Although Luis Fonsi has multiple songs to his credit, it was his hit Spanish song, “Despacito” that brought him to the global spotlight. Despacito, so far, remains Luis’s greatest success. The song earned him four Latin Grammy Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, seven Billboard Latin Music Awards, and three Grammy Awards Nominations. As of 2018, Luis Fonsi has broken six Guinness World Book Records and made sales of over 11 million Depacito records! But who exactly is he?

Who is Luis Fonsi and How Old Is He? 

Luis Fonsi is a Puerto Rican singer, actor, and songwriter. He was born as Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Capero in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 15th April 1978. Luis is the eldest child of Alfonso Rodríguez and Delia López-Capero. He has two younger siblings, Jean and Tatiana. When he was 10, his family moved to U.S.A.

Growing up, Luis Alfonso displayed a strong liking for music, and thus, sang in the children’s choir in his hometown of San Juan. He attended Dr. Philips High School, in Orlando, Florida where he took part in a vocal group called Big Guys. They mostly sang at local festivals and school parties.

In 1995, Luis enrolled at Florida State University to study Music. While in the University, he joined the school’s choir and they sang with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He attended the Florida State University School of Music on a full scholarship, majoring in Vocal Performance. Luis however, did not complete his studies as he dropped out to pursue a full-time music career. He soon after, landed a recording contract with Universal Music Latin.

Luis Fonsi’s Professional Music Career

Luis Fonsi recorded his debut album, Commenzaré (I will Begin) in 1998. The album turned out a hit, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Latin Album Chart. It also sold 100,000 copies and as well received RIAA’s platinum certification. Commenzaré contains the successful singles “Dime Como”, “Si Tú Quisieras”, “Perdóname”, and “Me Iré”. In June 2000, he released his second album, Eterno and it peaked at #6 on the Billboard Latin Album Chart. In the same year, Fonsi composed a song for Ednita Nazaria, a Puerto Rican singer and it won a Latin Grammy Award. The same year, he performed at “Debt-Free World”, a concert that had Pope John Paul II in attendance.

On 12th March 2002, Universal Music Latino released Luis Fonsi’s third studio album, Amor Secreto (Secret Love). The album which also received a RIAA platinum peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Latin album chart while its lead single topped the Billboard Hot Latin charts. Also in 2002, Luis released his first English album, Fight the Feeling.

On 28th October 2003, he released Abrazar la Vida, his fifth album and it reached #3 on Billboard’s Top Latin Album. That same year, Fonsi performed at the Miss World 2003 in China which garnered billions of viewers from across the globe. In 2004, Fonsi sang “Amazing” with Spice Girl’s Emma Bunton for her album Free Me. That year, he also appeared in Corazones al límite’, a Mexican television serial drama. He later launched his sixth album, Paso a Paso in 2005.

Depacito Breakthrough

2017 became a breakthrough year for Luis Fonsi after he released his career-defining single, “Despacito“, featuring Daddy Yankee. At first, the album was entirely released in Spanish and so it became predominant only in Spanish speaking countries. Later in April 2017, Justin Bieber did the English remix of the song. Following the release of the remix, the song began to rank high on the music charts in the UK, US, and so many other countries. The remix eventually peaked at number one on the US Billboard Chart, remaining at the spot for 16 consecutive weeks! Later in November, he released the song, “Échame la Culpa“.

As of May 2018, Depacito’s music video has got over five billion views on YouTube. The song also remains number one in almost all Latin Billboard chart as well as the most viewed video worldwide.

Luis Fonsi’s Height: How Tall is He?

Luis Fonsi is blessed with a decent height. He stands at 5 feet 7 inches with a trimmed body build weighing about 77 kilograms (170 lbs). He’s also got good looks, spotting a lush dark brown hair and brown eyes.