CNCO is an American pop boy band formed on December 13, 2015, after becoming the winning members of the first season of the La Banda singing competition series created by Simon Cowell and produced by Ricky Martin. The band has toured with Martin and their singles, "Tan Fácil" and "Quisiera", charted well soon after their debut.They released their first album, Primera Cita on August 26, 2016.
CNCO is composed of the winners of La Banda, which televised singing competition started on Univision in September, 2015. The band was formed on the finale of the show, on December 13, 2015, when they received their name, which alludes to the Spanish word for five, "cinco", and is pronounced as it is spelled in English "C-N-C-O."[1] The band's members competed individually with other contestants from Latin America and the United States before the show's judges, Ricky Martin, Alejandro Sanz and Laura Pausini.They won a recording contract of 5 years with Sony Music Latin, and rapper Wisin was scheduled to produce their first album. Ricky Martin became their representative.
They performed the song "Devuélveme Mi Corazón" on the finale, which included performances by Pitbull, Fifth Harmony, Wisin, and a video congratulations from One Direction.They sang it again in Times Square at Univision's Feliz 2016 New Year's celebration.
The band has five members. The oldest member, Christopher Velez (born November 23, 1995), from Ecuador, moved to Hightstown, New Jersey in search of a better life for his family, who he hoped to have join him there. His work, to make a living, has included shining shoes. Richard Camacho (born January 22, 1997), from the Dominican Republic, lives in New Hampshire. He has a brother, and his father is a musician and cameraman, and his mother a dancer. He writes songs, and enjoys dancing. Zabdiel De Jesus (born December 13, 1997), from Bayamón, Puerto Rico, developed an interest in singing at age twelve, singing with his church hip-hop and salsa group. Joel Pimentel (born February 28, 1999), who has Mexican ancestry, was born in Hesperia, California and was inspired by his late grandfather to study theater and continue with his singing. The youngest, Erick Brian Colon (born January 3, 2001), moved from Cuba to Tampa, Florida with his mother and sister, three years prior to joining the band, where he played football, danced and participated in musical activities at school.
On January 29, 2016, they released their first single, "Tan Facil"which debuted on Billboard's 'Latin Rhythm Airplay' at No. 25 on the 'Hot Latin Songs' chart at No. 23;and instantly topped the U.S. iTunes Latino charts; later peaking at No. 1 on the 'Latin Airplay' chart. On January 30, 2016, they held their first concert in The Fillmore Miami Beach.
On February 12, they started touring as opening acts with Ricky Martin's One World Tour for some of his shows in the U.S., including Hollywood, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and parts of South America, including Chile and Argentina.
On May 13, they released their second single "Quisiera" which peaked on Billboard's 'Hot Latin Songs' at No. 29. and its music video on June 3. Also in May, they sang the national anthem at the Yankee Stadium.
On July 13, the band was nominated for six awards, and won five of them, at Premios Juventud for Catchiest Tune - "Tan Fácil", My Pop/Rock Artist, Producers' Choice Award, My Favorite Twitter Celebrity and 'My Favorite Fan-army';they also performed at the ceremony.
In August, their fans, who are called 'CNCOwners' voted the band first place in Billboard.com's "Favorite New Latin Boy Band Poll', with CD9 second, and Dvicio third. On August 23, the band asked fans to locate hotspots for songs from their upcoming album, in a Pokémon Go inspired game, called 'CNCOGo', and Ecuadorian fans found the first song, "Cometa". On August 26, their first album, Primera Cita, (First Date, in English), produced by Wisin, was released.[5][6][29] Wisin spoke about their album saying, "It is a union of countries and cultures, it is what keeps us growing because the people can understand that we can unite different genres." The album has fourteen tracks and includes an urban remix of "Tan Fácil" featuring Wisin, and the song "Quisiera” featuring Spanish singer Abraham Mateo. On its release date, the band met fans while traveling with Ricky Martin on his tour, and they gave a concert at the Miami International Mall to celebrate the album's debut.
In November, they filmed a new music video for one of the songs on Primera Cita, "Para Enamorarte", at the Los Angeles Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts. It was produced in conjunction with Toyota and included fans who also selected the ending of the video. A video clip was scheduled for airing on La Banda's season finale on December 11, then on Toyota's Latino Facebook page and on YouTube. They also announced plans for their first headlining tour in February 2017 in Latin America.
On February 7, 2017, the band was announced as one of four finalists in the category "Artist of the Year, New" for the 2017 Billboard Latin Music Awards, representing artists who charted well over the last year.Also, in February, they released dates for their first headlining tour, Más Allá, scheduled to start on February 26, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, for a total of 15 countries, including 40 performances in Central and South America, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and the United States.On April 4, 2017, the group officially released their new single, “Hey DJ” for their upcoming second album.
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Premios Juventud | Voz del Momento | Themselves | Nominated | |
| Mi Artista Pop Rock | Won | ||||
| Producers Choice Award | Won | ||||
| Mi Tuitero Favorito | Won | ||||
| La Mas Pegajosa | "Tan Fácil" | Won | |||
| Mi "Fan Army" Favorito | CNCOwners | Nominated | |||
| Latin American Music Award | Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist | Themselves | Won | ||
| Favorite Pop/Rock Duo or Group | Won | ||||
| Xfinitiy New Artist of the Year | Won | ||||
| 2017 | Premios Lo Nuestro | Pop/Rock Song of the Year | "Tan Fácil" | Won | |
| Pop/Rock Album of the Year | Primera Cita | Won | |||
| Pop/Rock Group or Duo of the Year | Themselves | Won | |||
| 2017 | iHeartRadio Music Awards | Best New Latin Artist | Themselves | Won | |
| Best New Artist | Themselves | Nominated |
