Zayra Enid Alvarez Dones Nugent also known as just Zayra, is a Puerto
Rican singer and musician, currently based in Texas. Zayra has
recorded in the genres of rock en español, Latin pop and EDM.Raised
in Arroyo, Puerto Rico she attended the University of Puerto Rico,
majoring in Industrial Engineering. After visiting a friend, Alvarez
moved to Texas where she became active in the local club scene and
signed a record deal with Brando Records. She recorded her debut album
Ruleta in Spanish. She wrote and performed all the songs on the album.
A few months later, Kevin Lawrie at Sony Norte heard the tracks and
signed her to the Miami-based label. Alvarez continued to work in the
Latin music scene, getting airplay for her debut single "Hoy" on
stations throughout Puerto Rico and the US. Picky Talarico directed
the video for "Hoy", which was shot on location in Buenos Aires,
Argentina. The program director for Entravision Communications "Super
Estrella" network happened upon her while she was performing at the
Grove in Los Angeles. The following week "Hoy" was added to the
playlist for all of the "Super Estrella" network across the US. This
led Sony Norte to release a second single "Cada Momento".While touring
and performing in Texas, Alvarez became close friends with her Brando
Records label mates Blue October, who invited her to sing on two
songs: "Come in Closer" off of their album History for Sale and "Into
the Ocean" from their platinum-selling album Foiled.Alvarez landed a
spot on the CBS TV show Rockstar: Supernova in 2006. Her outrageous
costumes and creative spin on the songs she performed were both
praised and derided by the media. Los Angeles Times pop music critic
Ann Powers stated that "Rockstar's most intriguing contestant, the
Puerto Rican punk chanteuse Zayra Alvarez" while her hometown paper,
the Dallas Observer, referred to her as having a "serious, possibly
fatal, pitch deficiency". Marc Hirsh declared that "Zayra quickly
learned to own her weirdness and start driving it without fear...
without changing her style or even necessarily improving, she revealed
herself to be what allmusic.com’s postseason roundtable referred to
as 'the most exciting, original, and audacious' singer in the entire
competition." TMZ referred to her as the "breakout star" of the show.
During her tenure, she covered many well-known songs, including "Call
Me", "867-5309/Jenny", and "Everybody Hurts". On week 7, Alvarez
performed her original song, ""Lluvia de Mar"" in Spanish. She was
eliminated from the show on August 16.
Rican singer and musician, currently based in Texas. Zayra has
recorded in the genres of rock en español, Latin pop and EDM.Raised
in Arroyo, Puerto Rico she attended the University of Puerto Rico,
majoring in Industrial Engineering. After visiting a friend, Alvarez
moved to Texas where she became active in the local club scene and
signed a record deal with Brando Records. She recorded her debut album
Ruleta in Spanish. She wrote and performed all the songs on the album.
A few months later, Kevin Lawrie at Sony Norte heard the tracks and
signed her to the Miami-based label. Alvarez continued to work in the
Latin music scene, getting airplay for her debut single "Hoy" on
stations throughout Puerto Rico and the US. Picky Talarico directed
the video for "Hoy", which was shot on location in Buenos Aires,
Argentina. The program director for Entravision Communications "Super
Estrella" network happened upon her while she was performing at the
Grove in Los Angeles. The following week "Hoy" was added to the
playlist for all of the "Super Estrella" network across the US. This
led Sony Norte to release a second single "Cada Momento".While touring
and performing in Texas, Alvarez became close friends with her Brando
Records label mates Blue October, who invited her to sing on two
songs: "Come in Closer" off of their album History for Sale and "Into
the Ocean" from their platinum-selling album Foiled.Alvarez landed a
spot on the CBS TV show Rockstar: Supernova in 2006. Her outrageous
costumes and creative spin on the songs she performed were both
praised and derided by the media. Los Angeles Times pop music critic
Ann Powers stated that "Rockstar's most intriguing contestant, the
Puerto Rican punk chanteuse Zayra Alvarez" while her hometown paper,
the Dallas Observer, referred to her as having a "serious, possibly
fatal, pitch deficiency". Marc Hirsh declared that "Zayra quickly
learned to own her weirdness and start driving it without fear...
without changing her style or even necessarily improving, she revealed
herself to be what allmusic.com’s postseason roundtable referred to
as 'the most exciting, original, and audacious' singer in the entire
competition." TMZ referred to her as the "breakout star" of the show.
During her tenure, she covered many well-known songs, including "Call
Me", "867-5309/Jenny", and "Everybody Hurts". On week 7, Alvarez
performed her original song, ""Lluvia de Mar"" in Spanish. She was
eliminated from the show on August 16.
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