PeeWee

Hailing from the United States, Pee Wee launched his solo career in 2009 after first gaining recognition as part of the Kumbia Kings. Born Irvin Salinas on December 8, 1988, in Othello, WA, he relocated to southern Texas during adolescence. There the Latin pop hitmaker A.B. Quintanilla III brought him into the Kumbia Kings, a cumbia-pop collective distinguished by its rotating roster and repeated commercial achievements. Owing to his youth, he adopted the stage name Pee Wee, also known as Pee Wee González. His initial recording with the group arrived in 2004 on the hit single “Sabes a Chocolate,” a cover of the Menudo song first released in 1984 on Evolución. He received prominent placement on the Kumbia Kings’ subsequent album Fuego (2004) and scored another success with “Na Na Na (Dulce Niña),” which reached the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in 2005. The next Kumbia Kings release, Ayer Fue Kumbia Kings, Hoy Es Kumbia All Starz (2006), yielded a further Top Ten hit featuring Pee Wee, “Chiquilla.” Echoing the experience of earlier members, Pee Wee cited ill treatment by Quintanilla and exited the group in February 2008. The ensuing year proved highly productive: he appeared on the Erre XI reggaeton hit “Carita Bonita” and won first place on the television talent shows El Show de los Sueños and Los Reyes del Show. Following his solo signing with EMI, he released the album Yo Soy in 2009, with “Cumbayá” issued as the lead single.