Merengue star Elvis Crespo performs in Coconut Creek
Elvis Crespo says he’s always preferred the risky path, following the lead of his parents, who marked him at birth for a lifetime of attention by naming him after the King.
A steamy, “Fifty Shades of Grey”-type video in which a man and woman reveal plenty of skin is the latest venture by the merengue star, who lives in Miami and will perform Tuesday at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek.
The video features the title song of Crespo’s new album, “Tatuaje.” Released in March, the album has peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Tropical Music charts, while the song reached No. 1.
“Tatuaje” is Spanish for tattoo, and in the video, a man places a blindfolded woman on her back and follows her tattoos as he works his face south of her navel.
“It’s very sexy,” Crespo says. “I have a team, and I let them be creative. I’m not a dictator.”
The video has drawn 2 million YouTube views, even though it’s NSFW. Crespo had planned to perform the song during a Univision broadcast of a beauty pageant in March, but the network vetoed it. He declined to sing an alternate song.
Crespo, 43, began his career in the mid ’90s when he joined the merengue band Grupo Mania in Puerto Rico before going solo in 1998.
His watershed single was his first, titled “Suavemente,” which in 1999 helped him win Best Male Tropical/Salsa Album of the Year from Billboard magazine. The song, in which the narrator coaxes his lover to kiss him “suavemente [softly],” is featured in the third-season finale of Netflix’s “House of Cards.”
Crespo is often identified as a merengue performer, but he says that tag mostly comes from English-speaking media.
“My audience sees me as a universal artist,” he says. “They don’t know the difference between salsa, merengue, bacheta, whatever. Well, maybe the Latins in Miami do. But the global audience knows me as a universal tropical music artist.”
He’s careful to balance the sound his fans are used to hearing — swinging horns, boisterous vocals and rhythm galore — while also trying to keep it current.
“It’s very difficult for an artist to keep the same sound and to present some evolution, because the audience always wants more,” Crespo says. “If you change your sound too much, they’ll be mad with you. But if you keep it the same, they think, ‘Oh, he has to move forward.’ But I like to take risks.”
Crespo says his new album pushes his music by utilizing electronic sounds and guest artists. Bachata Heightz, an urban-influenced group from New York, backs him on “Tatuaje.”
“My biggest challenge is to keep consistent, to reach farther in my musical knowledge and reach my maximum creativity,” he says. “I know of excellent singers, but they don’t have that big sound. I’m not an excellent singer, but I have a big sound.”
Elvis Crespo will perform 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Pavilion at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, 5550 NW 40th St. Tickets cost $35-$65. Call 954-977-6700 or go to CasinoCoco.com.