriter and musician. For his work, Sanz has won a total of fifteen Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards. He has won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times, more than any other artist...

. The first single, "Looking for Paradise", featuring R&B singer-songwriter Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

 became the No. 1 radio song in every single Latin American country with the exception of Colombia, where the No. 1 spot was held by local favorite, Carlos Vives
Carlos Vives
Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo is a Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy Award winning-Colombian singer, composer and actor.-Biography:...

. The song also reached the No. 1 spot in Spain and the U.S. Billboard Latin Chart. "Looking for Paradise" was co-written by Sanz, Keys, & Torres. The album "Paraiso Express" won both a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 as Latin Pop Album of the Year and a Latin Grammy Award for Pop Album of the Year.

Soloist

On June 19, 2001, Torres became a solo artist with the release of a self-titled album. The album included the Billboard Top 20 singles "Como Olvidar" and "Hoy Te Vas". The album was released on the Sony Discos label and was nominated for best album by a new artist on Premios Lo Nuestro.

2004 saw the independent release of Torres' second album "Estar de Moda No Está de Moda". The album included the singles "De Rodillas", "Dame Esta Noche", "Un Poquito", "Besos y Sal", "Sigo Aqui", and "Vinito Pa'l Corazon" . The first four singles were No. 1 airplay hits in his native Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 and Top 40 on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...

. "De Rodillas" reached No. 1 in several countries including Peru and Panama.

On April 1, 2008, Torres released the album "Tarde o Temprano" thru the Warner Music Latina label. The album debut No. 1 on the Puerto Rico sales charts and maintained the top spot for four consecutive weeks, according to Soundscan reports. The first five radio singles "Pegadito", "Tarde o Temprano", "Por Un Beso Tuyo", "Imparable", and "Mar Adentro" reached both the No. 1 spot in Puerto Rico radio charts, and Top 20 in US Billboard charts. The singles "Tarde o Temprano" and "Imparable" reached the Top 10 in Mexico. On September 10, 2008 "Tarde o Temprano" was nominated for a Latin Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...

 in the category of Best Singer-Songwriter Album. Torres performed at the Latin Grammy Awards ceremony on November 2008. On December 3, 2008, "Tarde o Temprano" was also nominated for a Grammy Awards in the Latin Pop Album of the Year field. The album was also nominated for Best Pop Album and Best Male Artist in Premios Lo Nuestro 2009. A CD/DVD version of the album titled "Tarde o Temprano - Late Edition" was released on February 10, 2009. The album features several additional acoustic versions and videos, plus the single "Imparable", now featuring Mexican brother/sister duo Jesse & Joy
Jesse & Joy
Jesse & Joy are a Latin Grammy Award–winning Mexican pop duo formed in 2005 by siblings Jesse and Joy .-History:...

. On its second week of release, "Tarde o Temprano - Late Edition" hit the top spots on the sales charts in the U.S. and the No. 1 spot in Puerto Rico according to SoundScan Nielsen.

On February 2009, Tommy Torres joined Sara Bareilles
Sara Bareilles
Sara Beth Bareilles is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single "Love Song", which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. She has sold over 1 million records in the United States alone and has been...

, Liz Phair
Liz Phair
Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...

, and 5 other artists to be the faces of the Banana Republic spring and summer ad campaigns. The national campaigns feature print advertising, window displays and billboards identifying the artists wearing the company's clothes.

On February 2010, Tommy Torres received the Composer of the Year award at the ASCAP Latin Music Awards.

See also

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