Michel Martelly construction and briefly attended a community college in Miami. In 1986, after one semester, he returned to Haiti just as Jean-Claude Duvalier, then president-for-life, was heading into exile. In 1987, Martelly returned to Miami with his then-girlfriend, Sophia Saint-Rémy, whom he later married in a small ceremony in Miami, Florida. They returned to Haiti in 1988. Upon his return to Haiti, Martelly had his first breakthrough in the music industry when he began playing keyboard as a fill-in musician in local venues in Pétion-Ville and Kenscoff, upscale suburbs of Port-au-Prince. Martelly "sang playful, romantic numbers over a slow méringue beat
Sean Michel his renditions of several old spirituals with original songs. The album never had an official release date, but physical copies became available in late 2009 and digital downloads became available in 2010. Also during 2009, Michel toured solo through India and Nepal for over two months. In 2010, Michel was invited to Chile to play in coordination with relief efforts after the 2010 Chile earthquake. Michel brought a band to play several shows throughout that country. During this time, bassist Seth Atchley joined the band. In 2011, Sean Michel announced a fundraising effort for a new record. Drummer Bradley Batterton