Mario Quintero Joins as Judge for Telemundo's YO SOY EL ARTISTA

Telemundo is pleased to announce the renowned singer and composer Mario Quintero Lara of the legendary Regional Mexican band "Los Tucanes de Tijuana" as a judge of the mega-reality music competition, "Yo Soy El Artista" (I Am the Artist), slated to premiere this September. The founder of this decade's most influential Regional Mexican group will join singers Olga Tañon and Luis Fonsi on the judging panel for the new reality show, hosted by international star Lucero. With castings completed across major cities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, "Yo Soy el Artista" will feature talented contestants who will have to sing, dance and demonstrate star quality and showmanship, in an intense 13-week competition where the winner will be named the ultimate true "Artist."

"It is a great honor to be part of 'Yo Soy el Artista' together with outstanding Latino stars such as Olga and Fonsi to witness the birth of the next ultimate artist," said Quintero. "Throughout my career I have had a chance to recognize the skills a true artist should have. That's exactly what I'm going to be looking for!"

"The judging panel of 'Yo Soy el Artista' needs an expert in the Regional Mexican genre, and who better than Mario, a professional with an outstanding career, recognition and credibility," stated Maria Lopez-Alvarez, SVP of Reality Programming at Telemundo. "Los Tucanes de Tijuana is one of the leading bands in the history of the contemporary Regional Mexican genre, and this makes him capable of taking the contestants to a higher level."

During more than 27 years performing together, "Los Tucanes de Tijuana" has been a leading musical force in Mexico and the United States, with an extensive catalogue of songs written by a single composer: Mario Quintero Lara. Their unparalleled musical style has resulted in 33 records with more than 13 million album sales around the world and 65 Billboard hits. The band has accumulated countless awards, nominations and honors, in addition to drawing large audiences at its stellar presentations. Its most recent release titled "Perdoname mi Amor," includes "La Señora de Acero," the theme song of Telemundo's upcoming original production "Señora Acero," starring Blanca Soto.

Telemundo and Spain's Reset TV partnered to jointly own, develop, produce and distribute internationally, this reality competition series based on an original concept from Reset TV founders, Toni Cruz and Josep Maria Mainat, the creators of popular entertainment formats such as Cronicas Marcianas (Martian Chronicles), Mira Quien Baila (Look Who's Dancing) and Operacion Triunfo (Star Academy), among others.

Social media users can follow "Yo Soy El Artista" onFacebook.com/ElArtistaTV and Twitter: @ElArtistaTV or visitwww.YoSoyElArtista.com for further details on the show.