Marc Anthony

Marco Antonio Muñiz, best known as Marc Anthony, was born in New York to a couple of Puerto Rican immigrants, Felipe Muñiz and Guillermina. He grew up among musicians and soon discovered his passion for singing. When Marc Anthony was 12, he was discovered by a producer of demos and commercials named David Harris. Anthony was then hired for his first professional job singing background vocals for several pop acts like Menudo and Latin Rascals. Later he started singing in dance clubs in New York and changed his named to avoid any confusion with the Mexican singer he was named after.

Marc Anthony’s first release was his record “Rebel” in 1988 as a Freestyle musician. Then he started to work and collaborate with other Freestyle musicians, either by providing vocals or writing for them. During this time, Anthony had the chance to work with producers Little Louie Vega and Todd Terry. In 1992, Tito Puente asked him and Vega to open his show at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Although Marc Anthony was reluctant to sing in Spanish, he changed his mind after hearing Juan Gabriel performing the song “Hasta Que Te Conoci”. In 1993, he released his first album in Spanish, Otra Nota, which presented a change from Freestyle to Salsa. The album featured a Salsa version of Juan Gabriel’s song. In 1995, his release of Todo A Su Tiempo was nominated for a Grammy, so was his promotional concert for Contra La Corriente at the Madison Square Garden (that won the 1999 Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Performance).

Anthony was relatively unknown in his own country despite his fame in the Latin countries. In 1999, he gave a try to a crossover album self-titled Marc Anthony. His English record proved successful as the single “I Need to Know” spent eleven weeks in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100. In 2004, he released his Latin Pop album Amar Sin Mentiras that featured songs like “Ahora Quien” and “Escapemonos” with the participation of his second wife Jennifer Lopez. That same year he released the Salsa album Valio La Pena. Amar Sin Mentiras won best Latin Pop Album of The Year and the latter won Best Tropical Album of The Year in the 2005’s Latin Grammy Awards.