Manuel Turizo: The Life Story Behind Colombia's Young Star

Manuel Turizo Zapata was born on 12 April 2000 in Montería, a city in the department of Córdoba, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and he grew up in a place where music is part of the air. Montería is a warm, river city, built on the Sinú, and its sounds are the sounds of the Colombian Caribbean: vallenato, cumbia, and the reggaeton that drifts in from across Latin America. Turizo was born into a musical family, and he learned to sing and to play guitar as a boy, posting covers on YouTube before he was a teenager. He was sixteen years old when he released Una Lady Como Tú, a song that became one of the biggest Latin hits of the decade, and he has been a star ever since, with a career that has taken him from Montería to Miami, to stages across Latin America, Europe, and the United States.

His best-known songs tell the story of that journey. Una Lady Como Tú in 2016 announced a romantic, melodic voice that was different from the harder reggaeton of the time. La Bachata in 2022 became a global hit, a bachata-influenced track that topped charts in Latin America and Europe. El Merengue, with Marshmello, in 2023, brought merengue to a new generation, and his albums, ADN in 2019, Dopamina in 2021, and 2000 in 2023, have shown a singer who is willing to experiment, to collaborate, and to grow. He is one of the most popular young singers in Latin music, known for his voice, his romantic lyrics, and his ability to make a song that is both a hit and a pleasure to hear. This is the story of a boy from Montería who became a star before he was twenty, and of the music that carried him there.

Montería, Córdoba and the Caribbean Coast

Montería is the capital of Córdoba, a department on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, and it is a city of heat, of rivers, and of a musical culture that is among the richest in Latin America. The Colombian Caribbean is the home of vallenato, of cumbia, and of a tradition of romantic song that goes back generations, and Manuel Turizo grew up inside that tradition. His family was musical, his brother Julián is also a musician, and the house was full of guitars, of singing, and of the songs that are part of daily life on the coast. He learned to play guitar as a boy, he learned to sing, and he developed a voice that was warm, clear, and romantic, a voice that was made for the love songs he would later become famous for.

Growing up in Montería also meant growing up far from the centres of the Latin music industry, in Bogotá, in Medellín, in Miami, and in San Juan. Turizo did not have connections, and he did not have a record deal. He had YouTube, and he had talent, and he used both, posting covers of popular songs and building an audience one video at a time. That do-it-yourself beginning is characteristic of his generation, a generation of Latin artists who built their careers on the internet, without waiting for permission from the industry. Montería gave him his sound, his accent, and his sense of identity, and YouTube gave him his audience, and the combination took him further than either one alone could have.

YouTube Covers and the First Audience

Manuel Turizo began posting videos on YouTube as a young teenager, singing covers of songs by popular Latin artists, accompanying himself on guitar, and sharing them with whoever would listen. The videos were simple, filmed at home, with no production and no polish, but they showed a voice that was remarkable for a boy of his age: warm, in tune, and full of feeling. He built a following slowly, video by video, and the audience grew, first in Montería, then in Colombia, and then across Latin America. The covers were a training ground, a place where he learned to sing, to perform, and to connect with an audience, even when that audience was only a camera.

The YouTube years were also the years in which he learned to write songs. He began to compose his own material, drawing on the romantic tradition of the Colombian Caribbean, on vallenato and on pop, and on the reggaeton that was dominating Latin music. He wrote Una Lady Como Tú when he was sixteen, a song about a woman who is different from all the others, and he recorded it with his brother Julián, who played a part in its production. The song was released in 2016, and it changed his life. It was not a cover. It was his own song, and it was a hit, and it proved that the boy from Montería who sang covers on YouTube could write a song that the whole continent would sing.

