Meet Luis Figueroa: The Marc Anthony-Approved Singer Reviving The Salsa Music Classics
Philadelphia-based Puerto Rican singer Luis Figueroa is a rising star in the tropical music scene. On his new album Canciones Del Alma, he pays homage to the salseros and the classics from his childhood by Jerry Rivera, Frankie Ruíz, Luis Miguel, and Son By Four. Figueroa has notched his first top-five hit on Billboard from the LP. In an interview with Latido Music, Figueroa talked about his rise in the industry, his connection to these Canciones, and what to expect next.
In his burgeoning career, Marc Anthony and Romeo Santos have both co-signed for Luis Figueroa.
Figueroa has been hustling for his music career since he was a kid. During the 2000s, he was competing in reality TV competitions like American Idol and Star Search. Figueroa later turned to YouTube where he was uploading covers. His version of “Flor Pálida” caught the attention of Marc Anthony, who signed him to his Magnus Music label. Figueroa later opened for Anthony’s Opus Tour.
“He’s given me the advice of staying focused and being patient,” Figueroa tells mitú.
Another superstar star in tropical music that Figueroa has worked with is Romeo Santos from Aventura. During Santos’ Golden Tour in 2018, Figueroa was one of the backup singers. From seeing the King of Bachata in action, he applied that experience to his own music career.
“I learned a lot from [Romeo],” Figueroa says. “His perfect-ism, his professionalism, and him always wanting to outdo himself each and every time.”
In Canciones Del Alma, Luis Figueroa is tackling 10 tropical music classics.
Canciones Del Alma is Figueroa’s debut album. It’s a collection of 11 songs that are the soundtrack of his life. Along with Rivera, Ruíz, and Miguel, he also covers classics by Tríos Los Panchos, Jon Secada, and Omar Alfanno.
“These are all songs that have shaped me as an artist, interpreter, and singer,” Figuroa says. “When I was a kid, all of these songs, I would sing them at one point in my life. I sang ‘Ángel’ by Jon Secada, which was a song that I used for American Idol, and it got me to Hollywood.”
Luis Figueroa’s first top-five hit on Billboard is one of his uncle’s songs.
One of the most personal songs on Canciones Del Alma is shaping up to be Figueroa’s biggest hit. He covered “Hasta El Sol De Hoy,” which was a 1993 smash by Edgar Joel y Su Orquestra. Luis’ uncle Anthony Colón was the lead singer of the group. Nearly 30 years later, Figueroa has taken the song to the No. 5 on Billboard‘s Tropical Airplay chart.
“I’ve been listening to this song my whole life and I thought, ‘Why not pay homage to [my uncle] with one of his own songs?'” Figuroa says. “For it to now reach the top five is just incredible. [It’s] another victory for the family, for him, and for us.”
There are a few songs that Luis Figueroa covers in Spanglish.
Reflecting Figuroa’s reality of growing up in Philadelphia and his roots in Puerto Rico, he sings a few of the songs in Spanish and English. Along with “Ángel,” he also belts out Son By Four’s “A Puro Dolor” in Spanglish. The music of the Sunday morning limpias is already coming back to us.
“Growing up in Philadelphia, it gave me a very large music library,” Figuroa says. “I wanted to show that side of me. That side of my YouTube stuff when I was doing YouTube covers in English and that R&B feel. What better way to do it than with these songs that show vocal range, vocal capacity, and are just beautiful records.”
Luis Figueroa is already working on his second album.
Figueroa reveals that Canciones Del Alma will be a visual album. There are performance videos on the way for every song on the LP. There will also be original music by Figueroa soon. The hustling singer-songwriter is already writing music for his second album.
“I hope this [album] touches every single person in the world,” Figueroa says. “I’m just a young kid from Philadelphia trying to reach my dreams and my goals. I just want to inspire as much people as I can with my music and everything that I’m doing.”
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