Samantha Rae

Samantha Rae calls the beautiful coastal town of La Paz in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur home. It’s fitting for Rae that she lives in a sunny and amazingly scenic environment – a town that translates from Spanish into “The Peace.”Like her picturesque surroundings, Rae’s music is warm and inviting, lush and peaceful. On her upcoming debut solo album, the songstress will offer up a sultry and powerful mix of Latin-flavored pop, acoustic beauty and soulful ballads that will reach into the listener’s soul to lift them up with her sexy vocals, poignant lyrics and smart arrangements.Long before touring the world as a back-up singer with Mexican stars Yahir and Alejandra Guzman, and before being a finalist in the Latin version of American Idol, Rae was born and raised in Berkeley, California, and moved to La Paz with her mother at age 11.Rae’s uncle, Brent Byars, played percussion in the innovative and renowned Tower of Power, and even had the young Rae on his shoulders on-stage. The early musical exposure prompted her to begin guitar and piano lessons at seven years old. Her first songs to learn were “You are my Sunshine” and Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You.” Rae joined her first band at 15 playing mostly cover songs. Her major early musical influences included Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, Prince and Lionel Richie.Rae is currently wrapping up recording and post-production in Los Angeles on her first original music solo debut cd. Her most recent musicis an album of meaningful cover songs she recorded and released as Historias, which is available through her MySpace page and on her new Noisy Planet artist page. Rae’s goals as a bi-cultural music artist are simple, she says modestly. She wants to, “Be happy and singing my music in front of lots of people” while enjoying “that feeling… the energy rush and satisfaction” of performing live in concert.Rae says she’s never wanted to do anything but be a music artist.“Making a living as an artist has never let me down,” she says. “I have always worked hard, and it has always gotten better – from bars and cover songs to back-up singing to Latin American Idol – not just the music has gotten better, but the fans have always been such a big part of it all for me.”Her main wish as a music artist for her fans is again very simple and straightforward.“I want to make good music that makes people feel good, and for them to feel my passion for the music and performing.”