Sharon Aguilar (born 1986) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. She toured with
2NE1 in 2012, and has both founded and performed with several other groups.
She played lead guitar and violin with
Scarlet Fever
Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects child ...
, the
all-female backing band
A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...
that toured with
Cee Lo Green during 2010 and 2011. She and varying members of Scarlet Fever have performed with other
front women as in 4D, No Salt, and Miss President.
Biography
Sharon Aguilar was born in
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
, and raised in Miami, Florida.
[
][
][
]
Her mother, Delia Aguilar-Borrego, was from
Penonomé, Coclé, Panama. Her father, Richard Borrego, was an American serving there in the military.
Earlier performance credits,
and occasional recent credits,
[
]
are under the surname of Borrego.
As a teenager, she attended a magnet school music program.
[
]
She also attended school in Panama, living with relatives without amenities such as hot running water, refrigeration, and air conditioning.
In 2010, she attended and worked at the
Musicians Institute
Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachel ...
located in Hollywood, California.
[
][
]
Early years
Aguilar began playing violin at the age of 12,
[
]
and played first violin with the
Dade County Honors Orchestra, and the Greater Miami Youth Symphony.
[
]
She taught herself guitar and mandolin during high school.
[
]
She has performed in Miami at
open mic
An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether t ...
venues with her sister Kristen Borrego (bass guitarist), Erika Coromina, and others.
[
]
Influences
When she started playing guitar, Aguilar gravitated toward the
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
her father listened to at home.
A family video shows her
headbanging to
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...
's "
In My Time of Dying" in her playpen.
She went with her father to see
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of " Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After ...
for her first concert as a teenager.
Her father showed the film ''
The Song Remains the Same'', and she was inspired by watching
Jimmy Page to become a professional guitarist.
Later role models include
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...
's
David Gilmour, "because of the way he bends his notes. I can feel them in my chest and they just really move me."
Breakout success
After moving in late 2007 to Los Angeles, California, Aguilar performed with several bands: Bad Apple,
The Bitchfits (all girls tribute to the
Misfits), The Ramonas (all girls tribute to the
Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
), and Pretty Little Problem.
Her national television debut playing a
Fender electric violin
backed
Diddy's
Dirty Money on ''
Hello Good Morning'' for the March 31, 2010, ''
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 A ...
''.
[
]
Aguilar also played lead guitar with Suede (of
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
) on "
You Shook Me All Night Long
"You Shook Me All Night Long" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, from the album ''Back in Black''. The song also reappeared on their later album ''Who Made Who''. It is AC/DC's first single with Brian Johnson as the lead singer, repl ...
" opening the January 29, 2011,
George Lopez comedy tour in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...
.
[
]
Lopez donated proceeds from this concert to the
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).
[
]
Scarlet Fever
Beginning in June 2010, she toured with
Cee Lo Green and the
all-female backing band
A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...
named
Scarlet Fever
Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects child ...
on promotional tours for "What Part of Forever" (from ''
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' soundtrack) and ''
The Lady Killer'' album.
They performed for ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
The fourth incarnation of the ' ...
'',
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
,
''
Late Show with David Letterman
The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production c ...
'',
''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...
'',
and many other venues. Core band
members
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
include
Brittany Brooks (drums),
DANiiVORY ''née'' Theresa Flaminio (keyboards, background vocals), and
Regina Zernay Roberts
Regina Zernay Roberts is an American instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. She is lead singer and bass player of Detroit Diesel Power. She played bass guitar and Moog synthesizer with Scarlet Fever, the all-female backing band that toured wi ...
(bass guitar,
Moog synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014 ...
).
Members of the band continued to play together in various combinations (sometimes under other band names). Aguilar, Brooks, and DANiiVORY performed with
front woman
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
Sammy Allen at
Whisky a Go Go in April 2012, where Cee Lo joined them on stage.
2NE1
Aguilar, DANiiVORY, and
Divinity Roxx
Divinity Roxx is a Grammy-nominated American recording artist, composer, and musician. Her work includes elements of rhythm and blues, hip hop, funk, soul, and rock. As a rapper and bassist, her performances have been reviewed as radical and dist ...
backed
2NE1 on their
New Evolution World Tour in 9 cities among 5 countries during 2012. Their performance at the
Prudential Center
Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Ha ...
in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...
,
was ranked by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' critics among the best concerts of the year.
The concert at the
Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles ranked No. 29 on ''
Billboard's'' Current Box Score, the first
K-Pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, g ...
girl group to make this rank.
Miss President
Aguilar, Brooks, and DANiiVORY have performed with Goldielox ''née''
Brittany Burton
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of ...
as in 4D,
[
]
and debuted as Miss President at
Whisky a Go Go on February 10, 2013.
[
]
Their music encompasses "standard pop riffs, to neo-classical, and everything in-between."
The band name was chosen as "empowering" for women, "... we can create great music just as guys do. We can do everything they do, and even better."
Discography
Compositions
*''Rockstar'' – originally ''Popstar''
[
] – co-written with Ashlee Williss and Britt Burton of Pretty Little Problem. Played on ''
Hellcats
''Hellcats'' is an American cheerleading comedy-drama television series that originally aired on The CW in the United States from September 8, 2010, to May 17, 2011. Based on the book ''Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders'' ...
'' during the pilot episode "
A World Full of Strangers
''Hellcats'' is an American cheerleading comedy-drama television series that originally aired on The CW in the United States from September 8, 2010, to May 17, 2011. Based on the book ''Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders'' b ...
", and released on the
iTunes Deluxe Edition of
Fefe Dobson's album ''
Joy''.
[
] Also featured on reality television shows ''
Snog Marry Avoid?'' and ''
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 A ...
''.
Endorsements
Although a young musician, Aguilar has garnered endorsements
with
Fender,
[
]
RainSong Graphite Guitars,
ENGL amps,
[
]
In Tune guitar picks,
and
Ernie Ball strings.
[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguilar, Sharon
American women pop singers
American women rock singers
American rock violinists
Living people
1986 births
Musicians Institute alumni
American women songwriters
Panamanian emigrants to the United States
Hispanic and Latino American musicians
Scarlet Fever (band) members
21st-century American women singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women guitarists
21st-century American guitarists
21st-century American violinists