Julissa Arce Rivera (born January 13, 1976) commonly known simply as Julissa, is a Puerto Rican Christian music singer. From her first album, Regresará por mi, she distinguished by her musical excellence, which has gone hand in hand with her husband, Mike Rivera.

Biography

Julissa was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Puerto Rican parents. She was the oldest of four siblings. Julissa debuted as a singer when she was twelve, with the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

of her church. At age 16, she started singing professionally with a local group called Generación Escogida. With them, she recorded several albums. During recordings, she met musician, songwriter, and producer Mike Rivera. They married on November 29, 1997 and moved to Dorado, Puerto Rico. Julissa and Mike have three children: John Michael, Alyrah and Jayden. Under her own label, Firmeza Music, Julissa releases her first solo album titled '' Regresará Por Mí'' in 1998. The album was produced, arranged, and recorded by her husband, Mike. The album received a Tu Música Award for Best Christian Album, and a Tito Lara Award for Album of the Year. It was also nominated for two Viva Awards in Guatemala for International Album of the Year and International Singer of the Year. Julissa then toured Latin America with pastor Yiye Avila as part of his crusade. Julissa's second album was a Christmas album titled '' Nació En Mi Corazón'', which was recorded during her first pregnancy. After this, she and her husband relocated to Miami, Florida.Biografía de Julissa
en CristianosPr.com During the following years, she worked on several projects like her first live album ('' Admisión General'') released in 2002, and '' Duetos'', an album featuring

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

s with known Christian singers like Roberto Orellana, René González, and others. In 2003, she released Corazón Latino. In 2006, Julissa became the first Puerto Rican to be nominated for a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

for her album ''

Mi Propósito ''Mi Propósito'' is an album from Puerto Rican Christian singer Julissa. It was released in 2005. Track listing # "Te Alabo Señor" - 04:15 # "Cada Dia" - 03:35 # "Coronado De Gloria" - 03:59 # "Glorificado" - 04:00 # "Llenas Mi ser" - 04:16 # ...

''. That same year, she released her ninth album titled '' Inolvidable'', which features contemporary renditions of classic hymns. She also started hosting a weekly show called ''Espíritu Latino'' on Gospel Music Channel. In 2007, Julissa released the album ''

El Ritmo de la Vida ''El Ritmo de la Vida'' is an album from Puerto Rican Christian singer Julissa. It was released on August 14, 2007. Among the songs that stand out on the album are: "Mejor Así", "El Ritmo de la Vida", and "Pegada a Ti". The release of her tenth a ...

'', which was accompanied by a book written by her. The album gave Julissa her second Dove Award nomination. Two years later, she was nominated again for the album ''

Adorándote ''Adorándote: Un Tiempo a Solas Con El'' is an album from Puerto Rican Christian singer Julissa It was released on May 19, 2009. Track listing # "Escucharte Hablar" – 05:03 # "Tu Mirada" – 04:38 # "Gloria" – 04:23 # "El Que ...

,'' and in the

Arpa Awards The Arpa Awards, established in 2002 by the National Academy of Music and Christian Arts, are a ceremony of musical recognition of the work of contemporary Christian music artists, mainly of the Spanish language. The awards are presented each ye ...

. In the same year, Julissa was present in Phoenix for the great NBA All-Star party. In 2012, she released her album 'Metamorphosis' in two versions: Spanish and English. In 2015, she released her most recent album ''Me vistió de promesas''. In 2017, she participated in the

National Hispanic Heritage Month National Hispanic Heritage Month (Spanish: ''Mes nacional de la herencia hispana'') is annually celebrated from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, cul ...

as a representation of Puerto Rico at the inauguration of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. After almost four years of absence from the recording studios, in 2019 Julissa returns with her album “Llueve”, recorded live in Spring Valley (California) to celebrate her 20 years of music ministry.

Collaborations

In his career, he has recorded songs with Funky,

Marcela Gándara Marcela Gándara (born 24 August 1983) is a Mexican singer-songwriter of Christian music. To date she has produced 6 Christian albums in Spanish. She began singing at an early age as it was one of her passions. At 18, she had the opportunity to ...

Daniel Calveti Daniel Calveti (born November 29, 1977) is a Venezuelan Christian music singer. He was born in Caracas and eventually moved his family to Caguas, Puerto Rico. Calveti has seven productions of Christian music and two books. On three occasions it h ...

, René González,

Redimi2 Redimi2 (born Willy González Cruz; June 3, 1979) is a Dominican Christian music rapper and songwriter. González began releasing music in 1999 as a part of Redimi2 Squad, alongside his brother JG. After all members besides González left the grou ...

Alex Zurdo Alexis Vélez Alberio, also known as Alex Zurdo, is a Puerto Rican Christian music rapper and songwriter. He has almost a dozen musical productions, and has been awarded the GMA Dove Award and Arpa Awards, having also been nominated for a Lati ...

, among others, also appearing in various collaborative projects.

Discography

* '' Regresara Por Mí'' (1998) * '' Nació En Mi Corazón'' (1999) * '' En las Alas del Amor'' (2000) * '' Admisión General'' (2002) * '' Corazón Latino'' (2003) * '' Duetos'' (2004) * '' Desde el Principio'' (2005) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Inolvidable'' (2006) * ''

'' (2007) * ''

'' (2009) * ''Metamorphosis'' (2012) * ''Me vistió de promesas'' (2015) * '' Llueve (En Vivo)'' (2019) * '' Llueve 1.13 (Dallas, Texas) (Live)'' (2020)

Awards

Wins

* 1999 Tu Música Awards, Puerto Rico: Christian Album of the Year ('' Regresará Por Mí'') * 1999 Tito Lara Awards, Puerto Rico: Revelation Artist * 2001 Viva Awards, Guatemala: International Female Voice * 2001 Viva Awards, Guatemala: Song of the Year ("Enamorada") * 2004 Conquistadores Awards, Los Angeles, CA: Contemporary Album of the Year ('' Corazón Latino'') * 2004 Paoli Awards,

Orlando, FL Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures relea ...

: Female Singer of the Year * 2004 Latin Music Fan Awards, Los Angeles, CA: Christian Album of the Year (''Corazón Latino'') * 2006 Paoli Awards, Orlando, FL: Female Singer of the Year * 2006 Arpa Awards, Mexico: Female Album of the Year (''

'')

Nominations

* 2003 Arpa Awards, Mexico * 2004 Nuestra Música Awards, Los Angeles, CA * 2004 Arpa Awards, Mexico: Female Album of the Year * 2004 GMA Dove Awards, Nashville, TN: Spanish Language Album of the Year (''Exitos de Hoy'') (Shared nomination) * 2005 Paoli Awards, Puerto Rico: Female Singer of the Year * 2005 Paloma de la Paz Award, Orlando, FL * 2005 Latin Music Fan Awards, Los Angeles, CA: Album of the Year ('' Duetos'') * 2006 GMA Dove Awards, Nashville, TN: Spanish Language Album of the Year (''

'') * 2008 GMA Dove Awards, Nashville, TN: Spanish Language Album of the Year (''

'') * 2010 GMA Dove Awards, Nashville, TN: Spanish Language Album of the Year (''

'')

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Julissa 1976 births Living people Converts to Christianity Singers from Chicago Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Puerto Rican Christians Spanish-language singers of the United States Performers of contemporary Christian music American performers of Christian music 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers Singer-songwriters from Illinois