Jon Secada was born Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez in Havana on October 4, 1961 and after immigrating to the US in 1971, grew up in Miami, Florida. Raised in Hialeah, a city in the Miami metropolitan area, Secada received a Bachelor of Music and in 1986 completed a Master of Music in jazz vocal performance, both from the Frost School of Music. In 1991, he legally changed his name to Jon and went on to become one of the world’s best-selling Latin music stars, scooping two Grammy Awards and working with leading lights like Gloria Estefan. Secada co-wrote six songs on Estefan’s multi-platinum 1991 album Into the Light and scored a Number 1 for album track "Coming out of the Dark”. The following year, he released his self-titled debut album, which was awarded Best Latin Pop Album at the 1992 Grammy Awards, and Secada picked up a slew of other awards, including Best Latin-Pop Artist at the Billboard Latin Music Awards and Best Male Vocalist at The Rolling Stone Awards. 1994 saw the release of Secada’s third and fourth albums, Heart, Soul & A Voice and Si Te Vas, as well as a duet with Frank Sinatra, a re-recording of "The Best Is Yet to Come," released on Sinatra's album Duets II. Secada went on to complete an array of musical ventures, including a stint as a judge on Latin American Idol from 2006 to 2009. His next album, a tribute album of cover songs titled To Beny Moré With Love, came out in 2017. The project went on to win the Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Album, adding a third Grammy honor to Jon Secada’s career. In 2019, he returned with “Por Si No Vuelves,” followed by “Playa o Montaña” in 2020 and “You Are My One and Only” with Charly Black in 2022. He also deepened his Cuban songbook work with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba on Solos, a 2021 bolero-focused collaboration that received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Tropical Album. Jon Secada continued performing live in the following years, including orchestral and festival dates, and in 2025 joined Florida International University’s Wertheim School of Music as a faculty member. That same year, he reunited with Rubalcaba for Fascination, a Latin jazz album inspired by classic Cuban and American standards, featuring material such as “Acércate Más,” “Quizás, Quizás, Quizás,” “Unforgettable,” and “How Little We Know.” In 2026, the project was expanded as Fascination (Deluxe Edition), with additional tracks including “Stardust,” “Come Closer to Me,” and further collaborations with Aymée Nuviola.
