Daniel Santacruz is a tropical singer/songwriter from the Dominican Republic who penned the smash hit "Perdidos" for Monchy & Alexandra in 2004 shortly after he had embarked on a solo recording career of his own in 2003. Born Daniel Cruz Sánchez on November 23, 1976, in New Jersey to a Cuban father and a Dominican mother, he grew up in the Dominican Republic. Billing himself simply as Daniel, he made his full-length solo album debut with Por un Beso (2003), a critically acclaimed effort that earned him a Premios Lo Nuestro nomination for Best New Artist of the Year. A year later Dominican superstars Monchy & Alexandra performed his song "Perdidos" on their album Hasta el Fin (2004), and the song became a smash hit, topping the Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay chart, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, and even breaking into The Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the wake of "Perdidos," Monchy & Alexandra turned another of his songs, "No Es una Novela" (2006), into a hit while Mexican pop band Reik turned his song "Me Duele Amarte" (2006) into a hit as well. Santacruz was subsequently offered a major-label recording contract with Sony BMG and made his label debut with Radio Rompecorazones (2008). The lead single "Adónde Va el Amor?" was released in advance of the album. ~ Jason Birchmeier