Radha Cuadrado (born December 13, 1976), popularly known as RADHA, is a Filipino singer and songwriter best known as an original member of the Filipino-Canadian hip hop group
Kulay (previously known as Boom). She was also part of the group 14-K. After leaving Kulay, Cuadrado pursued a solo career and performed in theater and lounge shows. She later starred in the TV series ''
Diva
Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...
'' on GMA 7.
Most recently, she took part in the
first season of ''
The Voice of the Philippines
''The Voice of the Philippines'' is a Philippine reality television singing competition on ABS-CBN. It is based on the reality singing competition ''The Voice of Holland'', which was originally created by Dutch television producer John de Mol ...
''.
Artistry
Cuadrado's influences include
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
,
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
,
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
,
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...
,
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 ...
,
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...
,
Chaka Khan
Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...
,
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
, and
Al Green
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...
, and she frequently covers their songs in her shows. She started her singing career at the age of five. Radha has a
dramatic coloratura mezzo-soprano vocal range.
Career
Cuadrado had several stints on television and stage, but her big break came at the age of fifteen, when she joined as lead singer of the hip hop group Kulay, which won many awards in the Philippines and went on an international tour all over the UK, Germany, Italy, and Denmark, putting them on the dance charts in the UK. In 1999,
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
Philippines launched the ad campaign "Ask for More" and chose Kulay to be their endorsers.
Cuadrado was also a member of the group 14-K with Jeffrey Hidalgo, Tony Lambino, and Tenten Muñoz.
In 2001, she embarked on a solo career. She has since written songs for other local artists as well as for her own repertoire. She also took part in the
Himig Handog
Himig Handog (Eng: A Musical Offering) is a multimedia songwriting and music video competition in the Philippines based in Quezon City. The competition is operated by ABS-CBN Corporation and the media conglomerate's music subsidiary Star Music. Th ...
song contest's ''JAM: Himig Handog sa Makabagong Kabataan'' edition as an interpreter for the song entry "You Can Make It Happen", written by Dodjie Simon and Ellis Simon.
In 2013, Cuadrado successfully auditioned for the first season of ''
The Voice of the Philippines
''The Voice of the Philippines'' is a Philippine reality television singing competition on ABS-CBN. It is based on the reality singing competition ''The Voice of Holland'', which was originally created by Dutch television producer John de Mol ...
'' and eventually advanced to the live shows, managing to reach the
semi-finals
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
.
Discography
With Kulay
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuadrado, Radha
Living people
Mezzo-sopranos
English-language singers from the Philippines
ABS-CBN personalities
Star Magic
1976 births
Singers from Manila
The Voice of the Philippines contestants
21st-century Filipino women singers