Lisette Melendez (born 1967) is an American

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

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 ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

singer. She is best known for her Top 40 hit "Together Forever", which reached No. 35 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1991, and its follow-up "A Day In My Life (Without You)", which peaked at No. 49. Both songs were

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

hits and are credited as helping renew interest in

Freestyle music Freestyle music, also called Latin freestyle or Latin hip-hop ''(sic)'' is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the New York metropolitan area and Philadelphia, primarily among Hispanic Americans and Italian Americans in the 1980s. I ...

in the early 1990s, which had been fading in popularity due to the drop in mainstream pop music and rise of

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

at the time.

Early life

Melendez was born and raised in East Harlem, New York. Melendez's childhood inspirations include her mother and aunt, who sang in a church choir and community theater. She honed her singing

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production in ...

in her teenage years through emulating

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

and

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

. In high school she became a fan of Puerto Rican freestyle music singer

Lisa Lisa Lisa Velez (born January 15, 1967), better known by her stage name Lisa Lisa, is an American singer. She rose to fame in the 1980s as one-third of the band Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. Early life According to Spin Magazine, ''Spin'' magazine, Velez ...

who had many dance hits. Melendez, also of Puerto Rican descent, was inspired by Lisa Lisa's success.

Career

Melendez got her break in 1988 and sang backing vocals for a track by dance music record producer Carlos Berrios, who had also worked with Sweet Sensation and

Samantha Fox Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English pop singer and former glamour model from East London. She rose to public attention aged 16, when her mother entered her photographs in an amateur modelling contest run by ''The Sunday Peopl ...

. A few years of dance club touring eventually led to the recording of the single "Together Forever" Produced By Carlos Berrios and Platinum Producer

Frankie Cutlass Frank Javiel Malave (born January 16, 1971), better known by his stage name Frankie Cutlass, is an American award- winning platinum DJ, Artist, Producer, Writer and Remixer from Harlem, New York, United States. He is best known for his hits "Pue ...

, and soon after a full album with Fever/

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 ...

1990s

Four more albums followed, including her second album ''True to Life'' in 1994, which included the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit "Goody Goody" (No. 53) as well as "Will You Ever Save Me" which reached No. 38 on the

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

chart. The album was both a commercial and critical success in Japan. In 1998, she released her third album, ''Un Poco De Mi'', a

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

album sung in Spanish. It scored a hit with "Algo de Mi", which peaked at No. 8 on the Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay chart and No. 23 on the

Hot Latin Tracks The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, rad ...

chart. Her fourth album, released later in 1998, was ''Imagination''. The lead single was "Time Passes By", but it did not gain the radio airplay and success of her previous singles.

2000s

Melendez teamed up with fellow freestyle singer

Cynthia Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cyndy, ...

in 2005, releasing the single "I Can't Change Your Mind" as the duo Liscyn. She continues to tour as of 2006. Melendez teamed up with famed music producer Carlos "After Dark" Berrios in 2008, performing two new tracks "I Need a Lover" and "Don't Ever Say" on albums ''Don't Look Back Sessions One & Two''. Melendez also performed at the I Love Freestyle Vol. 1 Live Concert event on January 17, 2015, at the Resorts World Casino in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, along with fellow freestyle artists

Jade Starling Jade Starling is an American singer-songwriter, and the lead vocalist for 1980s band Pretty Poison. She lives in New Jersey. Starling is a gay-rights activist and a supporter of same-sex marriage. She also speaks phonetic Spanish and often re ...

Sa-Fire Wilma Cosmé (born 16 January 1966, in San Juan, Puerto Rico), better known by her stage name Sa-Fire, is a Puerto Rican singer. Sa-Fire is one of the few freestyle singers to cross over into the pop world. She has been featured in various maga ...

and others.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

* 1988: "Make Noise" * 1990: "If You Truly Love Me" * 1990: " Together Forever" * 1990-1991 "Stranger (In my House of Love)" * 1991: "

A Day in My Life (Without You) "A Day in My Life (Without You)" is the second single from the album '' Together Forever'', released by singer of hip-hop and freestyle music Lisette Melendez Lisette Melendez (born 1967) is an American freestyle/ Latin pop/ dance-pop singer. ...

" * 1991: " Never Say Never" * 1993: "

Goody Goody "Goody Goody" is a 1936 popular song composed by Matty Malneck, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. First recording of the song was by Ted Wallace and His Swing Kings (vocal refrain by male trio) luebird, B-6252-B, 1936 The song is referenced several ...

" * 1994: "Will You Ever Save Me" * 1996: "Time Passes By" * 1998: "Algo De Mi" * 1998: "Make the Way" * 2002 "Stay" (under Lelah Paine) * 2005: "I Can't Change Your Mind" * 2018: "Rise"

Videos

References

External links

Lisette Melendez on MySpace

Lisette Melendez on Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melendez, Lisette 1967 births Living people American dance musicians American freestyle musicians American musicians of Puerto Rican descent American women pop singers American Latin pop singers Singers from New York City Spanish-language singers of the United States People from East Harlem