Roberto Tapia and El Komander (Cancelled)

Roberto Tapia was born in San Diego, California and raised in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. Tapia adopted the Regional Mexican genre and in August 2012, his album El Muchacho hit #1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart. Tapia was one of three coaches on the first two seasons of La Voz Kids (The Voice Kids), a Spanish-language version of The Voice featuring American Spanish-speaking children on the Telemundo Network. He inclusively became a business man in the year of 2013, promoting restaurants, and still continuing with his singer life.

Alfredo Rios a.k.a. El Komander has become one of the stars of the narcocorrido scene, playing sold-out concerts for ticket holders on tours in Mexico and the United States. His narcocorridos, or narco ballads, have deep roots dating back to the 1930s and chronicle the culture and lives of Mexican kingpins, often referring to real events and places in their explicit narratives about the violence amid the rise and fall of drug trafficking. The genre’s popularity has increased with the lyrically hardcore movimiento alterado, or altered movement, in much of the same way that gangsta rap has, with the appeal in the fast and furious lifestyles of its subjects. El Komander’s sound is rooted in the norteño folk corrido tradition, with his alluring voice floating over the accordion-driven polka sound bolstered by drums, guitar, trumpet, and tuba at a frenzied and danceable pace. He has released five albums in the last three years, including 2011’s Y Seguimos la Borrachera and 2013’s El Katch, whose self-titled single has received tremendous internet buzz and heavy radio play from Chicago to San Diego.