Daddy Yankee

Reality Wanted - June 15, 2007 - The summer hit SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE kicked into high gear this week, with the first performances by the Top 20 finalists on Wednesday and special performances last night by R&B singer Lloyd and Season Two winner Benji Schwimmer.

The three couples who received the fewest votes after Wednesday’s performance show were: Sabra Johnson and Dominic Sandoval; Faina Savich and Cedric Gardner; and Ashlee Langas and Ricky Palomino. After each of the six dancers performed a solo routine, the judges eliminated Langas and Palomino, as individuals, from the competition, ending their quest to become America’s favorite dancer. Langas, 19, is a Contemporary/Jazz dancer from Tyler, TX, and Palomino, 25, is a Contemporary dancer from Phoenix, AZ. Lloyd performed the hit single “Get It Shawty” from his album “Street Love,” which recently went gold, and Schwimmer returned to the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE stage to perform a routine to “Tu Vuo’ Fa L’Americano” from “The Talented Mr. Ripley” soundtrack.

Next week, the competition revs up on television’s hottest show when the remaining 18 finalists (Jimmy Arguello, Kameron Bink, Cedric Gardner, Anya Garnis, Jaimie Goodwin, Lauren Gottlieb, Neil Haskell, Sabra Johnson, Hok Konishi, Pasha Kovalev, Shauna Noland, Jessi Peralta, Dominic Sandoval, Faina Savich, Lacey Schwimmer, Jesús Solorio, Sara Von Gillern and Danny Tidwell) compete as couples once again on a special two-hour performance show Wednesday, June 20 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). The following night, the judges will send two more dancers home, and reggaeton star Daddy Yankee will perform “Impacto” from his new album “El Cartel: The Big Boss” on the live results show Thursday, June 21 (9:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.

The third hit season of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE is dominating the competition. The series boasts the highest-rated Adults 18-49 telecast for a summer series so far this year. SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE-WED is No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-49, Total Viewers, Adults 18-34, Teens and all key demos, while SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE-THU ranks No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Teens, and No. 2 in Total Viewers.

With his rapid-fire freestyle flow and clever lyrics, Daddy Yankee helped pioneer the sound of reggaeton. His grassroots success story has taken him from the barrios outside San Juan, Puerto Rico, to being named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world by TIME magazine in 2006. Born Ramón Ayala in Rio Piedras, he began rapping at friends’ parties in the Villa Kennedy housing project in San Juan. He made his recording debut on the “One Tough Cop” soundtrack in 1998. Several subsequent albums, including the hit “Los Homerun-es” (2003), plus dozens of collaborations with other artists, made DY a star in his homeland. 2004’s “Barrio Fino” and its “Gasolina” track, produced by Luny Tunes, were sensations around the world. “Barrio Fino” became the first reggaeton album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Latin chart and won the Latin Grammy for Best Urban Music Album. In 2005, “Ahora Le Toca al Cangri! Live,” featuring performances in English and Spanish, brought together Latin, reggae and rap. In 2006, the live CD/DVD set “Barrio Fino en Directo” rocketed to No. 1, was certified gold in the U.S. and was the biggest-selling Latin album of the year. “El Cartel: The Big Boss,” released earlier this month, features such diverse guest artists as Fergie and Will.i.am from Black Eyed Peas, Jim Jones, Nicole Scherzinger from The Pussycat Dolls, and Akon.

Daddy Yankee is founder and CEO of his own record label and management company and host of a nationally syndicated radio show. “Talento de Barrio,” his first film as actor and executive producer, is slated for U.S. release later this year. DY was the first reggaeton artist to offer free concerts for the children of the housing projects of Puerto Rico. He is a spokesperson for the American Red Cross in the U.S. Hispanic community and later this year will launch his own charitable organization, Fundación Corazón Guerrero.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE was created by Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and comes from 19 Entertainment Ltd. and dick clark productions. It is executive-produced by Simon Fuller, Nigel Lythgoe and Allen Shapiro.