Latest Release
- DEC 1, 2023
- 22 Songs
- VIVES · 2017
- Encanto (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) · 2021
- VIVES · 2016
- La Bicicleta (Versión Vallenato) - Single · 2016
- Los Vaqueros: La Trilogía · 2015
- Clásicos de la Provincia · 1993
- El Dorado · 2016
- El Amor de Mi Tierra · 1999
- Canción Bonita - Single · 2021
- La Bicicleta (Remix) [feat. Maluma] - Single · 2016
Essential Albums
- A seasoned love of life pervades every song on Más + Corazón Profundo, tying together its varied threads. Carlos Vives perfects his now-seamless musical blend on Caribbean pop anthems such as “Mil Canciones,” but finds time to nod gently to the folkloric roots that inspire him with “Hijo del Vallenato” and “La Cumbia de Todos” while also continuing to explore his sound. He kicks off the album with a winning foray into hip-hop on “El Mar de Sus Ojos,” featuring ChocQuibTown.
- Déjame Entrar may have won a GRAMMYⓇ for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album, but there isn’t much that’s traditional about it. Carlos Vives’ 10th album found him experimenting freely with rock, funk, son, merengue, and a variety of Colombian folkloric elements. Rock meets hot Latin funk for “Papadió,” while “Quiero Verte Sonreir,” an irresistible ballad, has a laidback coastal feel. Vives is at his best, however, on openhearted pop-vallenato anthems like the title track and “Santa Elegia.”
- 1995
- Carlos Vives didn’t just mix rock and vallenato on Clásicos de la Provincia—he made the sound of Colombia’s Caribbean coast rock ‘n’ roll. He sped up these standards’ tempos, added guitars, and covered them in a shiny pop lacquer. The surest sign of his accomplishment is how much the album offended vallenato’s purists—and how popular it became. Scandal notwithstanding, what comes across on the album’s bright, danceable songs like “La Gota Fría” is a heartfelt love for the traditional music that animates them.
Artist Playlists
- The former actor revives Colombian folk with a touch of lively pop.
- The many faces of the vallenato legend.
- 2023
Compilations
Appears On
- Pacific Broders & Gente de Zona
- Klub & Los Auténticos Decadentes
More To Hear
- Part one of a three-part special about her new album, El Dorado.
About Carlos Vives
Colombian singer, songwriter, and actor Carlos Vives launched his music career in 1991 while portraying legendary vallenato composer Rafael Escalona in a telenovela about his life. ∙ Vives’ first global hit, “La Gota Fría,” was a Top 10 US Latin chart hit and propelled the success of his 1993 breakthrough album, Clásicos de la Provincia. ∙Déjame Entrar, released in 2001, was his first album to top the US Latin chart, producing two No. 1 singles—the title track and “Luna Nueva.” ∙ In 2002, Déjame Entrar won the Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album, as did Más + Corazón Profundo in 2015 and Cumbiana in 2020. ∙ He’s been awarded 13 Latin Grammys, including honors for Record and Song of the Year for his Shakira collabration, “La Bicicleta.” ∙ In 2020, Vives was inducted into the Billboard Hall of Fame at the Billboard Latin Music Awards.
- HOMETOWN
- Santa Marta, Departamento del Magdalena, Colombia
- BORN
- August 7, 1961