MySpace a place for friends

 
Ten years ago in Brooklyn an 8-year old 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 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 had to deal with all real life at such 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. “I was listening to Mariah Carey and that experience changed a lot for me. Her words and emotions really spoke to my heart 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 actress. 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. That opportunity came one day in the back of a NYC Cab. The cabbie upon listening to her sing all the way home promptly explained that he worked for a Limousine service whose clients were music industry executives and others of similar ilk. He suggested that he could pass recordings along to people or have her meet them. Jeannie though hesitant at first agreed. This process resulted in her meeting her current management team who immediately set forth vigorously in launching her career and the rest they say is being written Now 20 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 has now released her debut album, aptly titled No Place like Brooklyn . Her first single “Crowded” produced by hitmakers Stargate and features Papoose, Jeannie masterfully delivers the message that she won’t be “the girl on the side” and takes her power back. This tune has yielded her a top 40 hit a first for Jeannie and with that success comes opportunity. Jeannie spent the summer touring with Rihanna as her only opening act on a nationwide tour. Immediately following Ortega joined the “Lo Maximo De La Musica National Tour” joined on the bill by such Latino notables as Frankie J, Luis Fonsi, Nina Sky and La Orishas. Sounds busy not really she still found time for her big screen debut. “Yeah, I had a small part in the movie “Step Up” with Channing Tatum and Mario, I was so excited I went to see it with my whole family and we all screamed when I was onscreen for 20 seconds .” In addition, she appeared on the Soap Opera “One Life to Live” and even got to perform the song on the show. “That was amazing, a lot of people watch soaps” states Ortega. She also is endorsing a new fragrance called “100% Love” targeted to the female consumer thirteen to eighteen years of age which hit stores right in time for Christmas. As part of the grand promotion scheme for the new fragrance she took part in the Universal grad bash nights in April at Universal Orlando. She is also been cast in an indie film called “Indelible” which she shot in February in addition to being up for a role in an upcoming MTV series. 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, 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. And everybody feels pain,” says Jeannie, who—despite her tender age—has a wealth of life experiences to share. “So Done” produced by Soul Shock & Karlin the production duo who have been behind hits for Whitney Houston, Monica, JoJo and American Idol 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 ; “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 helped put us Latinas on the map. And in that respect, I admire her.” To be so young, Jeannie has overcome much to get to where she is going. And on the road to stardom, she 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. ” Jeannie is fresh, with material mired in truth without fictional meanderings about love, life, crisis and change that is life. She shows no timidity in scaling the boundaries of hip-hop and pop music and vice versa. This girl is a must stop on the highway that is pop culture......... ..... ............. ......... JEANNIE ORTEGA BOOKING NOW!!! CONTACT: DAREN HALL @SCHWARTZ/HALL ENTERTAINMENT INC. OFFICE: (770)994-8142 EMAIL: SCHWARTZHALLENT@AOL.COM .' ”