Una Lady Como Tú and the Overnight Hit

Una Lady Como Tú was released in 2016, when Manuel Turizo was sixteen years old, and it became one of the biggest Latin hits of the year. The song is a romantic reggaeton track, with a gentle, melodic chorus and lyrics about a woman who is special, who is different, and who deserves to be treated well. It was a departure from the harder, more explicit reggaeton that dominated the charts, and its romanticism was part of its appeal. Young listeners, especially young women, responded to a song that treated love with respect, and the track was streamed hundreds of millions of times, played on radio across Latin America, and covered by other artists. It made Turizo a star overnight, and it did so before he was old enough to vote.

The success of Una Lady Como Tú was both a blessing and a challenge. It gave him fame, money, and a record deal, but it also created an expectation: that he would repeat the hit, again and again, and that he would be defined by it. Many young artists who have a huge hit at sixteen never escape it, and the industry is full of one-hit wonders. Turizo escaped that fate by understanding that a hit is a beginning, not an end, and by working to build a career, album by album, collaboration by collaboration, rather than by chasing the same formula. Una Lady Como Tú remains his signature song, and he still performs it, but it is now one song among many in a catalogue that has grown steadily since 2016.

ADN and the Debut Album

In 2019, Manuel Turizo released his debut album, ADN, a record that showed his range as a singer and as a songwriter. The album mixed reggaeton, pop, vallenato and R&B, and it included collaborations with artists including Nicky Jam, on Culpables, and Ozuna, on Vaina Loca, as well as solo tracks that showed his romantic style. ADN was a statement of intent, a record that said: this is who I am, this is what I sound like, and this is what I have to say. It was well received, it charted across Latin America, and it established Turizo as an album artist, not only as a singles singer, with a body of work that could be listened to as a whole.

The album’s title, ADN, which means DNA in Spanish, was a reference to his identity, to the musical DNA he had inherited from his family and from the Colombian Caribbean. The record was rooted in that identity, with songs that drew on vallenato, on cumbia, and on the romantic tradition of the coast, even as it embraced the reggaeton and pop that dominated the charts. That balance, between roots and modernity, is the key to Turizo’s music, and ADN was the first full expression of it. It was a debut album in the true sense: a first statement, made with care, and made to last, and it set the stage for the records that would follow.

Dopamina, Collaborations and the Growing Star

In 2021, Turizo released his second album, Dopamina, a record that continued the pattern of ADN, with a mix of reggaeton, pop, and romantic ballads, and with collaborations that showed his growing status in Latin music. The album included La Nota, with Rauw Alejandro and Myke Towers, a song that became a hit, and Te Quemaste, with Anuel AA, as well as solo tracks that showed his development as a songwriter. Dopamina was a more confident record than ADN, with a bigger sound, a wider range of collaborators, and a sense that Turizo was no longer a teenager with a hit. He was a star, with an audience, with a sound, and with a career that was growing year by year.

The collaborations on Dopamina were also a sign of his reputation within the industry. Artists of the stature of Rauw Alejandro, Anuel AA, and Nicky Jam do not collaborate with just anyone, and their willingness to work with Turizo was a sign that he was respected by his peers. He was not only a popular singer. He was a professional, a reliable collaborator, and a musician who could hold his own alongside the biggest names in Latin music. Dopamina confirmed that status, and it set the stage for the record that would make him a global star: 2000, and its lead single, La Bachata.

La Bachata and the Global Hit

In 2022, Manuel Turizo released La Bachata, a song that became the biggest hit of his career and one of the most popular Latin songs of the year. The track was a bachata-influenced song, with a romantic lyric, a catchy melody, and a rhythm that drew on the Dominican tradition of bachata, and it topped charts in Latin America, in Spain, and in other European countries. It was streamed billions of times, it was played on radio around the world, and it introduced Turizo to audiences who had never heard his music before. La Bachata was not a reggaeton song. It was a bachata song, and its success showed that Turizo was willing to experiment, to try new sounds, and to trust his audience to follow him.

