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 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: ...

-based music. She is also well known for her 1980s work with

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. ...

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 The Spiral Starecase was an American pop band, best known for its 1969 single " More Today Than Yesterday". The band, from Sacramento, California, United States, was recognizable for its horns and lead singer/guitarist Pat Upton's voice. The ...

) and a Puerto Rican

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

mother.

Career

In the early 1980s, through a chance meeting with

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

, Starr landed a role in his 1984 hip hop film, ''

Beat Street ''Beat Street'' is a 1984 American drama dance film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to ...

;'' 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 Lotti Golden (born November 27, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, poet and artist. Golden is best known for her 1969 debut album '' Motor-Cycle'', on Atlantic Records. Winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for songwriting and RI ...

and Richard Scher, and

Carl Sturken Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers are New York–based songwriters and record producers. They have produced hits for Ruben Studdard, Wild Orchid, Christina Aguilera and Evelyn Champagne King and helped build the career of Rihanna. In addition to ...

and

Evan Rogers Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers are New York–based songwriters and record producers. They have produced hits for Ruben Studdard, Wild Orchid, Christina Aguilera and Evelyn Champagne King and helped build the career of Rihanna. In addition to ...

) to complete Starr's debut album, '' I Want Your Love''. The lead single, " Pickin' Up Pieces", written by Arthur Baker and

, 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. " Pickin' Up Pieces" 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 Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, included what is considered her signature song, 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 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 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). 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 ''License to Drive'' is a 1988 American teen comedy film written by Neil Tolkin and directed by Greg Beeman in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Heather Graham, Carol Kane, Richard Masur, Michael Manasse ...

,'' starring

Corey Haim Corey Ian Haim (December 23, 1971 – March 10, 2010) was a Canadian actor. He starred in a number of 1980s films, such as '' Lucas'', '' Silver Bullet'', ''Murphy's Romance'', '' License to Drive'' and '' Dream a Little Dream''. His role along ...

, and "Sata" was on the soundtrack for the 1990 film ''

Lambada Lambada () is a dance from State of Pará, Brazil. The dance became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in the Philippines, Latin America and Caribbean countries. It has adopted aspects of dances such as forró, salsa, merengue, ...

.'' During the late 1980s, Mariah Carey sang background vocals for Starr, and Starr helped Carey secure a recording contract by giving a demo tape of hers to Columbia Records executive

Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American music executive, producer and author. Mottola is currently the Chairman of Mottola Media Group and was previously the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, parent of the Columb ...

at a party. After being dropped from

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

/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

/tropical and Latin pop artist. After the release of her cover of "

Herida "Herida" is a song originally recorded by Chilean singer Myriam Hernández as the third single from her second studio album, ''Dos'' (1990). The song reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks chart in 1991. It was covered by ...

" (from the Chilean singer

Myriam Hernández Myriam Raquel Hernández Navarro (born 2 May 1967) is a Chilean singer, songwriter and television presenter. She has dabbled mainly in romantic ballad, which is why she is sometimes nicknamed "La baladista de América" ("America's balladeer"), al ...

), which peaked at No. 14 on the

Latin Pop Airplay Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established ...

and at No. 1 on the

Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay The Tropical Airplay chart (formerly known as Tropical/Salsa and Tropical Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine introduced in 1994. The first number-one song on the chart was " Quien Eres Tu" by Luis Enrique. Originally, r ...

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 WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Ma ...

, 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,'' 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 ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' 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 Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

''. * 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