Music of Puerto Rico - Artists: Brenda Starr

Starr, Brenda K. - Salsa

The daughter of a Puerto Rican mother and a Jewish father, Starrr appeared on the salsa music scene in the 90's after success in United States pop music.

Born in New York, Starr dreamed of becoming an artist from an early age. At nine years old, she participated in school musical productions. At twelve, she cut her first demo record and had signed her first professional contract by age 14.

Her first big success was signing "Breakfast in Bed" in 1988, in English. She went on to distinguish herself; winning awards such as the New York Award as best female artist and best song in the R&B category, with her song: "I Still Believe". In the National Dance Music Awards she won the song of the year award for "What You See is What You Get". Her fame spread to Romania, where she won awards for Best Artist and Best Vocalist. Later, she won Best Artist of the Year award in the 1st Annual Queens Music Awards.

Her decision to sing in Spanish came in France when she participated in the Midem Convention. When José Armada Jr. heard her sing he believed that Starr could succeed singing in Spanish. She was afraid she was not fluent enough when he proposed this to her, but he insisted and Starr decided to try her luck.

With the backing of Parcha Records and under the direction of the repected Humberto Ramírez, she produced the first Spanish language salsa music recording: Te sigo esperando", which sold Gold and Platinum in the United States and in Puerto Rico with the hit song partial MP3 audio clip Herida. Her quick acceptance won her the prize of Best Female Salsa Artist in the 1997 Nuestra Musica Awards in Chicago and from the Radio and Music Awards, as well as from the Estrella Magazine Awards in New York, and more.