[jOy eNriQuez]

raised in whittier, california, joy enriquez had her sites set upon becomming a professional singer since she sang a solo at her kindergarten graduation. taking inspiration from divas such as barbara streisand, enriquez enrolled in the orange county performing arts high school. while attending school, she worked at old navy like any ordinary teenager and performed at beverly hills' mondrian hotel to gain experience. in 1995, enriquez appeared on the internationally-syndicated talent showcase star search, where an eleven-show winning streak confirmed that, for her, there could be no other career. "in high school," enriquez explains, "i would perform regularly at the mondrian hotel…but i guess it was my performances on star search that showed me what i wanted to do for the rest of my life—to be on stage doing what i loved most…singing."

like tracie spencer and shanice before her, enriquez was able to parlay her star search success into a recording contract. though offers were pouring in from a number of prominent labels, enriquez had a plan and she was sticking to it. before accepting any offers, enriquez insisted on auditioning for one of her idols, legendary producer kenneth "babyface" edmonds. as luck would have it, edmonds was holding auditions for a girl group for his laface records. "i didn't really want to be in a group," enriquez admits, "but i'd [have done] anything to get my foot in the door at laface. i just wanted to sing for babyface before i signed anywhere else." a demo tape of a bilingual song written by enriquez's sister, tiffany enriquez, earned her the opportunity she wanted; enriquez was signed to laface after auditioning with songs made famous by whitney houston and fellow laface recording artists, toni braxton.

enriquez's introduction to the public at large came in the form of the anna & the king soundtrack, for which she provided the lead single, "how can i not love you". not only did enriquez's contribution prove a memorable backdrop for the twentieth century fox romance, but it also opened such important promotional doors as the tonight show with jay leno. as enriquez put the finishing touches on her debut release, she continued to find herself overwhelmed by the success she was enjoying. "it's kind of surreal to be over at babyface's studio working and playing sega dreamcast, and then go out rollerblading with my friends from high school," enriquez confides, "but i'm getting used to it." it's a good thing, too, since the label head is taking such a personal interest in the artist, providing four of the album's songs. aside from edmonds, enriquez is working with such sought-after producers as soulshock, karlin, fred jerkins and rodney jerkins.

just as one dream was being realized for this up-and-coming vocalist, another began to take form. hours spent working together closely towards the realization of a shared goal caused sparks to fly between enriquez and producer rodney jerkins. having proven throughout her life that she was not one to pass up a golden opportunity, she married her prince charming at the ritz carlton in laguna niguel, california, in a ceremony attended by family and a host of friends including mike tyson, carl thomas and yolanda adams.

though enriquez is of latin decent and a perfect candidate to have capitalized on interest in latin-flavored music that was prevalent at the time, her album is an amalgam of a variety of influences. though ethnicity will draw unavaoidable comparisons to latin diva jennifer lopez, one listen to joy enriquez will clear up any confusion. without detracting from the actress-cum-singer's on the 6, enriquez's voice has more in common with the likes of chanté moore and mariah carey making it likely that she will be singled out as the first english-language latina who shows signs of becomming a serious diva.