Jeannie Ortega Biography
No
Place Like Brooklyn, Coming Soon!
Brooklyn , ten years ago, an 8-year old
Puerto Rican girl was determined to make it. She penned a song called
“Shine Like Me,” that became her first step towards a singing career
that she would ultimately pursue. Jeannie Ortega had to travel through
serious hardships before reaching her ultimate destination. “I went
through a lot of depression in my youth. I didn’t have a walk in the
park childhood. It was rough. I was just a little girl, but I felt like
I had so much responsibility.”
Growing up in the
Bushwick section of Brooklyn , New York , Jeannie’s upbringing was quite
a contrast from that of TV’s Beverly Hills 90210. “I saw friends get
shot and chased by the cops. “Things like that affected me, and I had to
deal with all this at a young age,” she confesses. With nowhere to turn,
Jeannie found solace in music. “I just listened to music, and it changed
my world. It took me out of my mind state into another realm,” she
explains.
Music opened up a
whole new world for Jeannie Ortega, a girl who followed Hip-Hop and R&B
music, but had a pop appeal to her. And whenever she wanted to escape
from her not-so-pleasant environment, she listened to artists who sang
things she could feel. “One day, I was listening to Mariah Carey and
that experience changed a lot for me. Her words and emotions really
spoke to me and I hope I can make that same kind of sincere impact on
someone else’s life with my music,” says Jeannie.
As a member of the
first graduating class of Brooklyn’s High School of The Arts , Ortega is
a natural at performing. With years of practice under her belt, she is
the total package: singer, songwriter, dancer, and more. In her youth,
Jeannie performed at local parks (as “Spice,” one half of a kiddie
singing group she called “Sugar & Spice”), in front of her kindergarten
class, and numerous times throughout her school years. When her voice
became popular in the neighborhood and people started to seriously take
notice, Jeannie decided to go full speed ahead and focus on her dream.
“I was ready and jumped in feet first,” she says of the opportunity she
was not going to miss.
Now 18-years old, the
Bushwick, Brooklyn-native has much to be thankful for. After her first
real recording “Got What It Takes” wound up on the soundtrack and in the
movie Love Don’t Cost A Thing, Jeannie inked a major recording deal with
Hollywood Records and is now prepared to release her debut album, aptly
titled No Place Like Brooklyn.
Eager to share her
talent, Jeannie wrote 11 of the 12 songs on the album. “I just write
about what I feel. A lot of people can relate to this stuff, not just
people my age. I think we all go through similar situations. We feel
like we don’t know who we are. We fall in love, we fall outta love.
Everybody goes through love,” says Jeannie, who—despite her tender
age—has a wealth of life experiences to share.
Her first single “So
Done” produced by Soul Shock & Karlin the production duo who have been
behind hits for Whitney Houston, Monica, JoJo and American Idol’s
Fantasia to name a few, is about a relationship gone sour. “I was in a
relationship and when it ended, I was heartbroken,” Jeannie says
sincerely. But with such a promising career ahead of her, Jeannie has
learned to take her heartache and turn it into future hit records.
Learning from her mistakes, she changes her tune on “What I Need,” where
she uses the same situation as a storyline, and lays down what she’s
looking for in that special somebody. Other standouts on the album are
“It’s R Time” featuring N.O.R.E., Gemstar and Big Mato ; “Crowded”
produced by Stargate and featuring hip hops big buzz artist of the
moment Papoose; In addition, to “Can U” featuring Quan which showcases
Jeannie’s naughty side as she invites a guy over while her parents are
away.
In addition to pouring
her heart out on the tracks, Ortega’s warm personality shines through
her music. Drawing from musical influences in Hip-Hop, R&B, and pop
music, Jeannie categorizes herself as a “Hip-Pop” artist. And with a
unique look and sound that is street-inspired, yet still commercially
viable, this feisty Latina on the come-up has drawn comparisons to none
other than Jennifer Lopez. “J-Lo put us
Latinas on the map. She made people look at Puerto Rican women
differently. And in that respect, I look up to her.”
To be so young,
Jeannie has overcome much to get to where she is going. And on the road
to stardom, the Hollywood Records’ artist knows she’s got to have tough
skin to survive her most challenging trip yet. “Everything that I went
through has made me a stronger person and prepared me for this business.
I want people to be encouraged by that and say ‘look where she came from
and look at her now, just because she believed in herself.’ ”
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