Brenda K. Starr
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-based music. She is also well known for her 1980s work with freestyle music.
Early life
Starr was born as Brenda Joy Kaplan to a Jewish American father, organist Harvey Kaplan and a Puerto Rican Roman Catholic mother.Career
In the early 1980s, through a chance meeting with Harry Belafonte, Starr landed a role in his 1984 hip hop film, Beat Street; 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 to complete Starr's debut album, I Want Your Love. The lead single, "Pickin' Up Pieces", written by Arthur Baker and Lotti Golden, was a local club sensation and national hit, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts and on the Maxi Singles Chart. "Pickin' Up Pieces" also cracked 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, 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. Starr's album also contained the club/dance smash "What You See is What You Get." The album peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Starr has had two top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "I Still Believe" and "What You See is What You Get", which peaked at No. 16 on the Latin Pop Airplay and at No. 1 on the Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay chart, she continued her success with a string of popular albums and chart hits.
Brenda was also a disc jockey at MIX 102.7, WNEW-FM, 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 a daughter, Gianna Isabella, who made it to the top 10 of American Idol in its 15th and final season 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
- 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
| Year | Song | US Pop | US R&B | US Club/ Dance | US Dance Singles Sales | US Latin Pop | US Latin Airplay | US Tropical Airplay |
| 1990 | "No Matter What" | 49 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1991 | "If You Could Read My Mind" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1993 | "So in Love" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1995 | "Thank You" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1996 | "Feels So Good" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1996 | "I Don't Know What To Do" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1997 | "Only Love" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1997 | "Herida" | - | - | - | - | 14 | 28 | 1 |
| 1998 | "Si Me Preguntan Por Tí" | - | - | - | - | - | 31 | 10 |
| 1998 | "I Ain't Gonna Settle For Less" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1999 | "I Still Believe" | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 |
| 1999 | "Señor Amante" | - | - | - | - | - | 37 | 15 |