CNCO

Multinational Spanish-language boy band CNCO emerged in 2015 as the winners of Univision’s Simon Cowell-created Latin American singing competition La Banda. After hitting the Top Ten of Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart with the next year’s “Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos),” their debut album, Primera Cita, topped the Billboard Latin Albums chart, and they served as openers on a world tour with Ricky Martin. CNCO had another Latin number one with second full-length CNCO in 2018, followed by the covers album Déjà Vu in 2021 and XOXO in 2022.
La Banda, which premiered in September 2015, pits contestants against each other in a competing band format as well as in individual performances. By the end of the 13-week run, the five top finishers were combined into CNCO, with producer and judge Ricky Martin serving as head of their management team. CNCO are Christopher Velez (Ecuador), Richard Camacho (Dominican Republic), Joel Pimental (Mexico), Erick Brian Colón (Cuba), and Zabdiel de Jesus (Puerto Rico). Over the course of the show, they performed hits by Christina Perri, Ed Sheeran, Meghan Trainor, and Selena, winning with their renditions of Chayanne’s “Salome,” Maná’s “Bendita Tu Luz,” J. Balvin’s “Tranquila,” Sin Bandera’s “Kilometros,” and Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.”
CNCO signed with Sony Music Latin and recorded their debut album, Primera Cita, with producer Wisin. Their first single, “Tan Facil,” was released in January 2016. That same year, their multi-platinum song “Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)” was an international hit, and Ricky Martin brought them on his One World Tour as openers.
In 2017, the band issued the infectious track “Hey DJ,” the lead single from their self-titled sophomore album. Released in April 2018, CNCO also included a 2017 remix of “Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)” featuring girl group Little Mix that charted in the Top Five in the U.K. and hit number two in the Netherlands. Later that year, they issued an alternate version of “Hey DJ” featuring American singer Meghan Trainor and Jamaican dancehall rapper Sean Paul.
In 2019, the group presented hit collaborations with Abraham Mateo, Manuel Turizo, and PRETTYMUCH in addition to their own singles “Pretend” and “De Cero.” The latter song appeared on their EP Qué Quienes Somos that October. 2020 saw the release of singles including “My Boo” and, with Natti Natasha, “Honey Boo.” Arriving in February 2021, CNCO’s third full-length, Déjà Vu, offered covers of artists like Enrique Iglesias and Chayanne. Their version of Ricardo Montaner’s “Tan Enamorados” did well on the Latin airplay charts. Joel Pimental left the group shortly after the album’s release. Continuing as a four-piece, CNCO issued their fourth full-length effort, 2022′s XOXO, which featured the massive hits “Toa La Noche,” “Miami,” and “Party, Humo y Alcohol.” ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Marcy Donelson