Jon Secada

Jon Secada
Jon Secada
	Secada in 2017
Born	Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez; October 4, 1961 (age 62); Havana, Cuba
Education	University of Miami
Occupations	Singer; songwriter; record producer;
Years active	1991–present
Spouses	; Jo Pat Cafro (m. 1988; div. 1993) ; Maritere Vilar (m. 1997)
Children	2
	Musical career
Origin	Miami, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Pop; Latin; Latin pop; R&B; funk; pop rock;
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Labels	SBK; EMI;
Website	www.jonsecada.com

Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American^[1]^[2] singer, songwriter and record producer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records,^[3] making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. His music fuses funk, soul music, pop, and Latin percussion.

Secada has written songs for Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, and Jennifer Lopez. He has toured with Luciano Pavarotti and recorded duets with Jim Brickman, Olivia Newton-John, and Frank Sinatra.

Secada has performed several times at A Capitol Fourth, an annual Independence Day concert from the United States Capitol televised by PBS.^[4]

Early life

Secada was born in 1961 in Havana, Cuba.^[2] Secada's father, José, was incarcerated for 3 years as a political prisoner to the communist Cuban government. In 1971, the Secadas received permission to emigrate and moved to Miami.^[5] His parents opened a coffee shop.^[6] Secada was raised in Hialeah, Florida.

Education

In 1979, Secada graduated from Hialeah Senior High School in Hialeah, Florida.^[7] During his performance of A Christmas Carol in 11th grade, he says he realized his musical potential and was encouraged by teachers to pursue music as a career.^[2]

After graduating from high school, Secada attended the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, where he received a Bachelor of Music in 1983 and a Master of Music in jazz vocal performance in 1986.^[8] He graduated cum-laude and was later inducted into the Iron Arrow Honor Society, the highest honor bestowed by the University of Miami.^[9]

Career

From 1986 to 1991, Secada was a teacher at Miami Dade College.^[10]

In 1986, Secada's University of Miami acquaintances introduced him to Emilio Estefan, a musician in Miami Sound Machine and husband of Gloria Estefan.^[1] Estefan listened to one of Secada's demos and then became Secada's mentor and manager.^[2]^[11] This led to Secada becoming a backup singer for Miami Sound Machine.^[6]

In 1991, Secada co-wrote and was a backup singer for "Coming Out of the Dark," a number-one hit song inspired by a tour-bus accident involving Gloria Estefan in 1990, in which her back was broken.^[12] In 1992, he released his self-titled debut album, which sold 7 million copies.^[6] In 1994, he performed a duet with Frank Sinatra, a re-recording of "The Best Is Yet to Come," released on Sinatra's album Duets II. He also performed at the awards for Miss Venezuela 1994. In 1995, he performed on Broadway in Grease,^[6] and he also presented at the 49th Tony Awards. He also recorded "If I Never Knew You", a duet with Shanice for Pocahontas. In 1999, he co-wrote and co-produced "She's All I Ever Had" for Ricky Martin.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, he performed in Cabaret.^[6] He also co-wrote "Juramento" for Ricky Martin. From 2006 to 2009 Secada was a judge on Latin American Idol for its entire four-season run.^{[citation needed]} In 2007, he co-wrote three songs, and performed in one, on Lilian Garcia's album ¡Quiero Vivir!.^{[citation needed]}

In 2017, he released a tribute album with cover versions of songs by Benny Moré.^[13]

Personal life

From 1988 to 1993, Secada was married to Jo Pat Cafro. In May 1995, he started dating Maritere Vilar. They were married in February 1997^[14] and have two children.

Secada resides in a 7,284 square-foot house, with a tennis court and pool, a few blocks west of the University of Miami, his alma mater, in Coral Gables, Florida.^[15]

Secada has created the Jon Secada Music Scholarship at the University of Miami, raised funds for The Recording Academy's effort "Keeping Music in Schools," and supports many initiatives including the Pediatric AIDS Unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.^[16]

Discography

Jon Secada (1992)
Otro Día Más Sin Verte (1992)
Heart, Soul & a Voice (1994)
Si Te Vas (1994)
Amor (1995)
Secada (1997)
Better Part of Me (2000)
The Gift (2001)
Amanecer (2002)
Same Dream (2005)
A Christmas Fiesta/Una Fiesta Navideña (2007)
Expressions (2009)
Classics/Clasicos (2010)
Otra Vez (2011)
To Beny Moré With Love (2017)

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Nominee(s)	Category	Result	Ref.
ASCAP Latin Music Awards	2000	"Bella"	Most Performed Song	Won	^[17]
ASCAP Pop Music Awards	1992	"Coming Out of the Dark"	Most Performed Songs	Won	^[18]
	1994	"Angel"		Won	^[19]
		"Do You Believe in Us"		Won
		"Just Another Day"		Won
	1995	"I'm Free"		Won	^[20]
BMI Latin Awards	1993	"Otro Día Más Sin Verte"	Song of the Year	Won	^[21]
BMI Latin Awards	2001	"Bella"	Award-Winning Song	Won	^[22]
BMI Pop Awards	1994	"Just Another Day"	Award-Winning Songs	Won	^[23]
		"Do You Believe in Us"		Won
		"Angel"		Won
		"I'm Free"		Won
	1996	"Mental Picture"		Won	^[24]
	1996	"If You Go"		Won	^[24]
	1998	"Too Late Too Soon"		Won	^[25]
	2001	"She's All I Ever Had"		Won	^[25]
Billboard Music Awards	1993	Himself	Top Adult Contemporary Artist	Won	^[26]
Billboard Latin Music Awards	2001	"Así"	Latin Dance Club Play Track	Nominated	^[27]
Grammy Awards	1993	Himself	Best New Artist	Nominated	^[28]
	1993	Otro Día Más Sin Verte	Best Latin Pop Album	Won
	1996	Amor	Best Latin Pop Performance	Won
Latin Grammy Awards	2017	To Beny Moré With Love	Best Traditional Tropical Album	Won	^[25]
Lo Nuestro Awards	1993	Himself	Male Artist of the Year, Pop	Won	^[29]
		Himself	New Pop Artist of the Year	Won
		Jon Secada	Pop Album of the Year	Won
		"Angel"	Pop Song of the Year	Nominated
		"Otro Día Más Sin Verte"	Video of the Year	Nominated
	1994	Himself	Male Artist of the Year, Pop	Nominated
	1995	"Si Te Vas"	Video of the Year	Nominated


Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1993	BMI Awards	Most Performed Latin Song	"Otro Día Más Sin Verte", "Sentir", and "Cree en Nuestra Amor" (Do You Believe in Us)	Won
	The World Music Awards	Best-Selling Latin American Recording Artist	Himself	Won
	The Caribbean Music Awards	Best New Latin Pop Album	Otro Día Más Sin Verte	Won
	Billboard Latin Music Awards	Best Latin-Pop Album of the Year	Otro Día Más Sin Verte	Won
		Best Latin-Pop Artist	Himself
		Best New Latin-Pop Artist of the Year
	Hit Radio Awards (Hong Kong)	Best Male Artist of the Year		Won
	Rolling Stone Magazine	Best Male Vocalist		Won
1994	Asian Music Awards	Best Pop Song	"Mental Picture"	Won
1998	BMI Pop Awards	Best Latin Song	"Amandolo"