Just Another Day

Background:

Two-time Grammy Award-winning multiracial singer and songwriter Jon Secada first came to the attention of public as a backup singer for Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine before launching a successful career as a solo performer in 1992. He co-wrote six songs on Gloria's multi-platinum 1991 album “Into the Light,” most famously “Coming Out of The Dark.” The Cuban-born, American-raised musician was launched to stardom with his debut album “Jon Secada” (1992), which was a hit worldwide and sold three millions plus in the U.S. Only, thanks to the gold single “Just Another Day.” The Spanish version of the album even won Secada a Grammy Award. He picked up his second Grammy Award for “Amor” (1995), his second Spanish album. Since his self-titled debut record in 1992, one of the biggest adult contemporary artist of the 1990s, Secada has enjoyed a career sales total of over 20 million albums worldwide. He has furthered built a reputation as an accomplished songwriter by working for such luminaries as Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Mandy Moore, among others. Secada also has acted in a few of theatrical productions, including the hit musical “Grease” in 1995 and “Cabaret” in 2003, both of which on Broadway.

As for his personal life, Secada is somewhat known as the supporter of the Republican Party. He was named by President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, a committee whose mission is creating a multi-year action plan objected at ending the educational accomplishment gap between Hispanic students and their peers. As for charity, Secada has dedicated himself to help charitable organizations. He has actively supported causes related to children, such as education, AIDS research, and child abuse. Led by his dedication to education and helping others, he created the Jon Secada Music Scholarship at his alma mater, the University of Miami. Secada has an important role in raising funds in Washington, D.C. for the national attempt “Keeping Music in Schools,” and is an advocate of several initiatives like the Pediatric AIDS Unit at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Lifebeat Concert to benefit AIDS, Amigos Together for Kids, the Boys and Girls Club, Make-A-Wish Foundation and other charitable organizations. Besides, he is known for his very active involvement in the Hurricane Relief Efforts. He created the song “The Last Goodbye” as a tribute to the families of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. All proceeds received from the song and its three other Spanish versions is given to the victims' families. Up to now, the single has collected some $250,000 for them.

On a more private note, one of Playboy magazine's “10 sexiest male rock star” in 1993, Secada is currently married to his wife of 10-years Maritere Vilar and has two children with her. He married first wife Jo Pat Cafro from 1988 to 1993.

Honored Student

Childhood and Family:

Juan Francisco Secada, who would later be popular as Jon Scada, was born on October 4, 1961, in Havana, Cuba. His family immigrated to the United States when he was nine and they settled in Miami, where his parents, José Secada and Victoria, ran a coffee shop. He graduated from South Florida's Hialeah High School in 1979 and then attended the University of Miami, from which he received a B.A. In Music and a M.A. in Jazz Vocal Performance. Due to his academic achievement, Jon was inducted into the esteemed Iron Arrow Honor Society, the University's highest honor.

Jon, who legally changed his first name from Juan to Jon in 1990, has been married twice. He married for a first time on June 26, 1988, to Jo Pat Cafro, but they parted ways after four years on August 18, 1993. He married present wife Maritere Vilar on February 22, 1997. Together they have two children, a daughter and a son.

Amor

Career:

Jon Secada found a knack on music during his teen years, and was introduced to numerous different sounds while growing up in the culturally diverse city of Miami. Despite the domination of salsa, merengue and tropical rhythms on Miami's radio airways, Scada found more interest in pop music and R&B. His musical inspirations included Elton John, Barry Manilow, Billy Joel, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. During college, Secada emerged as an accomplished jazz musician, in addition to mastering the academic side of music. He graduated with honor from the University of Miami. At the same time, he started developing respectable talents in songwriting.

Secada's musical career began when he was hired by Gloria Estefan to sing back up for her band, Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine. Met in the late 1980s, Secada soon was considered as a worthy addition to the group. He helped write some of Gloria's famous ballads, most notably the No. 1 hit “Coming Out of The Dark” from her multi-platinum 1991 album “Into the Light,” and then supported her on “Coming Out of the Dark” tour. During the tour, Secada was given the life-changing chance of assuming the stage and performing solo. This led to a career as a solo artist.

Secada next singed to SBK Records and released his self-titled debut album in 1992. A very massively successful record, “Jon Secada” sold more than six million copies worldwide and was certified triple platinum in the U.S. , where it peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It spawned a gold single with the song “Just Another Day,” which reached No. 5 on the U.S Hot 100 and No. 2 on the US Adult charts, and three further top 30 singles with “I'm Free,” “Do You Believe in Us?” and “Angel.” Subsequently, Secada emerged as a big English-language pop star. He doubled his popularity on the Latin community by launching “Otro Día Más Sin Verte,” a Spanish version of “Jon Secada.” The album became Billboard's No. 1 Latin album in 1992 and won the singer his first Grammy in the category of Best Latin Pop Album. The album's success made Secada one of the hottest Latin artists recording in the 1990s.

In 1994, Secada released his sophomore effort, “Heart Soul and Voice,” which featured members of The Miami Sound Machine and guests Betty Wright (background vocals) and Arturo Sandoval (trumpeter). The album sold over one million pieces. The song “ If You Go” reached No. 10 on the U.S. Hot 100 and No. 2 on the US Adult charts, while “Mental Picture,” a Top Ten hit on the US Adult, was picked up for the soundtrack of the major movie “The Specialist” (1994), starring Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone. “Amor,” Secada's second Spanish album, was launched in the following year and won his next Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance for his work in the album. Still in 1995, Secada, who had had stage exposure in college, took his first crack at Broadway when he landed the starring role of Danny Zuko on the hit musical “Grease.”

The noted soloist returned to his recording after two years absence and released “Secada” (1997). Unlike its predecessors, the album was a commercial flop and spun off a minor hit with the song “Too Late Too Soon” (# 41). He left EMI and found a new home with Sony Music's Epic Records. It was with Epic that Secada had an important role in the recent careers of a number of successful artists, such as Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin and Mandy Moore, among others. He co-penned the song “Bella,” the Spanish version of “She's All I Ever Had” for Ricky Martin's multi-platinum self-titled album (1999), and co-wrote and co-produced the song “Baila” for Jennifer Lopez, which was included in her 1999 multi-platinum album “On the 6.” With the teen sensation Mandy Moore, he collaborated in two tracks, “One Sided Love” and “It Only Took a Minute,” for her self-titled multi-platinum album.

Epic released Secada's next album, “Better Part of Me,” in July 2000. “Amanecer” followed in 2002. In between, he served as a backing vocalist for Enrique Iglesias' 2001 multi-platinum album “Escape” on the tracks “Don't turn off the Lights” and “Love 4 Fun.” In 2003, Secada found himself acting on Sam Mendes' praised version of “Cabaret” on Broadway, in which he played the Emcee role. He went on to act in the following year in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's theatrical hit “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” as Joseph. In 2006, Secada launched a new album called “Same Dream,” which spawned two US Adult-charted singles “Window To My Heart” and “Free,” and could be found as one of four judges on the Latin American version of American Idol, “Latin American Idol” (2006).

More recently, Secada worked on a duet with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Diva Lilian Garcia and co-wrote several songs for her 2007 album.

Awards:

• Grammy: Best Latin Pop Performance, “Amor,” 1995

• Grammy: Best Latin Pop Album, “Otro Día Más Sin Verte,” 1992