The song’s success was also a sign of the changing landscape of Latin music, in which bachata, a genre that had once been seen as old-fashioned, was being rediscovered by a new generation. Turizo’s version was modern, polished, and romantic, and it appealed to listeners who had grown up with reggaeton but who were ready for something different. La Bachata remains his most streamed song, and it is the track that most people outside Latin America associate with him. It is a reminder that a hit can come from an unexpected place, and that an artist who is willing to try a new sound can be rewarded with the biggest success of his career.

El Merengue, Marshmello and the 2000 Album

In 2023, Turizo released his third album, 2000, named for the year of his birth, and it included El Merengue, a collaboration with the American DJ Marshmello, that became another major hit. El Merengue was a merengue-influenced track, with a fast, joyful rhythm, and it brought the Dominican genre to a new, young audience, in the same way that La Bachata had done for bachata. The collaboration with Marshmello was significant, because it brought Turizo together with an artist from the electronic dance world, and it showed his willingness to work across genres and across languages. The song was a hit in Latin America and in the United States, and it confirmed that Turizo was not only a Latin star but a global one.

The 2000 album as a whole was a statement about his generation, about the music he had grown up with, and about the artist he had become. It mixed reggaeton, bachata, merengue, pop and vallenato, and it showed a singer who was comfortable with all of them, and who was not afraid to experiment. The album was well received, it charted across Latin America, and it established Turizo as one of the most versatile young singers in Latin music. At twenty-three, he had three albums, a string of global hits, and a career that showed no sign of slowing down. 2000 was not only an album. It was a summary of a young life, and a promise of more to come.

Desconocidos, Camilo and the Romantic Collaborations

Among Turizo’s many collaborations, Desconocidos, with Camilo and Mau y Ricky, deserves special attention, because it is a romantic song that showcases his voice at its best. The track, released in 2018, was a hit across Latin America, and it showed Turizo’s ability to work with other romantic singers, to share a song, and to make the collaboration feel natural. Camilo, who would go on to become one of the biggest Latin stars of his generation, was a natural partner for Turizo, because both singers share a romantic, melodic style, and Desconocidos is a song that benefits from both voices. It is a track that is still played at parties and on radio, and it is one of the songs that fans associate most fondly with Turizo’s early career.

His other collaborations, including Culpables with Nicky Jam, Vaina Loca with Ozuna, and La Nota with Rauw Alejandro and Myke Towers, all show the same pattern: a singer who is generous with his collaborators, who gives them space, and who makes the song better by sharing it. That generosity is a hallmark of his career, and it is part of why other artists enjoy working with him. He does not need to dominate a song. He is happy to share it, and the song is better for it. That attitude is rare in a competitive industry, and it is one reason his collaborations are so consistently successful.

The Voice, the Romantic Style and the Pop Star

Manuel Turizo’s voice is one of his greatest assets, and it deserves to be described. It is warm, clear, and romantic, with a tone that is immediately recognisable, and a range that allows him to sing reggaeton, bachata, merengue, vallenato and pop with equal ease. He sings with a sincerity that is rare in Latin pop, treating love songs as if he means them, and that sincerity is part of why his romantic tracks are so popular. Young listeners, especially young women, respond to a singer who treats love with respect, and Turizo does, in song after song, without ever sounding cynical or detached. His voice is the sound of a romantic, and it is a sound that has made him a star.

His style, as a performer and as a public figure, is also part of his appeal. He is known for his good looks, for his fashion, and for a visual identity that is polished and confident, and he uses social media to connect with his fans, sharing his life, his music, and his work. He is a pop star in the full sense, with a voice, a look, and a presence, and he uses all three to create a world that his fans want to enter. That world is the reason his concerts are events, and his videos are watched hundreds of millions of times. He is not only a singer. He is a star, and he carries that stardom with a ease that belies his age.

