History of Menudo
 Coming
out of Puerto Rico in the 1970s, MENUDO was the first, and the greatest,
of a wave of talented singing and dancing groups that's still relevant
30 years later. The legendary group has sold over 40 million records
worldwide, broke numerous attendance records including: 13 consecutive
sellout performances at Radio City Music Hall, 200,000 fans at a soccer
stadium in Rio de Janeiro, over 500,000 fans at a Mexico City concert
and launching the career of international superstar
Ricky Martin.
Now -- two generations later -- a new, updated version of MENUDO is
back, with a contemporary sound and look, and the same universal appeal.
The five new members Carlos Olivero (18-years-old, Mexican/Puerto Rican,
Chicago, IL); Chris Moy (15-years-old, Puerto Rican/Venezuelan/Chinese,
Bronx / Dutchess County, NY); Emmanuel Vélez Pagán (17-years- old,
Puerto Rican, Trujillo Alto, PR); José Bordonada Collazo (15-years-old,
Puerto Rican, Manati, Puerto Rico) and Monti Montañez (18-years-old,
Puerto Rican, Caguas, Puerto Rico / Now Laredo, TX) are young, polished,
highly professional singing-and-dancing boy group. They will release a
preview of new music on their More Than Words EP that was released on
December 18 in Target stores around the country with their full length
album to follow on September 9, 2008, both via Epic Records.
People know and love this new MENUDO already. The new group came
together on the MTV & MTV Tr3s reality series Making Menudo. Viewers
watched the dramatic competition week after week, as fifteen young
Latinos, chosen from nationwide search went through a demanding
"boy-band boot camp" designed by legendary pop impresario Johnny Wright
to train and choose the five best suited for the even harder job of
working professionally as a performing team.
The competition is over, and now the group begins. On Tuesday, November
20, 2007, the identities of the final members of the 2008 version of
MENUDO were unveiled on the climactic episode of Making Menudo. Five
dedicated, ultra-talented guys between the ages of 15 and 18 were
chosen. Carlos, Jose, Monti, Emmanuel and Chris have undergone a
rigorous process of musical, choreographic, and professional education
that required them to excel individually and to work together as a
cohesive unit. Each one can sing lead, and each one specializes in a
particular style of music. But they all do all styles, and they
harmonize together.
Meet the Group
18-year-old Carlos Olivero is from Chicago. His mom is Mexican and his
father Puerto Rican. If you ask him what he brings to the group, he'll
tell you, "I'm the urban one, I'm the little hip hop guy in the group."
He says he's goofy and he cracks a lot of jokes, but he's focused on his
music. "I learned how to dance from my father, because he was a break
dancer, so I picked up dancing at a young age -- I think I was about
five years old when I started dancing. Music was always in my blood
because my uncles and aunts, they danced, they sang, they performed."
Ask him what it means to be in the new MENUDO, and you'll find someone
who believes in his mission: "The way we all look at it is" -- he
emphasizes group effort -- "We're bringing Latino back and to a whole
new audience!"
The oldest member of the group is 18-year-old Monti, whose full name is
José Antonio Montañez. He's Puerto Rican, originally from Caguas, but
now lives in Laredo, Texas, where his step dad is with the U.S. Border
Patrol. He's the "dad" of the group, a role he developed growing up
during stressful years of relocation to different places (he learned
English in Germany) while his stepfather was in the military. "What got
me through was my music," Monti recalls. "Singing in my school choir,
singing in the praise team in the church choir, joining the drama team
in church, that really helped me get my mind together and stop worrying
so much about the great danger that he was in being in Iraq. It was hard
for my mom, it was hard for my sister, and I had to step up and be a
father to my two little brothers." What does he bring to the group? With
salsa, bachata, and merngue on his iPod, keeping his beloved Puerto Rico
close to his heart, he's the traditional Latin one.
Chris -- full name Christopher Moy, just 15, has a Puerto Rican mom and
a Venezuelan / Chinese father. He's from the Bronx, though he now lives
in Dutchess County, NY. "We all have our styles," he says, "and mine's R
& B." Like the others, he was a talent-show star: "I started singing
around the age of six. I just did it as a hobby up until about seventh
grade, where I did my first talent show, and I started to love
performing, so I did more talent shows and more talent shows, and
eventually my aunt came to me and told me about the audition for Menudo."
