William Omar Landrón Rivera (born February 10, 1978), known professionally as Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Dubbed the "King of Reggaeton" by music critics and fans alike, he has also been recognized by Billboard and Rolling Stone as a reggaeton legend. He is often cited as an influence by other Hispanic urban performers.
Landrón was born in Santurce, a neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is one of the artists credited with presenting reggaeton to audiences around the world and having turned the musical genre into a global phenomenon. He jumped to stardom with the release of his first studio album, The Last Don, released in 2003. The album sold 411,000 units in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Since then, he has sold around 70 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists, having sold 100 billion units. On September 1, 2017, after a long musical career he announced that he would retire after a series of concerts at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico, scheduled to be held on December 15, 16 and 17. However, he returned to music on April 20, 2019, with his song single "Ramayama" featuring Farruko.
During his career, Don Omar earned numerous accolades, including two Latin Grammy Awards, one Billboard Music Awards, seventeen Billboard Latin Music Awards, three Lo Nuestro Awards, eight Viña del Mar International Song Festival Awards, among others.
Don Omar has also portrayed Rico Santos in four films in the Fast & Furious franchise. He first played the character in 2009's Fast & Furious and then returned for Fast Five (2011), The Fate of the Furious (2017) and F9 (2021).
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Early life
Don Omar was born in Santurce, a neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he was raised, the oldest son of William Landrón and Luz Antonia Rivera. From an early age, he showed interest in the music of Vico C and Brewley MC. During his youth, he became an active member of a Protestant church, Iglesia Evangélica Restauración en Cristo in Bayamón where he occasionally offered sermons. However, after four years, he left the church to dedicate himself to singing.
Career
His first public performance in a night club was accompanied by disc jockey Eliel Lind Osorio. Afterwards, he appeared regularly on compilation albums from popular DJs and producers including Luny Tunes, Noriega, and DJ Eric. He also worked as a backup singer for the duo Héctor & Tito. One of the members, Héctor el Father, helped him produce his first solo album.
Omar's career rose to stardom with the release of his first studio album, The Last Don with Frankie Needles. Both the studio version and its live edition have been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Worldwide, The Last Don: Live [CD & DVD] has sold over one million copies, according to his official website. He earned awards for Latin Pop Album of the Year and New Artist & Latin Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year by the Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2003. The Last Don: Live [CD & DVD] was also nominated for Urban Music Album at the 2005 Latin Grammy Awards.
In 2005, Don Omar featured on rapper Cuban Link's hit single "Scandalous" which peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. The song was released as the second single to Cuban's second and official debut album Chain Reaction.
Omar's May 2006 album King of Kings, became history's highest ranking reggaeton LP in the top 10 US charts, with its debut at number one on the Latin sales charts and the number one spot on the Billboard Latin Rhythm Radio Chart with his single "Angelito". Omar was also able to beat the in-store appearance sales record at Disney World's Virgin Megastore previously set by pop star Britney Spears.
With the highest charting debut by a reggaeton artist, Omar's King of Kings entered at No. 7 with 74,000 beating. In April 2007, Don Omar received the Billboard Latin Music Award for Reggaeton Album of the Year for King of Kings. Billboard recognized that King of Kings was the most successful album of the decade in Latin America, besides being the most successful in the history of the genre of reggaeton. Billboard estimated that the album sold over 4.1 million copies by the end of 2009.
Omar participated in Gilberto Santa Rosa's presentation in an event titled "Concierto del Amor", presented in the Madison Square Garden on February 9, 2008. He closed the event and performed reggaeton themes with Frankie Needles.
Personal life
In 2003, Omar had his first son, Nicolás Valle Gómez. Omar married forecaster/journalist Jackie Guerrido on April 19, 2008. In March 2011, it was revealed they had divorced.
Omar made homophobic jokes about Ozuna on social media in January 2019, a move which was criticized by many, including Bad Bunny.
On June 17, 2024, Omar posted on his Instagram a picture of his arm with an Orlando Health wristband on, stating in the caption that he has cancer. He ended off the caption with the words "See you soon," then the hashtag "#fuckcancer."
Just a day after the post regarding his cancer diagnosis, Omar announced he was cancer free. "Today I woke up cancer free and grateful," said Omar.
Legal issues
On September 18, 2007, Omar was briefly detained in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia due to a legal dispute. A Bolivian concert promoter sued him and some of his management after he canceled a concert scheduled for earlier that year in La Paz as part of the international tour Up Close. The organization claimed that he had defrauded US$70,000 due to the cancellation. Omar responded that he canceled the concert because the company did not provide air tickets in time. After the case was presented before a local judge, both parties reached an agreement. Omar was allowed to leave the country in order to comply with a previously scheduled appearance in Buenos Aires on Argentine television and returned the next day to hold his concert in Santa Cruz's Tahuichi Aguilera football stadium.
Discography
Studio albums
The Last Don (2003)
King of Kings (2006)
iDon (2009)
Meet the Orphans (2010)
MTO²: New Generation (2012)
The Last Don 2 (2015)
The Last Album (2019)
Forever King (2023)
Live albums
The Last Don Live (2004)
King of Kings: Live (2007)
Compilation & Greatest Hits albums
Los Bandoleros (2005)
Da Hitman Presents Reggaetón Latino (2005)
Los Bandoleros Reloaded (2006)
El Pentágono (2007)
El Pentágono: The Return (2008)
Concert tours
The Last World Tour
King of Kings World Tour (2006-2007)
iDon World Tour
Meet the Orphans World Tour
MTO²: New Generation World Tour
Hecho en Puerto Rico
Retro Evolución World Tour
The Kingdom Tour (2015-2016)
Back to Reggaeton Tour (2024-25)
The Last King World Tour (2026)