Brenda Joy Kaplan (born October 14, 1966), known by her stage name Brenda K. Starr, is an American singer and songwriter. She is well known originally in R&B, dance and pop but now mostly in salsa-based music. She is also well known for her 1980s work with freestyle music.

Early life

Starr was born as Brenda Joy Kaplan to a Jewish American father, organist Harvey Kaplan (also known as Harvey Kaye of the 1960s band the Spiral Starecase) and a Puerto Rican Roman Catholic mother.

Career

In the early 1980s, through a chance meeting with Harry Belafonte, Starr landed a role in his 1984 hip hop film, '' Beat Street;'' she appeared in it, as herself, as a singer at an open-microphone audition. Starr's appearance in the movie garnered attention, leading to a recording contract on Mirage Records, through Arthur Baker, who enlisted the help of two production teams ( Lotti Golden and Richard Scher, and Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers) to complete Starr's debut album, '' I Want Your Love''. The lead single, "

Pickin' Up Pieces "Pickin' Up Pieces" is the lead single from Brenda K. Starr Brenda Joy Kaplan (born October 14, 1966), known by her stage name Brenda K. Starr, is an American singer and songwriter. She is well known originally in R&B, dance and pop but now ...

", written by Arthur Baker and Lotti Golden, was a local club sensation and national hit, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts and on the Dance Singles Sales Chart. "

" also peaked at No. 83 on the R&B Hip Hop Billboard Charts. Starr's eponymous sophomore LP, which she released in 1987 on the MCA Records label before it became part of the present-day Universal Music Group, included what is considered her

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

, the power ballad " I Still Believe," which peaked at No. 13 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Starr's first and only top 20 single on the Hot 100. In 1998,

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

covered the song as a tribute to her "mentrix;" Carey's version peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The album peaked at No. 58 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Starr's other top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 was "What You See Is What You Get" (which peaked at No. 24 and at No. 6 on the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

). Two of Starr's songs have been included on motion-picture soundtracks; "Sweet Surrender" was included in the soundtrack for the 1988 teen film '' License to Drive,'' starring Corey Haim, and "Sata" was on the soundtrack for the 1990 film '' Lambada.'' During the late 1980s, Mariah Carey sang background vocals for Starr, and Starr helped Carey secure a recording contract by giving a

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

of hers to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

executive Tommy Mottola at a party. After being dropped from Sony/Columbia Records for lackluster sales of her third album, '' By Heart,'' Starr worked odd jobs to support herself and her family. Starr learned Spanish to help rejuvenate her career, successfully reinventing herself as a salsa/tropical and

Latin pop Latin pop (in Spanish and in Portuguese: Pop latino) is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. Originating in Spanish-speaking musicians, Latin po ...

artist. After the release of her cover of " Herida" (from the Chilean singer Myriam Hernández), which peaked at No. 14 on the Latin Pop Airplay and at No. 1 on the Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay chart, she continued her success with a string of popular albums and chart hits. Starr was also a disc jockey at MIX 102.7, WNEW-FM, where she presented a request program titled "Under the Stars" from 9 pm to midnight on Sunday nights before the station changed formats. The lead single from her seventh album, ''

Atrevete a Olvidarme ''Atrevete a Olvidarme'' is Brenda K. Starr's eighth studio album, released in 2005. The album consists of Salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Lat ...

,'' titled "Tu Eres," earned her a nomination from the Billboard ''Latin Music Awards'' in 2006.

Personal life

Starr is married to Chris Petrone and has 3 daughters and a son. Her 2 daughters Kayla Festa and Tori Festa are from a previous relationship with Brazilian-born New Jersey native, Joao (John) Festa. She has one child with her current husband, Chris Petrone Jr., named Gianna Isabella. Gianna made it to the top 10 of '' American Idol'' in its 15th and final season on the FOX broadcast network in 2016.

Awards and recognitions

* 1997: Lo Nuestro Awards: Nominated: Tropical/Salsa Female Artist of the Year. * 2002: Latin Grammy Awards: Nominated: "Best Salsa Album: for '' Temptation''. * 2002: Latin Grammy Awards: Nominated: "Best Salsa Single" for "Por Ese Hombre". * 2006: Billboard Latin Music Awards: Nominated: "Best Salsa Single" for "Tu Eres".

Discography

Albums

Singles

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

References

External links

Brenda K. Starr
on MySpace *
Brenda
– features hit song "I Still Believe" {{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Brenda K. 1966 births Living people American women singer-songwriters American house musicians American musicians of Puerto Rican descent American people of Italian descent American freestyle musicians Jewish American musicians Singers from New York City American salsa musicians American women pop singers Spanish-language singers of the United States Hispanic and Latino American women singers 21st-century American Jews Women in Latin music Singer-songwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American women