Prince Royce

For a certain kind of music snob, there's nothing more annoying than all that saccharine radio pop stuff called bachata. At best, it's elevator muzak. At worst, it sounds like a sad baby wailing over a karaoke tape full of stuttering guitar, bongo and maracas. But there are millions of people who absolutely love it. And the latest irrefutable proof of bachata's mega-popularity is a Bronx-born Dominican phenomenon named Prince Royce. Only 21 years old, this bachatero broke out last year with a Spanglish cover of the old Ben E. King soul-pop hit "Stand by Me." It shot to the highest rung on Billboard's Latin charts, sold like smack on iTunes and even crossed over into English-language radio land. So all music snobs, stay home this Saturday when the Prince swoons into Club Escapade (the 2001 side, not 2010). The rest of you, though, should get ready for his cute face, suave pencil mustache, guitar, bongo and maracas.