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Carlos Rivera in co-hosting the 2002 Latin GRAMMY’s alongside Yalitza Aparicio and Ana Brenda . The singer and actor was born March 15, 1986, in Huamantla, Tlaxcala, Mexico. He rose to fame by winning the third generation of the Mexican reality musical talent show ‘La Academia.’ The dedicated singer and actor is recognized around the world and has 5.9 million followers on Instagram. He is currently the host of ¿Quién es la máscara?
According to his website, Rivera enjoyed singing since he was a child. He told Billboard, “Ever since I was little, I knew I wanted to be a singer. I‘d tell my family and they were surprised because no on else in the family sang. They’d tell me that I’d have to study something else but it was me who believed I could be an artist.”
Rivera never missed an opportunity to sing in any space he was in. He sang at parties, competed in contests at his school, and hometown - and always won. He began to look for sponsors and organize his own concerts as a teenager to make himself known to an ever-growing audience.
After winning several statewide singing contests, he became a mini-celebrity in the region. But Rivera’s life changed with the reality show ‘La Academia’ on Television Azteca in 2004. After months of the musical talent show, he earned the respect of the judges and won more than 80% of the votes to become the winner. Rivera then went from hometown hero to a well-known figure in millions of Mexican homes.
In 2005 Rivera signed with Sony Music and it was the beginning of a long and successful career in the music industry.
That year he recorded “Y Si tu Supieras” for the feature film “Mar de Sueños.” While he worked on his debut album, Rivera began performing on stage with great success. At the time, Rivera starred in ”Bésame Mucho,” ”Orgasmos la comedia,” ”Beauty and the Beast.” and ”Mamma Mia.”
Rivera released his self titled album in 2007, which includes hits such as “Te me vas” and ”No soy el aire.” Three years later he released his second album “Mexicano.” The following year in 2011 Rivera became the first Mexican actor to star in a Disney production outside of Mexico. Over the next two years, more than a million people saw Rivera in the role of Simba in “The Lion King” in Spain.
In 2014 he celebrated 10 years as an artist and became a judge in the Spanish version of The Voice.
The next year, Rivera starred again in “The Lion King” as the role of Simba but in Mexico. He acted in a little more than 300 performances between 2015 and 2016, adding up to more than 1,000 performances and more than 1,400,000 spectators between Mexico and Spain.
In 2018 Rivera released his 10 song album, “Guerra,” He had the opportunity to record the album at the iconic Abbey Road in London. Ribera told Billboard earlier this year, ““It‘s not like any other studio where you can pay to record. To get there, I had to tell them my personal story. I told them I was from the smallest state in Mexico, Tlaxcala, and that I always dreamed of becoming a singer and record at Abbey Road. I think they were touched by my story.” He also revealed that the first piece of music he ever bought was a karaoke CD of The Lion King’s soundtrack. Some would call that manifestation.
Riviera has collaborated with artists like Juan Gabriel, José José, Pandora, Reyli Barba, Ana Torroja, Martha Sánchez, Franco De Vita, Natalia Sanchez, Ana Carolina, Daniel Boaventura, Paulo Gonzo, Abel Pintos, India Martínez, and the list goes on.
The 2020 Latin GRAMMYs will air on Univision Thursday, November 19, at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT). The broadcast will also air on TNT (cable) at 7 p.m. (MEX)/8 p.m. (COL)/10 p.m. (ARG/CHI), and on Televisa on Channel 5. The Latin Recording Academy, Univision and its production teams will adhere to the strictest safety guidelines and protocols.