So far this year, ROA was named one of Billboard’s Latin Artists to Watch in 2026, and won the award for male new artist of the year at the 2026 Premio Lo Nuestro. But way before accepting his third career win — following a Premio Tu Música Urbano and Premios Juventud award, both in 2025 — and officially kicking off his trajectory in 2022, he was studying business and psychology. 

“I realized it wasn’t for me,” ROA tells Billboard. “I was studying in Puerto Rico, so I began to make a lot of friends in the music industry. One day I went to the studio and realized that I had the talent. At that moment, I felt that this is what I wanted to do — and in 2016, I left the university, sports, and decided to focus on music.” 

Initially, his mom was not a fan of his change of heart, because she often associated music with street life, but on the hunt of his own dreams, ROA came across two artists who gave him his first opportunity. 

Those were Zion of Zion y Lennox — whom he randomly connected with at an electronic music festival, and who told him he has everything it takes to be an artist — and Phantom of the production duo Súbelo NEO, who was the first producer to record music with him. 

The gut-feelings were right. In 2022, ROA — who’s inspired by artists such as Drake, Don Omar, The Weeknd and Alejandro Sanz — signed to Universal Music Latino and launched his debut single, “Bellakeame.” His sophomore single, “Jetski,” ultimately earned him much wider recognition.

“It didn’t have a boom with the audience, but it sparked something internally within the industry, and it created a conversation,” he explains. “It was the first time you heard a fresh sound in Latin urban, which was trapsoul. A lot of colleagues began to notice me, and the remix with Omar Courtz, Dei V, and Bryant Myers, is what really made me known in Puerto Rico.” 

ROA has since released two EPs and has placed three entries on the Billboard charts:  “ETA” with De La Rose, Luar La L, Omar Courtz & Yan Block on Hot Latin Songs in 2024; “Fantasía” on Hot Latin Pop Songs in 2025; and “Netflix and Chill” with Chris Jedi and Anuel AA on Hot Latin Rhythm Songs earlier this year. 

“The connection comes from the musicality — because, although these songs share some of my DNA, they are all very different,” he notes. “It means that in the last year, my sound has crossed over and is transcending.”

Below, learn more about February’s Billboard Latin Artist on the Rise:

Name: Gilberto Figueroa (ROA derives from the last three letters of his last name)

Age: 29

Recommended Song: “Reina”

Major Accomplishment: “I’m at a point where I can support my family. Financially, I have the resources to help my mom and my grandmother. That, for me, is a relief, because I spent many years promising my mom that this [career in music] would happen. This is the biggest accomplishment I get to live with every day right now.”

What’s Next: ROA’s debut studio album, which he says “will change my career and is very personal,” is 70 percent done. He is also set to perform two sold-out shows at Puerto Rico’s Coca-Cola Music Hall in March, and announced his first-ever tour across Latin America, which follows his successful 2025 Spain trek. See the dates for the LATAM tour below: