Thanks to Peter Jordens for sending this item.

Amigoe reports that the Curaçaoan singer Ephrem J has managed to become the first artist born in Curaçao to reach the Top 10 of ‘Tropical Songs’ on the prestigious American hit parade Billboard. This week his bachata hit ‘I wanna Run 2 U’ climbed from position number 34 to number 9, a remarkable achievement. The Billboard Top 100 is based on sales figures, radio airplay, and the popularity of a song or dance number in night clubs.

Last year Ephrem J signed with the New York record label Mayimba Music. This label is part of Premium Latin Music Inc. The  world-renowned bachata group Aventura and meringue singer Eddy Herrera are amongst those under contract with this record company.

For the original news item (in Dutch), see http://amigoe.com/curacao/98050-ephrem-j-eerste-curacaose-artiest-op-billboard-top-10.

Ephrem J (whose full name is Ephrem Jonathan Ocalia) has a website at http://www.ephremj.com.