Mari Burelle-Valencia (born April 4, 1985, as Mari Jacqueline Burelle), who goes by the stage name stylized as MARi, is an American
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aroun ...
ian and pianist, who primarily plays a style of
Christian EDM. She has released one musical work, ''Treasure'' (2016).
Early life
She was born, Mari Jacqueline Burelle,
on April 4,
1985,
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts,
while she moved to
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York, in 2002, and was raised by adoptive parents, while she started playing the piano when she was young.
She is of
Puerto Rican and
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
descent.
Music career
Her music recording career started in 2016, with the studio album, ''Treasure'',
that was released on May 27, 2016,
from Elevate Entertainment.
MARi would later represent New Hampshire in the ''
American Song Contest
''American Song Contest'' is an American music reality competition television series based on the Eurovision Song Contest. It sees all 50 U.S. states, five territories, and Washington, D.C. compete for the title of Best Original Song. The fir ...
'', qualifying for the semi-finals on a public vote before being eliminated at this stage.
Personal life
She married Ivan Valencia in 2005.
Discography
*''Treasure'' (May 27, 2016, Elevate)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mari
1985 births
Living people
American performers of Christian music
Musicians from Boston
Musicians from New York City
Songwriters from Massachusetts
Songwriters from New York (state)
American people of Puerto Rican descent
American people of Cuban descent
American Song Contest contestants