While Panama dominates Latin radio with the "romantic reggae" of Flex, Eddy Lover and La Factoría, Miami's Jean Carlos Casely is making a play for American airwaves with good ol' romantic R&B.

A 22-year-old of Panamanian and Trinidadian descent, Casely is literally a "student of the game." After enrolling at the Parkway Middle School of the Arts at age seven, he fronted the teen pop quartet Eternal Love before earning a scholarship to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.

In 2005, the self-described "New Prince of the South" released his first solo album, I’ll Be, on indie label 1st Records. A short while later, the production duo of The Diaz Brothers (Daddy Yankee, Pitbull) stumbled upon Casely's MySpace and added him to their roster. His first single with the brothers Diaz, Emotional, features Usher-esque vocals over ticking hi-hats and dramatic synthesized strings.

With a recent appearance on Pitbull's Midnight and his own sophomore album, 1985, scheduled for release by Epic Records in May, Casely could soon join the ranks of fellow young talents Chris Brown, J. Holiday and Omarion.

see: www.myspace.com/casely