Menudo (from left to right) Carlos Olivero (Chicago), Chris Moy (Bronx, NY), José Collazo (Pto Rico), José "Monti" Montanez (Caguas, Pto Rico), Emmanuel Pagan (Pto Rico)
Carlos, Chris, Emmanuel, José and Monti are the new voices of the pop band, and as 17-year-old Emmanuel says, “Menudo is back.”
It all began with the MTV reality show Making Menudo, which made 15 young finalists put their talents to the test. Only five were chosen to become members of the new pop band and record an album with Epic Records. Of the show, 15-year-old José says “it was an experience that changed our lives completely. We never thought that we were going to make it so fast, much less with the name Menudo, which is a huge name.” And 18-year-old Carlos calls the experience “incredible,” an attitude he shares with the rest of the band. Driven by the same dream, the young stars call themselves a family, even though “like all siblings, there are always fights, but we try to be very good,” José admits.
Before entering the competition, the teenagers were pretty much living your average teenage lives with their families and in school, but as 18-year-old Monti tells us, he was “always dreaming and trying to become an artist.” That dream became a reality last December with the release of their first EP “More Than Words,” which includes four songs.