By Sundafu
It had come in the middle of recording the album, but here we were in Miami where Angela Via was getting ready to open for RBD in front of 25,000 people at a packed American Airlines Arena. As we stood backstage, I could feel the nervous energy, but Angela sat quietly and confidently. Without even one club date performance, she was ready to perform for the sold out crowd. She chose to sing only one song, the ballad FINALLY, to showcase her diva-esque voice. Leave them wanting more, she thought.
The buzz surrounding Angela had reached a fever pitch as people start learning about the girl with the golden voice. Born and raised in Raymondville, Texas, Angela grew up to become a gorgeous, intelligent, and ambitious young woman. In her piercing hazel eyes, you could see that she was Ready To Fly. During her early childhood, she grew close to her Mexican/American heritage, hearing mostly Spanish and English mixed together, or "Spanglish". She enjoyed learning the many Spanish phrases uniquely spoken by South Tex-Mexicans and during this time, she latched on to all the local Tejano music as well as Gloria Estefan, who inspired her by singing in both English and Spanish. Every day, Angela would privately lock herself in her room or take her small boombox outside on the porch and sing for hours. She would perform to each cassette from beginning to end repeatedly until she could hit every note to her satisfaction. But it wasn’t until she discovered gospel music that Angela found her passion for singing. Inspired by the likes of Bebe and Cece Winans, Whitney and Cissy Houston, and Tonex, Angela began singing in her church and school choirs. That inspiration had carried her to this moment.
The direction of the album took shape with the first few songs we recorded. Co-written with Nick Chavez and Alisha M’Jestie Brooks, who penned the smash “Pon da Replay†for Rhianna, Angela found her voice and her sound: a mixture of urban, Latin, pop and soul. Angela was excited to bring that sound to masses, but it had come sooner that we expected.
I knew it would be special based on the sound check, but then to see her feed off the energy from the crowd was even more special. They were tentative at first wondering; who is this girl singing this slow song? But as a hush came over the mesmerized crowd, midway through the song, a group of girls screamed and the entire place erupted as her voice reverberated through the building. Then came the high note; then the really high note. You would have thought in that moment they had come to see her perform, that she was the main event. It was a very magical moment. They cheered until the song ended and after it was over you could see the faces in the crowd asking again, “who was that?†You knew people would remember this moment: the first time they saw Angela Via perform live
