Rauw Alejandro

Raúl Alejandro Ocasio Ruiz (born January 10, 1993), known professionally as Rauw Alejandro, is a Puerto Rican singer and rapper. His accolades include two Latin Grammy Awards, two Billboard Latin Music Awards and an iHeart Radio Music Award.

Life and career
Raúl Alejandro Ocasio Ruiz was born on January 10, 1993, in San Juan, Puerto Rico and was raised in Canóvanas and Carolina. His father, guitarist Raúl Ocasio, and his mother, backing vocalist María Nelly Ruiz, introduced him to some of his musical influences like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Chris Brown. For many years, Alejandro and his father lived in the mainland United States, mainly Miami and New York City, where he got inspiration from the R&B and dancehall genres. Alejandro and fellow Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA are childhood friends; they both went to the same school and had classes together. As a child, Alejandro competed in school talent shows because he has a passion for dancing. After graduating high school, he enrolled at University of Puerto Rico. From the age of six, until he was twenty, he played soccer, but later quit because he "could not perform as he expected to" after suffering an injury. He moved to Orlando, Florida, intending to be scouted to play in the Premier Development League (PDL), but ultimately was unsuccessful.

After quitting soccer, he was left in a light depression, so, to improve his mood, he decided to switch to a music career and begin publishing songs through SoundCloud in 2014. In November 2016, he released his debut mixtape titled Punto de Equilibrio. In January 2017, he signed a music deal with Duars Entertainment. In 2018, he was chosen by Sony Music Latin to be part of "Los Próximos", a musical project in which the label sought to enlist new musical talents. The musical project helped him gain fame, and, as a result, other noteworthy artists began to hear his music. Alejandro was then featured in multiple collaborations, including Kevin Roldán and Khea's "Pa' Tu Casa" and "Luz Apagá" with Ozuna, Lunay and Lyanno, that year.

In December 2017, he released his first single as lead artist, titled "Toda", with Alex Rose. It peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs charts in November 2018. A subsequent remix of "Toda", featuring Argentine artist Cazzu and fellow Puerto Ricans Lenny Tavárez and Lyanno, was released in May 2018. The remix proved successful, with the music video having over 1 billion views on YouTube as of November 2020. In January 2019, he released his single "Que le dé" with Nicky Jam. In December 2019, his song "Fantasías", with Farruko, peaked at the #12 spot on the US Hot Latin Songs chart; he also recorded a hugely popular remix (and accompanying music video) to the single, featuring additional verses by Anuel AA, Lunay, and Dominican singer Natti Natasha. "Fantasías", at the time, charted at the highest position of any of his songs on the US charts, along with the song "Tattoo". Both songs stayed for around 20 weeks on the charts, eventually winning the Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Fusion/Performance in 2021. The remix video for "Fantasías" has received over 425 million views on YouTube.

On September 4, 2020, Alejandro was featured on the remix and in the music video to the Lyanno song "En Tu Cuerpo", the two once again collaborating with Lenny Tavárez, and also featuring new Argentine singer María Becerra, just 20 years old at the time (in 2020). The music video has over 386 million views on YouTube. Later that year, his debut album, Afrodisíaco, was released, preceded by the release of three singles and music videos: "Enchule", the "Elegí" remix, and "Reloj" (with Anuel AA). On May 20, 2021, he released "Todo de Ti", which peaked at the number 2 spot on Spotify's Top Songs Global chart. On June 25, 2021, he released his sophomore album, Vice Versa, through Sony Music Latin. Afrodisíaco earned him a nomination for Best Música Urbana Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.

In July 2021, Alejandro was featured on the Jennifer Lopez song "Cambia el paso" ("change the beat") and appeared in its accompanying music video, shot in Miami.

In April 2022, Alejandro featured on Colombian artist Shakira's single "Te Felicito" and in its accompanying music video. The song proved to be among his most successful, reaching the #1 position (or within the top-five) across Latin America and Spain (#2), as well as charting in some non-Spanish speaking countries, including Brazil (#10), Croatia, France, Portugal, Switzerland and Ukraine. The single would also reach #3 in Russia. "Te Felicito" reached #1 on the Billboard US Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts, and #10 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. The single's official music video has received over 606 million views on YouTube.

Artistry
Alejandro's music styles include such genres as reggaetón, Latin R&B, urbano, trapetón (Latin trap), rhythmic pop and ballads. Billboard commented that this versatility has helped "set him apart from a growing class of pop-leaning reggaetoneros". He has cited Chris Brown, Michael Jackson, Ricky Martin, Daddy Yankee, Elvis Presley and Ciara as a few of his musical inspirations. In addition, Alejandro has also noted Rihanna as one of his dream collaborations.

Personal life
By the end of 2019, Alejandro was in a relationship with Spanish singer Rosalia, which he made public in September 2021. The two had worked together on his debut studio album Afrodisíaco, released on November 13, 2020. In March 2023, they announced they would be releasing a joint EP titled RR. The couple announced their engagement on March 24, 2023, but called it off the following July 25, 2023.

Discography

 * Afrodisíaco (2020)
 * Vice Versa (2021)
 * Saturno (2022)
 * Playa Saturno (2023)
 * Cosa Nuestra (2024)

Filmography

 * Sky Rojo (2023)

Tours

 * Fantasías Tour (2020)
 * Rauw Alejandro World Tour (2021)
 * Vice Versa Tour (2022)
 * Saturno World Tour (2023)