Miami, the Move and the International Career

Like many Latin stars, Manuel Turizo moved to Miami, the centre of the Latin music industry in the United States, and the move was a significant step in his career. Miami is where the record labels are, where the producers work, and where the collaborations happen, and living there gave Turizo access to a wider network of artists, writers, and producers. It also gave him a base from which to tour the United States, to perform for the large Latin audiences in Florida, New York, and California, and to build a career that is not only Latin American but global. The move did not mean abandoning Colombia. He remains a Colombian singer, and his music is rooted in the Caribbean coast, but Miami gave him a platform from which to share that music with the world.

The international career that followed has taken him to stages across Latin America, Europe, and the United States, and his audience has grown steadily, from the teenagers who first heard Una Lady Como Tú to the global listeners who discovered him through La Bachata and El Merengue. He has performed at major festivals, he has toured extensively, and he has become one of the most recognisable young voices in Latin music. The move to Miami was a practical decision, but it was also a statement of ambition: he wanted to be more than a Colombian star. He wanted to be a Latin star, and then a global one, and he has achieved both, before his twenty-fifth birthday.

The Future and the Star from Montería

Manuel Turizo’s career is still young, and its future is open. He has three albums, a string of global hits, and a place at the centre of Latin pop, all achieved before his twenty-fifth birthday, and the combination is already remarkable. The question now is what he will do next, and the answer is likely to be as varied as everything that came before. He could make another album, he could explore new sounds, he could collaborate with artists from other countries, and any of those choices would be consistent with the artist he has become. He is not tied to a single sound or a single role, and that freedom is the most valuable thing a pop star can have.

His place in the history of Latin music is already secure. He is the boy from Montería who became a star at sixteen, the singer who made Una Lady Como Tú, La Bachata, and El Merengue, and the artist who took the romantic tradition of the Colombian Caribbean to the world. But his legacy will be more than a list of hits. It will be the example he sets: of a young man who believed in himself, who worked hard, and who made music that millions of people love. That example is worth following, and it is why Manuel Turizo matters, not only to his fans, but to anyone who cares about what Latin music can be.

He has also performed at major Latin music awards shows and festivals, where his live performances have introduced him to audiences who may not have heard his records, and those appearances have helped him build a reputation as a reliable, engaging live act. A singer who can hold a festival stage is a singer who has truly arrived, and Turizo has done so repeatedly.

My Take:

When I think about Manuel Turizo, the first thing that comes to mind is the age. He was sixteen when Una Lady Como Tú became a hit, and he has been a star ever since, which means that he has spent almost a third of his life in the public eye. That is a remarkable fact, and it is a reminder of how young Latin pop stars can be. He was a child when he became famous, and he has grown up in public, making albums, touring, and collaborating, all while most people his age were still at school. That growth, in public, is visible in his music, which has matured from the romantic reggaeton of Una Lady Como Tú to the bachata of La Bachata to the merengue of El Merengue, and each step shows an artist who is learning, growing, and getting better.

The second thing is the voice, because it is a remarkable instrument for someone so young. It is warm, clear, and romantic, with a tone that is immediately recognisable, and it carries a sincerity that is rare in Latin pop. He sings love songs as if he means them, and that sincerity is part of why his romantic tracks are so popular. Young listeners respond to a singer who treats love with respect, and Turizo does, in song after song. His voice is also versatile, able to handle reggaeton, bachata, merengue, vallenato and pop, and that versatility is what has allowed him to experiment without losing his audience. He is not limited to one sound, and that freedom is the foundation of his career.

Una Lady Como Tú is the song that started everything, and it deserves to be remembered, because it is a perfect debut hit. It is romantic, melodic, and catchy, and it announced a sixteen-year-old singer with a voice and a songwriting ability that were far beyond his years. The song’s success was not a fluke. It was the result of a good song, well sung, and well timed, and it has lasted, still played and still sung, almost a decade after its release. That longevity is rare for a debut single, and it is a sign that the song captured something real: a romanticism that young listeners wanted, and that the harder reggaeton of the time was not providing. Turizo filled a gap, and the audience rewarded him for it.

