Brenda K. Starr
For the comic strip character, see Brenda Starr (comic strip).
Brenda K. Starr (born Brenda Kaplan on October 15, 1966 in New York City) is a singer who was originally a dance/pop but now mostly dabbles in salsa-based music. She is also well known for her 1980s work with freestyle music. Brenda was born to a Jewish father and Puerto Rican mother. Her only album to make the Billboard 200 Albums chart was her self-titled debut album. It peaked at #58. She has had two Billboard Hot 100 hits; they are "I Still Believe" (peaked at #13) and "What You See is What You Get" (peaked at #24). However, Brenda is not best known for her music career but for being the person who Mariah Carey sang background vocals for in the late 1980s, and the former best friend of Mariah.
Brenda overshadowed by Mariah
As mentioned above, Brenda was the former boss of singer Mariah Carey, as Mariah was once her backup singer. Brenda helped Mariah secure a recording contract by inviting her to a party where Mariah's infamous demo tape landed in the hands of Tommy Mottola, who in turn signed her to Columbia Records.
Although Mariah's career had greatly overshadowed Brenda's, Mariah seemed to keep in occasional contact with her and has thanked her in the "thank you" section of her albums Mariah Carey and Music Box. Mariah particularly thanked Brenda in another album, #1's by writing a personalized tribute and covering Brenda's biggest hit, "I Still Believe". Mariah and Brenda also had a documented conversation on Mariah's DVD release, Around The World.
Recently, however, new problems have arisen that put old events in perspective. On July 12, 2005, Brenda went on Wendy Williams's radio program, The Wendy Williams Experience, to promote her new album, Atrevete a Olvidarme, and expressed problems concerning her friendship with Mariah. Brenda felt that she was not being treated with respect, as Mariah never called her, and when she tried to call Mariah, she had to go through Mariah's public relations team and often did not have a chance to talk to her. The fuel was deepened when Mariah requested Brenda's presence on a CNN interview but then did not invite Brenda to her Emancipation of Mimi album release party, and failed to appear on Brenda's radio show. Brenda also stated that 'Mimi' was a fake nickname.
Over the next few days, Brenda continued to badmouth Mariah on various radio interviews. She stated in one, "She's forgotten who she is and where she comes from, and she's never helped me the way I've helped her." On the Spanish TV show, Escandalo TV, Brenda said that Mariah's "breakdown" was due to nothing but being upset over her ex-boyfriend, Derek Jeter.
As published in the New York Post days later, Mariah's manager, Benny Medina, whom Brenda had also insulted in an interview, came to Mariah's defense. He stated, "Over the years, Mariah has generously provided thousands in loans, never seeking repayment, to Brenda and her family, as well as a variety of gifts to both her and her children. No request from Brenda has ever been denied by Mariah." Regarding Brenda's role in starting Mariah's career, he said that Mariah already had a deal in place with Warner Bros. He continued by saying, "Hopefully, one day she'll get off her high horse and realize who a real friend is, as opposed to all the moochers that go behind her back, suck up to her and take all her money." In an unconfirmed rumor, apparently Brenda is a casual user of Wikipedia, and was not pleased to see that her entry only got updated with news of her drama with Mariah.
Although news of the drama between Brenda and Mariah is now public knowledge, the rift between the two has been going on for years apparently. Apparently, after Mariah got signed to Sony/Columbia, she was made a priority artist, and many female artists were dropped from the label to focus on Mariah. Ironically, among the dropped artists was Brenda K. Starr. For years, Brenda had to carry odd jobs to support herself and her family, and the former pop star was even forced to work at a shopping mall in New Jersey. Due to her personal struggles at the time and her doubts of friendship, Brenda and Mariah stopped speaking around 1993.
As mentioned above, Brenda and Mariah did evantually made up for a bit five years later in 1998 in a scene filmed for the Around The World DVD. However, footage of the two just crying and hugging in silence as they reconciled their former best friendship was cut from the final footage. How the reconcilation of the two former best friends turned sour again is unknown.
Discography
Albums
- 1987 Brenda K. Starr #58 US
- 1991 By Heart
- 1997 Te Sigo Esperando
- 1998 No Lo Voy a Olvidar
- 2000 Petalos de Fuego
- 2002 Temptation
- 2005 Atrevete a Olvidarme
Singles
- 1988 "I Still Believe" #13 US
- 1988 "What You See Is What You Get" #24 US
- 1991 " No Matter What" (with George LaMond) #49 US
External Links
- Brenda -features hit song "I Still Believe"
- Brenda K. Starr lyrics organized by album at lyrics.info