Rudy Amado Pérez (born May 14, 1958) is a Cuban-born American musician, songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, sound engineer, musical director and singer,[note 1][1] as well as entertainment entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

Pérez has produced more than 70 albums,[2] composed over 1,000 songs (over 300 of which have been number one or have reached the top 10 charts), and written and produced music for popular international artists such as Westlife, Natalie Cole, José Feliciano, Julio Iglesias, Luis Miguel, Raúl di Blasio, Jaci Velasquez, Cristian Castro, Christina Aguilera, Michael Bolton, Luis Fonsi, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Il Divo, and Beyoncé.

He was instrumental in the production of the premiere of the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards of 2000[7][8] and is on the board of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

[8] In April 2013, Pérez (along with Desmond Child) created the Pabellón de la Fama de los Compositores Latinos (Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame; LSHOF), in Miami Beach, to honor the most important Latino composers and to drive them to continue creating Latin music.

The remainder of his family consisted of his mother, Elsa Pérez,[12] a seamstress,[10] who made fine clothes and baskets,[13] and three siblings (two sisters and a brother).

[7] When Pérez was nine years old, his family emigrated to the United States,[4][11][note 2] leaving their home country to flee the political regime of Castro.

The Pérez family moved to Miami, initially living in a refugee camp,[8] but soon settled in Liberty City, Florida.

(1976) and had four singles and EPs: "Miénteme" (Move On), "Quit Jive' In" (Jungle Walk), "Adoro" (More) and "Understanding" (Young In Love; Yo Lo Comprendo).

Thus, Pérez got his first opportunity as a composer: Cano offered him to record with a band and to submit him to a company of musical albums.

[8][16] During this time, he began working with other artists who he met at the studio, such as Roberto Carlos and Gloria Estefan, and continued studying music.

A few weeks later, while he was on a promotional tour of his manager, Pablo Cano, in Puerto Rico, he met José Feliciano, for whom Menendez had played their version of "¿Qué voy a hacer sin tí?".

[1][7][8][11][16] Pérez produced most of Feliciano's Ya soy tuyo album (I'm already yours) and it reached number one with the song "Me has echado al olvido" (you have thrown me into oblivion).

[3][10] In 1992, WEA hired him to collaborate on the production of the record Aries by Luis Miguel, which meant he had to sign an exclusivity contract preventing him from producing for others until 1997.

[3][10]"Rudy"[21] (also known as "Sencillos y otros"; in English: Singles and others), whose most played song was "Mi manera de querer" (My way of loving).

In 2000, Pérez produced the album by Luis Fonsi, Eterno,[3][6][10] composing seven of its 13 songs, including the hit "Imagíname Sin Ti" and its English version (Imagine me without you).

[3][6][10] The success of this album and the Grammy Award he received allowed him to work with Anglophone artists in the United States and elsewhere, producing and composing songs in Spanish for singers and bands like Westlife and Michael Bolton.

In 2002, the song he produced for Pilar Montenegro, "Quítame ese hombre", was the first to reach number 1, remaining in this position for 13 consecutive weeks.

[3][10][note 4] In this year, Pérez also worked on the Jordi's album Tú no sospechas (in Spanish: "You have no idea"), on which he was responsible for 11 tracks.

The album was released on October 8, 2002, to which was added a first single, the title track, produced by veteran stars as Alejandro Jaén.

[6] In January 2010 he won the "Producer of the Decade" award from Billboard, for his constant success over ten years in public preference lists.

[4] In 2012, Pérez released his third album, Lo mejor de mí ("The best of me"), a compilation of many of the songs he had composed for other singers, interpreted by him.

He was hired by AT&T, for which he wrote and produced the music for the "True Voice" and "Leadership" advertising campaigns, sung by the Cuban singer Jon Secada.

[25] In 2011, he wrote the song "La fuerza del destino" with Mauricio Abaroa Suzarte, sung by Marc Anthony and Sandra Echeverría for the soap opera of the same title.

According to the journalist J. Freedorm du Lac, his singles have been used for various themes such as "breakups, makeups, courtships, wedding dances, babymaking, proms, self-pity sessions and bouts of teenage melodrama".

[8] He and Desmond Child created the Pabellón de la Fama de los Compositores Latinos (in Spanish: Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame – LSHOF),[9][26] which opened in October 2012, in Miami Beach, to honor the most important Latino composers (those whose first success was made more than 20 years ago[27]).

On April 23, 2013, the first awards gala was held in Miami, honoring seven iconic songwriters, including Manuel Alejandro, Jose Feliciano, José Ángel Espinoza "Ferrusquilla," Julio Iglesias, Armando Manzanero, Concha Valdés Miranda, and a posthumous recognition award for Roberto Cantoral.

[19] According to PR Newswire, "The course includes classes in singing, composing, recording, mixing and studio technology, rehearsals, live performances, stage presence, and special guests from the music business.

[29] Those selected will work with teachers and they will also have tutorials and staff support by other experts in the world of music to cover all aspects of the industry.

At the end of the program, each participant will have the skills to compete in this profession including image creation, choreography training, business fundamentals and professional recording their own song to help them launch their careers".

He admires artists like Frédéric Chopin, Giacomo Puccini, George Gershwin, The Beatles, Brian Wilson, Charles Aznavour, Stevie Wonder and Manuel Alejandro.