La Bachata is the song that made him a global star, and it is the one I would point to if someone asked me to explain his appeal in a single track. It is a bachata song, with a romantic lyric and a catchy melody, and it topped charts in Latin America and Europe, streamed billions of times, and introduced Turizo to audiences who had never heard his music. The song’s success showed his willingness to experiment, to try a genre that was not reggaeton, and to trust his audience to follow him. That trust was repaid, and La Bachata became the biggest hit of his career. It is a reminder that a hit can come from an unexpected place, and that an artist who is willing to try something new can be rewarded.

El Merengue, with Marshmello, is the other great experiment, and it shows the same willingness to take risks. Merengue is a Dominican genre, fast and joyful, and Turizo’s version, with an American DJ, brought it to a new, young audience. The collaboration was unexpected, and it worked, because both artists brought something real to it. The song was a hit, and it confirmed that Turizo was not only a Latin star but a global one, capable of working across genres and across languages. That ability to collaborate, to share a song, and to make it better, is a hallmark of his career, and El Merengue is a good example of it.

His albums, ADN, Dopamina and 2000, are the body of work that holds the hits together, and they deserve to be listened to as albums, not only as collections of singles. ADN was a debut, a statement of identity, rooted in the Colombian Caribbean. Dopamina was a more confident record, with bigger collaborations and a wider sound. 2000 was a summary, named for the year of his birth, and a promise of more to come. Together, the three albums show an artist growing, album by album, from a teenager with a hit to a young man with a catalogue. That growth is the most important thing about his career, because it shows that he is not a one-hit wonder. He is a musician, building a body of work, and the work is getting better.

His collaborations are another thread worth following, because they show a singer who is generous and who is respected by his peers. Desconocidos with Camilo and Mau y Ricky, Culpables with Nicky Jam, Vaina Loca with Ozuna, La Nota with Rauw Alejandro and Myke Towers, all of them are songs in which Turizo shares the spotlight, and in which the song is better for the sharing. That generosity is rare, and it is part of why other artists enjoy working with him. He does not need to dominate. He is happy to collaborate, and the collaborations are consistently strong. That is a sign of a professional, and of a person who understands that music is better when it is shared.

For a new listener, I would suggest a simple path. Start with Una Lady Como Tú, then listen to La Bachata, then listen to El Merengue, then listen to the 2000 album from start to finish, and then watch a live performance. That order takes you from the first hit to the global hit to the experiment to the album, and it shows the full arc of a career that is still growing. If you only have time for one song, make it La Bachata, because it is the most popular, and if you only have time for one album, make it 2000, because it is the most complete.

One more thought: Turizo’s career is a useful answer to anyone who thinks that Latin pop is only reggaeton. His music includes reggaeton, but it also includes bachata, merengue, vallenato, pop and R&B, and that variety is what makes him interesting. He is not a reggaeton singer. He is a Latin singer, and his music draws on the whole tradition of the Caribbean, from the romantic songs of his home to the dance music of the Dominican Republic. That breadth is the reason his audience is so wide, and it is why his career has lasted. He is not tied to a single sound, and that freedom is the most valuable thing a pop star can have.

Finally, I would say this: Manuel Turizo matters not only for what he has sung but for what he represents. He represents the Colombian Caribbean, its music, its romanticism, and its warmth, and he represents a generation of Latin artists who built their careers on the internet, through YouTube and streaming, without waiting for permission. He is a reminder that talent can come from anywhere, even from a small city on a river in Córdoba, and that it can reach the world, if the artist is willing to work for it. That is a hopeful story, and it is a true one, and it is why, at twenty-five, he is already one of the most important young singers in Latin music.

