Julissa Arce Rivera (born January 13, 1976) commonly known simply as Julissa, is a Puerto Rican

Christian music Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christianity, Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence and lament, and its f ...

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.

Early life

Julissa was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 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 (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

of her church. At age 16, she started singing professionally with a local group called Generación Escogida. With them, she recorded several albums.

Career

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 (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

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 ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

for her album '' Mi Propósito''. That same year, she released her ninth album titled '' Inolvidable'', which features contemporary renditions of classic

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

. She also started hosting a weekly show called ''Espíritu Latino'' on

Gospel Music Channel UP TV (stylized as UPtv; formerly GMC TV and originally Gospel Music Channel) is an American basic cable television network that was founded to have a focus on gospel music. It has expanded into family-friendly original movies, series, and special ...

. In 2007, Julissa released the album '' El Ritmo de la Vida'', 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 Q ...

,'' 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 yea ...

. In the same year, Julissa was present in Phoenix for the great

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

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 observed from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic culture to the nation's achi ...

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 is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. 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.

Personal life

During recordings, she met musician, songwriter, and producer Mike Rivera. They married on November 29, 1997 and moved to

Dorado, Puerto Rico Dorado () is a Dorado barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, west of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan and is located in the northern region of the island, bordering the Atlantic ...

. Julissa and Mike have three children: John Michael, Alyrah and Jayden.

Collaborations

In her career, she has recorded songs with

Funky Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the mi ...

Marcela Gándara Marcela Gándara (born 24 August 1983) is a Mexican singer-songwriter of Christian music Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christianity, Christian life and fai ...

, Daniel Calveti, René González, Redimi2,

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 Lat ...

, 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 ''Corazón Latino'', is the debut studio album recorded by Spanish singer David Bisbal. It was released by Vale Music, Universal Music Spain and Universal Music Latino on October 15, 2002 (see 2002 in music). The album received international atte ...

'' (2003) * '' Duetos'' (2004) * ''

Desde el Principio ''Desde El Principio'' is the twelfth studio album by Spanish duo Azúcar Moreno, released on Sony International in 2004. The album saw the Salazar sisters joining forces with a new production team; drummer and percussionist Sergio Castillo and ...

'' (2005) * '' Mi Propósito'' (2005) * '' Inolvidable'' (2006) * '' El Ritmo de la Vida'' (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 (''

'') * 2004 Paoli Awards,

Orlando, FL Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

: 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 ('' Mi Propósito'')

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 Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

: 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 ('' Mi Propósito'') * 2008 GMA Dove Awards, Nashville, TN: Spanish Language Album of the Year ('' El Ritmo de la Vida'') * 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 women 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