Matthew Alexander Hunter Correa (born February 20, 1998), known professionally as Matt Hunter, is an American singer, songwriter, and voice actor of Colombian-Italian descent.[1]
Matt Hunter | |
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 Hunter in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Matthew Alexander Hunter Correa |
| Born | February 20, 1998 New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
| Website | matthunterworld |
Early life
editHunter was born on February 20, 1998, in New York City,[2] and raised in Paramus, New Jersey.[3][4] His mother is Colombian,[5] and his father is Italian.[2]
Career
editMusic
editHunter worked in voice acting from ages 9 to 12, at which point he began posting YouTube videos of himself playing the guitar and singing various covers, occasionally in Spanish.[6][7] His videos went viral and he traveled around Latin America building his fan base in a grass roots fashion.[3] Around this time, he was dubbed the "Latino Justin Bieber".[8] Marc Anthony later called Hunter "the future" of music.[6]
At 13, Hunter released his first single, "Mi Amor".[8] He released follow-up singles in English and Spanish, "Right Here, Right Now" and "Mi Senorita", in 2012,[7] and then his EP Right Here, Right Now.[5][7] For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he released the songs "Minha Mina Ta Loca" and "Mi Chica Esta Loca" with Pitbull, in both Portuguese and Spanish versions.[9][10] By 2016 he had amassed 200,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel and over 500,000 Twitter followers.[6]
Hunter splits his time between New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Latin America.
Television
editAs a voice actor, Hunter played the singing role of Diego Márquez in the final two seasons of The Nickelodeon animated television series Go, Diego, Go! and played the same character in Dora the Explorer.[11] He auditioned for the role when he was 10, recording the voice of Diego until he was 12.[8] He also released his weekly comedy webisode series Fuego Fridays.[12]
Performances
editHunter has performed live in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Spain, Chile, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Argentina, Costa Rica and Ecuador.[7][13] In May 2013, he headlined and sold out Chile's 12,000 seat Movistar Arena.[14]
Awards and nominations
editHunter was nominated for Favorite Pop Artist at the 2013 Premios Juventud, presented by Univision (which did actually carry Spanish dubs of both Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! (two shows that Hunter did voice work on) as part of its Planeta U block from 2008 to 2014).[8][15]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–11 | Go, Diego, Go! | Singing Diego | Main role (Seasons 4–5) |
| 2009–11 | Dora the Explorer | Singing Diego | Main role (Season 6) |
Discography
edit- EPs
| Title and details | Notes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Right Here, Right Now
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- Singles
- "Home for the Holidays" (2011)
- "Mi Señorita" (2012)
- "Mi Amor" (2012)
- "Right Here, Right Now" (2013)
- "Te Vi" (2014)
- "Mi Chica Está Loca" (2014)
- "Mi Chica Está Loca" (alternative version feat. Pitbull) (2014)
- "Mas Que Tu Amigo" (2015)
- "Te Necesito" (feat. Augusto Schuster) (2016)
- "Amor Real" (2017)
- "Dicen" (duet with Lele Pons) (2018)
- "Lista De Espera" (feat. Isabela Moner) (2018)
- "Una Vez Más" (feat. Tommy Boysen) (2019)
- "Cazador" (feat. Lenny Tavarez) (2019)
- "Problemas" (feat. GASHI, Big Soto) (2019)
- "Entera" (with Carla Fernandes) (2020)
- "Suave" (with Corona Smith) (2020)
- "Error" (with Lalo Ebratt) (2020)
- Covers
- "All of Me" (from John Legend) (2014)
- "Todo Cambiara" (Spanish version of Justin Timberlake's "Not a Bad Thing") (2015)
- Featured in
- "Fiesta" (StereO 4 feat. Matt Hunter) (2014)
References
edit- ^ Sexenio: Matt Hunter y Karol Jesús ganan fama en Twitter (in Spanish)
- ^ a b "Matt Hunter, the 'Latino Justin Bieber,' Looks for Mainstream Success in US," Latino Post, August 14, 2013.
- ^ a b Jody Rosen, "Inside Marc Anthony's New Latin Entertainment Empire: 'It Was Born Out of F—king Frustration'," Billboard, April 21, 2016.
- ^ Jordan, Chris. "From Paramus to the world: How Matt Hunter became a Latin music star", The Record (Bergen County), July 29, 2019. Accessed July 30, 2019. "Meet Matt Hunter, a contemplative 21-year-old from Paramus who makes them scream in Colombia, Mexico, Chile and beyond."
- ^ a b Cristina Arreola, "Matt Hunter Talks New Music, Celeb Crushes & Latin American Tour," Latina, September 18, 2013.
- ^ a b c Griselda Flores, "Who's Up-and-Coming Latin Artist Matt Hunter?" Billboard, April 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Matt Hunter, 'Latino Justin Bieber,' Talks About Latino Heritage, Music Career and Future Plans," Latino Post, September 20, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Jonathan Muñoz (August 13, 2013). "Matt Hunter, the 'Latino Justin Bieber,' Looks For Mainstream Success In U.S." Huffington Post.
- ^ "Matt Hunter recently performed his new single and his World Cup Song, 'Minha Mina Ta Loca'," The Pulse Web, June 20, 2014.
- ^ Ruben Perez Jr, "Matt Hunter Releases New Single, 'Mi Chica Esta Loca'," Entertainment Rocks, June 23, 2014.
- ^ Terra Live: 10 cosas que no sabías sobre Matt Hunter (in Spanish)
- ^ "Matt Hunter's Fuego Friday episode 20 is part 2 of his trip to Columbia". pulseweb. December 2013.
- ^ "Matt Hunter se abre camino con "Mi señorita"". La Opinión. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ "Matt Hunter y su primer concierto en Chile: Sentí cosas que no había sentido". Radio Cooperativa. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ Vanguardia Mexico: Lista de nominados a los Premios Juventud – Mi artista pop: Dulce María, Jenni Rivera, Jesse & Joy, Matt Hunter, Thalía, Justin Bieber Abundis Garcia (in Spanish)