Natalie Nicole Alvarado, better known simply as Natalie, is an American R&B singer and songwriter. She is currently the entertainment director for the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

Biography

After her high school years, she chose to study

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

. She was previously a cheerleader for the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

team and backup dancer for various R&B and rap artists from

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. During her stint as a cheerleader, she was also working on her lyrical skills and even added rapping to her dance performances. Charles Chavez, founder of Latium Entertainment and producer of such artists as

Baby Bash Ronald Ray Bryant (born October 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Baby Bash (formerly Baby Beesh), is an American rapper. His first two albums, '' Savage Dreams'' (2001) and '' On Tha Cool'' (2002), were released by the independent Housto ...

Frankie J Francisco Javier Bautista Jr. (born December 7, 1975) better known by his stage name Frankie J, is a Mexican-American singer and former member of the musical group Kumbia Kings. Born in Mexico, he grew up in San Diego and became a freestyle art ...

, and

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He began his career in Houston's hip hop scene in the late 1990s. He was briefly signed with the local record label Swishah ...

, believed that she would have potential as a successful musical artist and introduced her to producers Happy Perez and Play N Skillz. Under Latium, she was initially signed as a rapper but later focused on singing, which she had frequently done for hooks on songs. Natalie made her debut as a singer with her hit 2004 single " Goin' Crazy"; the song reached #13 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart. Her self-titled debut album ''Natalie'' was released in May 2004 and reached #16 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Her second single from the album, "Energy" (featuring Baby Bash), peaked at #66. The third & final single "Where Are You" (featuring Justin Roman) failed to chart. A fourth track, "Emptiness" managed to chart on ''Billboard'''s R&B Singles chart, although it was not released as a single. She also was the opening act of the 2004 Wango Tango music festival in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

hosted by

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

radio station KIIS and the sold-out 2004 Latium Tour of

and

. Zalia Cosmetics also recruited her as a model. She has also collaborated with Baby Bash on the songs "Bubbalicious" and "Throwed Off" from his 2004 album ''Super Saucy''. She also has appeared on

's '' The Sound of Revenge'' in the song "Think I'm Crazy". She also has appeared on Poetic Thug's '' Da One & Only'' in the song "My Destiny" and '' Latino Heat'' in the song "Down South Playaz". Natalie's second album, ''Everything New'', was released in 2006. She stated that the album aims toward a more "dance-pop" direction in musicality. She also signed a deal to become a songwriter for

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

. She retired from singing in 2012 to become a coach, choreographer, and manager of Houston Rockets Entertainment, including the Houston Rockets Clutch City Dancers. Currently touring again. Last played Cake in Albuquerque, NM on January 27, 2023Interview with Natalie Alvarado - Arts Entrepreneur
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Television

*'' Live with Regis & Kelly'' (2005) Herself - Musical Guest. *''

Mun2 Universo is an American pay television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises subsidiary of NBCUniversal. The network serves as a companion cable channel to the NBCUniversal's flagship broadcast television network NBC and, to som ...

-Vivo (2006) Herself - Guest/Musical Guest.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Other appearances

*"Bubbalicious" (

featuring Natalie) *"Throwed Off" (

featuring Paul Wall and Natalie) *"Think I'm Crazy" (

featuring Natalie) *"Last Chance" (Miss Lady Pinks featuring Natalie) *"Destiny" (Poetic Thug featuring Natalie) *"Down South Playaz" (Poetic Thug featuring Natalie, Lil Buda & Gifted)

References

External links

Natalie's Official Myspace

Natalie's Exclusive Sessions@AOL Performance & Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Natalie 1979 births Living people NBA cheerleaders American cheerleaders American dance musicians American musicians of Mexican descent American contemporary R&B singers Singers from Houston 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Hispanic and Latino American women singers American hip-hop singers