When did Elvis Crespo debut? Career, age, and more explored as artists get awarded Billboard Hall of Fame 2025

Elvis Crespo received the Hall of Fame award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards 2025 on Thursday, October 23. The 54-year-old singer is one of the biggest names in the Latin American music industry and has also won a Grammy award.

The Billboard Latin Music Awards took place at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida, on Thursday and was broadcast on Telemundo. Bad Bunny was the big winner with 11 awards, while the likes of Karol G and Fuerza Regida also won big.

During the event, Elvis Crespo was awarded the Billboard Hall of Fame award. He joined the likes of Vicente Fernández, Rocío Dúrcal, Marco Antonio Solís, Joan Sebastian, and Marc Anthony in the list of recipients of the award.

Crespo was born on July 30, 1971, in New York City, but was raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He started his music career by joining a Puerto Rican group named Grupo Mania as a vocalist in the mid-1990s.

However, he decided to go solo in 1998. Crespo released his debut album, Suavemente, that year, and it became an instant hit. Its title track, Suavemente, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. It went platinum in Central America and Venezuela, while reaching gold in Chile and North America.

Elvis Crespo has since released 15 solo studio albums, delivering many chart-topping hits. In 1999, he won the Grammy Award for Best Merengue Performance for Pimente, his second studio album. In 2005, he won the Best Merengue Album award at the Latin Grammys for Saborealo, his sixth studio album.

In personal life, Elvis Crespo was first married to Ana Ceruto from 1996 to 2001. He then married his manager, Maribel Vega, in 2009, but announced his divorce in December 2024.

Crespo has five kids. As per Distractify, he had four of them during his marriage with Ana Ceruto, but had only one with her. He was reportedly involved in a paternal scandal, which led to him having three kids with three different women. He then had another child with Maribel Vega in 2012.

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Elvis Crespo expresses gratitude after winning Billboard Hall of Fame award

Elvis Crespo El Dueño De La Puntería Tour Opener - San Juan, Puerto Rico (Image Source: Getty)

After winning the Hall of Fame award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards on Thursday, Elvis Crespo thanked his family and his audience. He said in his speech:

“I thank God for allowing me to live this unique and different moment. When I decided to get into music, I never thought I’d experience a moment like this. I dedicate this award to my first manager, my mother, Irene, who gave me $5 to take my singing lessons every day in Rio Piedra."

"To Diómedes, to my father, who recently had corneal surgery, who can’t see me but is listening. Daddy, thank you because the Crespos gave me the ability to make music. To my children who are with me tonight. To the entire industry […] you make lifelong friends here. To the audience, thank you for believing in me.”

The Billboard Latin Music Awards 2025 will be streamed on the Telemundo app, Peacock, and Telemundo Internacional across Latin America and the Caribbean.

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