Paula DeAnda

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Paula DeAnda absorbed the sounds of Selena and other prominent female singers during her childhood, often joining her cousins to perform those tracks at family events. She soon began piano instruction while also lending her voice to local performances, both on her own and supporting other artists. In 2002 her family relocated to Corpus Christi to advance her musical prospects, where she encountered manager Ed Ocanas. He facilitated the recording of her first original composition, “What Would It Take,” which received local radio airplay. DeAnda then entered the studio with producer Happy Perez to cut her follow-up single, “Doing Too Much,” which reached the Billboard Top 40 in early 2006. The track drew the interest of executive Clive Davis, who set up an audition that led to her signing with the Arista subsidiary J Records. Her debut album appeared that summer.