Freddie Colloca
Genre: Pop/Worship
Official Web Site
Freddie Colloca Bibliography: (click on each album cover to view tracks and Freddie Colloca lyrics)
Freddie Colloca Biography Give Webster his due. The man knew what he was talking about. In his New World Dictionary, under the word "buzz," after dispensing with bees and telephones, he hits the nail squarely on the head: "a stirring-up; excitement; euphoria."
Freddie Colloca ("ko-yo-ka") has spent the better part of his young life building a serious buzz, and the excitement and euphoria that he has stirred in his adopted hometown of Miami, Florida, as well as much of the Spanish-speaking world, is about to explode globally with the release of his newest One Voice CD, Unconditional.
Want to draw some easy parallels? That's OK by Freddie, but don't box him too far into anyone else's corner. Ricky Martin? Enrique Iglesias? Marc Antony or Luis Miguel? No problem, as far as comparisons go. Like his famous contemporaries, Freddie Colloca has his finger precisely on the pulse of cutting-edge Latin music. Hot dance, smooth pop, heart-rending ballads and more are the currency in which Freddie fluently trades. But ask the Argentina-born, Miami-raised, twenty-something Freddie what he's all about and it quickly becomes clear he's carving a path into places all his own.
"I want to bring audiences to their feet in celebration, and to their knees in worship," Freddie explains without pause. "I'm flattered by comparisons to so many great artists, but truthfully I'd hope one day I could be compared to David, or one of the great men of the Bible who lived his life for God, and encouraged others to do the same."
Standing virtually alone as a male artist performing Latin pop music in the contemporary Christian music (CCM) marketplace, Freddie is a young man fully able to hold his own and then some with all the aforementioned superstars, and is poised to be among the break-out artists of the year. With the one-two, knock-out production punch of mainstream hit-maker of the moment, Hal Batt (Enrique Iglesias, Chayanne) and Miami-native Don Koch (multi-million-selling producer of CCM pop icons 4Him and NewSong, among countless others), Unconditional hits the streets with an impact that could only be marshaled by two such masters.
Add to that mix the formidable songwriting talents of both producers, an assemblage of contemporary chart-topping songwriters-including Regie Hamm, Joel Lindsey, Brian White, Robert Ellis Orrall, and Freddie himself-and Unconditional has all the hallmarks of a major hit waiting to happen. And it fully delivers on that promise - big-time. With a voice that is muscular, joyful, poignant, playful and more, Freddie approaches each note of every song he sings with a passion inherent to Latin music, and a power and impact that transcend the limitations of genre or format.
The album's title song, co-written by Batt and Orrall, is the definitive Latin dance smash-irresistibly hooky, unforgettably catchy, and just daring anyone with a pulse to sit still. Over an infectious percussion loop, punchy horns, and an almost futuristic synth bed, Freddie offers an uncompromising lyric of praise to God, the sum total of which is simply without precedent, and nothing short of breath-taking.
In a genre that sounds like it was literally created to celebrate the greatness of the Almighty, "Savior My Savior" lays down a kickin' dance jam beneath a memorably melodic lead vocal, conveying words of worship that perfectly meld simplicity and sophistication. Add to that the background vocals of Avalon's Janna Potter Long and you have a hit that's tailor-made for Christian pop radio.
"Instead of Me" plays the crunching power chords of electric guitar off of ringing acoustic guitars and piano, echoing elements of classic contemporary rock bands such as Journey. An undeniable, unstoppable Latin rhythm section brings the two influences together into a best-of-both-worlds amalgam, as Freddie proclaims the sacrifice and saving grace of Christ.
The Latin groove of "Song of My Heart" subtly turns the flames down a notch to smoldering embers, while still packing every ounce of energy and unbridled enthusiasm that permeates and overflows Unconditional, from the first downbeat to the final fade.
A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Federico Colloca was born with music in his bloodlines. The son of a father who had spent much of his adolescence as part of a highly popular Latin Christian folk group, young Freddie was immersed in a world of music almost from the day he came into the world. His father entered the pastorate when only 19 through the Elim Fellowship, a denomination based in New York State with congregations the world over. Several years later, when Freddie was five years old, the family immigrated to the U.S. where Rev. Colloca assumed the role of co-pastor and music director of a thriving Elim congregation in Miami.
Freddie grew up in Miami's heavily Hispanic Hialeah neighborhood, where the happy sounds of all genres of Latin music-from merengue, to salsa, to Tejano-was the soundtrack that surrounded him day-in and day-out. And while part of his heart was and will always be in Argentina, Freddie inevitably grew up to be an all-American kid. In addition to '80s and '90s Top 40 radio, Freddie cites his Latin musical mentors as well as the hot CCM artists of the day as equal influences on his artistic and musical/spiritual development.
By age 14 he was already playing keyboards in the church's band, and was promoted to worship leader by his 15th birthday. Planning to follow his father into the ministry, Freddie graduated from high school and began Bible College studies at the Miami branch of Charity International University, pursuing a four-year bachelor's degree program. His carefully charted course took something of a detour however, when after two years of college, he met renowned Hispanic praise & worship leader Marcos Witt, who invited Freddie to spend a year of intensive musical studies at his school, the Center of Musical Dynamics in Mexico City.
Freddie returned to Miami after 12 months of study in Mexico with Witt. He finished his degree at Charity, well-versed in biblical studies, and well into a career of music ministry as a worship leader, performer and recording artist. With two well-received independent albums to his credit-which he'd recorded in his last two years of college-and a steady schedule of performing in and around the Miami area, Freddie built a considerable local following.
Latin music impresarios Jose and Pepe Garces, founders of Miami's One Voice Records, had attended the Colloca's church for several years and watched Freddie grow strongly in Christian character and maturity, as well as talent. As Freddie approached the making of his third album, Mas que Un Sentimiento, he signed with One Voice, and his career quickly shifted gears. A nomination for Spanish Language Album of the Year and a dazzling performance at the Gospel Music Association's (GMA) Dove Awards in 2001 began to turn heads in Freddie's direction.
An English-language version of the critically acclaimed album soon followed, retitled Dance el Ritmo. Freddie's whirlwind year 2001 also included a performance at the GMA's prestigious yearly music seminar in Estes Park, Colorado, and a slot with NewSong and the Newsboys on the 20-city Winter Jam Tour. His reach to the masses increased dramatically when he was chosen by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) to host the Latin version of its popular music video series, One Cubed, airing for an international Spanish-speaking audience of over 25 million. With a recent 2002 Dove Award nomination for the song "Dance el Ritmo" and a dynamic partnership between One Voice and CCM giant Provident Music Distribution, the stage is set for Unconditional to reach Freddie's biggest audience to date.
Reflecting on his life, career and new album, Freddie speaks with a passion and fire much akin to that of his music. "God doesn't love us if; He doesn't love us when; He doesn't love us because," Freddie concludes. "He just loves us-period! And that is unconditional love."
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