There is a last detail that stays with me, which is the way he talks about Montería. He does not talk about it as a place he left. He talks about it as home, as the source of his music, and as the place he returns to, in his mind, whenever he needs to remember who he is. That loyalty to home is the thread that runs through his whole career, from Una Lady Como Tú to 2000, and it is why his music feels authentic. He did not become famous by leaving Montería behind. He became famous by carrying it with him, and the world came to listen.

His brother Julián is another thread worth following, because the two of them started together, with Julián playing a part in the early recordings, and their partnership is a reminder that music is often a family affair. Manuel is the star, but Julián was there at the beginning, and the brothers’ collaboration is part of the story. That family connection is a sign of a grounded artist, one who has not forgotten the people who helped him, and who still works with them. It is a small detail, but it says a great deal about who Manuel Turizo is.

The move to Miami is worth thinking about once more, because it shows an artist who is ambitious and who is willing to go where the work is. Miami is the centre of Latin music in the United States, and living there gave Turizo access to collaborators, to producers, and to audiences that Montería could not offer. He did not abandon Colombia. He took Colombia with him, and he shared it with the world. That is the right way to think about a move like that: not as leaving home, but as carrying home further than it has ever travelled before. Turizo has done that, and his music is the evidence.

One more practical note: if you want to understand the new Latin pop, listen to Manuel Turizo. His music is the sound of a generation, a mixture of reggaeton, bachata, merengue and pop, sung in Spanish, with a romanticism that is characteristic of the Colombian Caribbean. He is not only a singer. He is a portrait of a moment, and that moment is still happening, in Montería, in Miami, and across Latin America. Listening to him is the best way to hear it.

Looking ahead, the question is what he will do next, and the answer is likely to be as varied as everything that came before. He could make another album, he could explore new sounds, or he could collaborate with artists from other countries, and any of those choices would be consistent with the artist he has become. He is not tied to a single sound, and that freedom is the most valuable thing a pop star can have. The next chapter is unwritten, but the chapters so far suggest that it will be worth following.

His romantic style deserves a final word, because it is what sets him apart in a genre that is often explicit and aggressive. Turizo sings about love with respect, with tenderness, and with a sincerity that is rare, and that romanticism is part of why his audience, especially young women, loves him. He is not a singer who objectifies. He is a singer who celebrates, and that celebration is a refreshing change in Latin pop. It is a reminder that a love song can be both a hit and a respectful one, and Turizo proves it, song after song.

One more thought on his age: he is only twenty-five, and his best work may still be ahead of him. The three albums so far show a clear upward curve, from the promise of ADN through the confidence of Dopamina to the maturity of 2000, and there is no sign that the curve is flattening. If he continues to write honestly, to collaborate generously, and to let new sounds into his music, there is no obvious ceiling on what he can do. The boy from Montería who posted covers on YouTube is now a global star, and the next decade could be even bigger than the last.

One more thought on his collaborations: the best of them, like Desconocidos and La Nota, work because Turizo treats his collaborators as equals, not as features. He shares the song, he shares the credit, and he shares the success, and that generosity is why artists keep coming back to work with him.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Manuel Turizo born?

Manuel Turizo was born on 12 April 2000 in Montería, in the department of Córdoba, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

What was Manuel Turizo’s breakthrough song?

His breakthrough was Una Lady Como Tú, released in 2016 when he was sixteen years old. It became one of the biggest Latin hits of the year.

What is Manuel Turizo’s most famous song?

His most famous song is La Bachata, released in 2022, a bachata-influenced track that topped charts in Latin America and Europe and was streamed billions of times.

What albums has Manuel Turizo released?

He has released three albums: ADN in 2019, Dopamina in 2021 and 2000 in 2023, named for the year of his birth.

What is El Merengue?

El Merengue is a 2023 song by Manuel Turizo with the American DJ Marshmello, a merengue-influenced track that became a major hit in Latin America and the United States.

Did Manuel Turizo start on YouTube?

Yes. As a young teenager, he posted covers of popular Latin songs on YouTube, singing and playing guitar, and built an audience before releasing his own music.