Manuel Turizo
Manuel Turizo Zapata grew up in the Caribbean-coast city of Monteria, Colombia, and began writing songs as a teenager alongside his older brother Julian, who produced his early records. His 2017 breakout 'Una Lady Como Tu' paired a deep, unhurried baritone with a bright, tropical spin on reggaeton, and by the 2020s he had become one of Latin pop's biggest crossover stars, topping charts worldwide with the bachata-flavored 'La Bachata.' His music threads romantic melody through reggaeton, bachata, and coastal Colombian rhythms.
Turizo has repeatedly cited Bruno Mars as one of his biggest influences and a key entry point into Anglo pop craftsmanship; the polished, melody-first songwriting and smooth, romantic delivery he brings to his ballads owe a debt to Mars's throwback pop-soul sensibility.
listen forSet Mars's tender, doo-wop-flecked 'Just the Way You Are' beside Turizo's 'Sola' — both build a whole song around an easy, affectionate vocal melody and a clean, uncluttered arrangement that keeps the singer's romantic address front and center.
Turizo has named Carlos Vives among his biggest influences, and Vives's model of exporting Colombia's Caribbean-coast sound to a global pop audience runs through Turizo's work: the bright, acoustic-tinged tropical spin he puts on reggaeton and Latin pop descends from the vallenato-pop crossover Vives pioneered.
listen forPut Vives's accordion-driven 'La Gota Fria' next to Turizo's 'Una Lady Como Tu' — both take a lilting Colombian-coast groove and a warm, unhurried melody and dress it for pop radio, Turizo trading the accordion for a plucked, sun-warmed acoustic hook.
Turizo has said he grew up loving Don Omar, one of reggaeton's foundational voices; the core template Turizo works in — a romantic, melodic vocal riding the dembow pulse — traces back to the early-2000s reggaeton Don Omar helped define and take global.
listen forCue Don Omar's booming, dancefloor-ready 'Danza Kuduro' against Turizo's 'Vaina Loca' — both ride an insistent, party-forward reggaeton groove topped by a big singalong hook, the kind of crossover momentum Don Omar built a decade earlier.