Yandel

Forming one half of the renowned reggaeton partnership Wisin & Yandel that first took shape in the closing years of the 1990s, Yandel also built a thriving solo path that opened with the 2003 release Quien Contra Mi. He set the solo work aside to concentrate on the duo as it surged across radio, retail, and live stages, collecting numerous Premio Lo Nuestro and Billboard Music awards in the process. The pair captured a Grammy in the Best Urban Latin Album category for their 2009 project Los Extraterrestres. After an amicable hiatus beginning in 2013, Yandel delivered his second solo album De Líder a Leyenda that same year and watched it ascend to the summit of the Latin charts; he duplicated the achievement with 2015’s Dangerous, later awarded triple-platinum status, and followed with 2017’s Update, which earned multi-platinum certification. The year of the duo’s 2018 reunion album Los Campeones del Pueblo: The Big Leagues also saw Yandel issue The One, then return in 2020 with the platinum-certified Quien Contra Mí 2. Dynasty, a 2021 charting collaboration with Tainy, arrived next, while March 2022 brought Wisin & Yandel’s announcement of La Ultima Mision as their concluding joint album; 2023 brought Yandel’s surprise LP Resistencia, and 2024 yielded both the Manifesting 20-05 EP with Feid and the full-length Elyte.

Born Llandel Veguilla Malavé on January 14, 1977, in Cayey, Puerto Rico, he and Wisin launched their duo performances in the late ’90s, when Yandel performed under the name Llandel, and made their album debut with 2000’s Los Reyes del Nuevo Milenio. The artists moved to a major label in 2003 via Mi Vida...My Life, their initial project for Universal subsidiary Machete Music. Although Yandel released his first solo album Quien Contra Mí in 2004, his primary attention stayed on the partnership with Wisin. Pa’l Mundo propelled them to mainstream prominence in 2005. Wisin & Yandel subsequently founded their own imprint WY Records and introduced the affiliate collective Los Vaqueros, whose self-titled debut reached the Top Ten, followed by 2007’s Wisin vs. Yandel: Los Extraterrestres, which topped the U.S. Latin Albums chart and moved more than a million copies worldwide.

Paired with their enormously successful touring production, the duo established themselves as a dominant force in reggaeton. Wisin & Yandel Presentan: La Mente Maestra, released in 2008, also claimed the number-one position on both the U.S. Latin and Mexican albums charts and received platinum certification in each territory. Their streak continued with 2009’s Revolución: Evolucion, which surpassed three million units globally, and 2011’s Los Vaqueros: El Regreso, their fourth consecutive U.S. Latin album chart-topper that likewise reached number one in Mexico. The artists maintained an exhaustive touring schedule across the Americas. Following the 2012 chart-topping Líderes, Wisin & Yandel appeared as coaches on the reality program La Voz Mexico before entering an official hiatus in 2013. Though unexpected for journalists and listeners, the separation remained cordial; each artist stated he had solo recordings to complete and that future joint work would occur.

Yandel’s sophomore effort De Líder a Leyenda included guest contributions from J Alvarez, Daddy Yankee, and Don Omar. The sixteen-track collection reached number one on the Latin Albums and Latin Rhythms charts and earned gold certification. One track from the set, “Hasta Abajo,” served as the theme for Univision’s Nuestra Belleza Latina pageant. Yandel issued multiple singles and remixes drawn from the album, embarked on tour dates, and contributed guest vocals to other artists’ projects. He returned to the studio toward the close of 2014 and unveiled no fewer than five singles throughout 2015, among them “Encantadora,” which entered the Top 20 on several charts. Dangerous arrived in early December and featured appearances by Shaggy, Alex Sensation, Lil Jon, and French Montana while again leading the Latin Albums chart. Yandel also performed at the Cotto-Canelo bout, becoming the first Latino artist to appear on an HBO pay-per-view card. He resurfaced in 2017 with his fourth studio album #Update, spotlighting the single “Mi Religión” and additional collaborations with J Balvin, Ozuna, Plan B, Wisin, and further guests. Yandel came back in 2019 with the aptly titled studio LP One, which contained no featured artists.

During summer 2020 he released Quién Contra Mi 2, the long-promised sequel to his similarly titled 2003 debut; its twenty-two tracks encompass collaborations with J Balvin, Ozuna, Anuel AA, Natti Natasha, and Nicky Jam. The advance single “No Te Vayas” attained platinum status prior to street date, and the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. The following year Yandel and producer-composer-rapper Tainy issued the nine-track digital EP Dynasty. In March 2022 Wisin & Yandel confirmed a September street date for La Ultima Mision, their final album, accompanied by a worldwide farewell tour. Yandel marked his birthday in 2023 with the surprise seventeen-track LP Resistencia, which included appearances by Wisin, Maluma, and Young Miko and peaked at number twelve on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart. April 2024 brought the joint EP Manifesting 20-05 with Feid, while October delivered the full-length Elyte, again fusing classic reggaetón with contemporary trap, hip-hop, and electronic dance elements. Guest spots on the project came from Tego Calderón, Farruko, J Balvin, Myke Towers, and additional artists; the album entered the Top 40 of Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.