Viewers watched his skills grow under the training they received.
"Honestly, before the competition?" he says. "I never danced before. So
the whole dancing and choreography thing was a learning experience."
Though he was already a stylish singer, his powers grew under David
Coury's intense, at times intimidating, tutelage, while a TV audience
watched: "Our ranges have increased, like, amazingly," he says. "I can
hit low notes that I've never been able to hit before. I can sing very
high full voice, and I'm starting to develop a falsetto, which I never
had before the competition."
Also 15 is José Bordonada Collazo, another self-confessed "talent show
kid" who's been singing since he was five and started dancing when he
was 11. He's a high full tenor, and he brings a pop voice to the group.
Also from Puerto Rico (from Manatí, in the north of the island), his
first language is Spanish, but he's fully bilingual. He had maybe the
most difficult time in the competition of any of the five, coming down
sick during the weeks of competition and getting put "on probation" in
front of a national TV audience. But he hung in and came through. "We
were really focused," he recalls. He points out something about the
backstage drama captured by the reality-show cameras: "Some of us had a
little bit of, like, you know, uh, moments with other guys where we
would disagree, but us five -- I don't really recall a moment that we
fought." (To which Carlos adds: "Within the five of us, we've never had
an argument, never had a confrontation with each other. We've always
been the ones that have been close and problem-free.")
17-year-old Emmanuel Vélez Pagán (from Alto Trujillo, Puerto Rico) is
Puerto Rican and proud. Ask him what's different about him from the rest
of the group and he jokes, "I'm the one with the accent!" Like the
others, he's living a dream right now, one that started when he saw
another famous "boy band" on TV: "The reason that I'm singing right now
is *NSYNC," he says. They're my idols. I just love their concerts. I
just love to perform. When I saw them, that's what inspired me to take
this career."
If he's a little less talkative than the others, he's also the one that
gets everybody laughing immediately. "I'm kinda funny sometimes," he
says deadpan. "I don't try to be, but people seem to laugh." What does
he bring? "I'm the Latin guy," he says. But wait, Monti said he was the
Latin guy? "Yeah, he's like the Latin salsa and all that, but I'm the
reggaetón one!"
But they all do it all, and they love the fact that the new MENUDO's
music is multi-generic. And it's the sound of now; this isn't your
grandma's MENUDO. They've recorded more than 50 new songs for their
first album already, and are already veterans after working with a wide
variety of contemporary producers and writers including Danja, The
Clutch, J.R. Rotem, Oak, Brian Kennedy, Elvis Williams,
Akon, Red One, The Runners, and The Jams.
Asked about their new album, José says, "urban pop, R & B, ballads,
Latin flavors, a little bit of electronic also. Some of those songs are
just those types, some of the songs are all those types together. Music
for the clubs, and music just to hear." Monti adds, laughing, "Music
that has never been heard before! New styles! It's definitely gonna be
loved by everybody. Everybody can relate to it. We put a lot of emotion
into our songs, so we want to touch lives, we want to touch people."
How does it feel to step into MENUDO's shoes? Monti says, "Menudo -- I
think of legendary, I think of history. I think of millions and millions
of fans that loved Menudo and respected Menudo. Menudo was not only
loved by the Latin community. They were international stars, they were
loved by international people. The globe loved Menudo. And to be part of
that, it's a huge honor. It's definitely a blessing. Of course, like
Carlos said, we're bringing Latino back but we're doing this for
everybody!" When it comes from him, it doesn't sound like hype. They're
serious. And the passion comes through when they start to sing.
Asked about their new four-song More Than Words EP, they count it off
and drop into "More Than Words (A E I O U)," the number they performed
on the finale of Making Menudo, produced by Danja and written by The
Clutch. They bust out the complicated five-part harmonies just like they
were singing on the street corner. The EP features the Spanish version "Mas
Que Amore (A E I O U), their other original song "Move" and their remake
of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas." This MENUDO is very much for real.
Talented. Hard working. Focused. Entertaining. And just getting started
with life.
Menudo Videos
"Lost"
"Lost" (Windows Media - high)
"Lost" (Windows Media - low)
"Lost" (Quicktime - high)
"Lost" (Quicktime - low)
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Listen to Music
"Lost" (Windows Media)
"Lost" (Quicktime)
"Lost" (Flash)
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