Prince Royce

He may be just a Dominican American kid from the Bronx, but Prince Royce is quickly earning his royal title. His first single, the bachata makeover of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me," shot to the top of the charts in 2010 -- even getting serious play on English-language stations -- and the follow-up, "Corazon Sin Cara," quickly followed suit. Royce found his performer side pretty early: He grew up dancing and acting, and by age 13, he had started writing poetry. His poems began to morph into songs by the time he was just 15, and he began recording his music around that time as well. He cites The Temptations and The Beatles as important influences, as well as his parents' bachata, but initially he was most interested in pop and R&B. He attracted the notice of Andres Hidalgo, the manager who'd helped Aventura and Xtreme hone their urban bachata sound early in their careers, and soon, Royce had found his direction: urban bachata. He released his self-titled debut in 2010 and earned a Latin Grammy nomination that year; he also got to perform "Stand By Me" with its author at the awards ceremony.