“Despacito” may have made Luis Fonsi an international sensation, but it hardly defines his sound. Long before that song’s 2017 breakthrough—and long before its similarly massive, Justin Bieber-abetted remix—the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter was racking up Latin-pop smashes, evolving rapidly from charming balladeer to fearless genre bender. Born in San Juan in 1978, he chased boy-band dreams during his teen years in South Florida—until his tender croon scored him a solo deal right as he dropped out of college. Over time, he’d play both the smooth R&B seducer (“Imaginame Sin Ti”) and explosive rock star (“Corazón en la Maleta”), while also bringing 21st-century swagger to classic Latin grooves like bachata (“Llegaste Tú”) and old-school sensuality to pop anthems colored with dance-music synths (“Claridad”). “People look at me and see this guy who’s done mostly romantic ballads, but there’s always been this other side,” he told u003ciu003eBillboardu003c/iu003e. “Pushing the envelope, musically speaking, is what needs to be done to rise to the top.”