Elvis Crespo Díaz (born July 30, 1971 in New York City) is an American singer and songwriter of the Merengue genre. He has won multiple awards, including a Grammy and a Latin Grammy Award in merengue. 　　Early years 　　Crespo was born in New York City and was named "Elvis" after Elvis Presley. He was raised in the city of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, where he spent his childhood and adolescent years. 　　Musical career 　　He first gained fame in the mid-90s when he joined Grupo Mania, in Puerto Rico. Eventually he decided to try to go solo in 1998. His debut album, Suavemente was a hit, both in Latin America and in the US. The single "Suavemente" was a huge hit and eventually helped him earn the Best Male Tropical/Salsa Album of the Year from Billboard magazine. His album went platinum in the Venezuelan and Central American markets and gold in Chile. Released in 1998, Crespo's debut also earned a gold album for sales of over 500,000 copies in the first year after its release in the United States. "Suavemente" set a record for holding the top position on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart for six weeks. Part of the song's success was its unexpected crossover appeal to English-speaking listeners, particularly in Miami and New York."His album was mostly merengue influenced, but his follow-up albums would venture from these roots eventually. Wow Flash! is Elvis Crespo's third solo recording for Sony Music. Elvis Crespo's latest album, Regresó el Jefe, went on sale on 5 June 2007, with its first single being "La Foto Se Me Borró." He dedicated this album to his niece, Wilmarie Agosto Crespo, who died in a car accident on March 28, 2007. 　　Personal life 　　On March 16th, 2009 Crespo married his manager, Maribel Vega, in Puerto Rico.