SHAZAM

Among the most popular Latin pop artists to ever emerge from Venezuela, Franco De Vita is a pop/rock singer/songwriter whose career took off in the late '80s with international smash hits such as "Solo Importas Tu," "Te Amo," and "Louis." Born on January 23, 1954 in Caracas, Venezuela, to parents of Italian heritage, he began his recording career as the lead vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter of the trio Icaro. Comprised also of José Flores (bass) and Javier Exposito (drums), the trio released only one album, Icaro (1983), before De Vita embarked on a solo career. In association with the label Sonográfica, he made his full-length album debut a year later with Franco de Vita (1984), followed by Fantasía (1986). While these first two albums spawned numerous hit singles, De Vita's success was more or less confined to Venezuela until "Solo Importas Tu." The theme song to La Dama de Rosa, an internationally popular telenovela that aired during 1986-1987, "Solo Importas Tu" was De Vita's breakout hit, breaking into the Top Ten of the U.S. Latin singles chart, for instance, and driving the sales of his concurrent album, Fantasía, as well. In the wake of this breakout success, De Vita signed a major-label recording contract with Sony Music and released the album Al Norte del Sur to widespread commercial success and critical acclaim. The album spawned a couple more international smash hits, "Te Amo" and "Louis," both of which were Top Ten hits on the U.S. Latin singles chart. The follow-up album, Extranjero (1990), was even more successful, spawning the chart-topping smash hit "No Basta." Subsequent albums, including Voces a Mi Alrededor (1993), Fuera de Éste Mundo (1996), and Nada Es Igual (1999), proved less popular but successful nonetheless, spawning a steady stream of hit singles. After the turn of the century, De Vita continued to release albums at a steady rate, and among these latter-day releases, Stop (2004), proved especially successful. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi