Joy Enriquez

“I want people to buy my album because they feel the music, and feel my sincerity, and they feel me as a person,” says 20-year-old Joy Enriquez.

Joy’s sincerity is served in healthy proportions on her Arista Records/La Face self-titled debut that features 11 songs crafted by some of pop music’s best producers Babyface, Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins, Soulshock and Karlin and Ian Prince.

While Joy established a name for herself as a promising singer in her hometown of Whittier, California, the talented Latina R&B singer graced the national television airwaves in 1995, when she appeared on the famed Star Search series, winning in the female vocalist category for 11 consecutive weeks.

“It was a dream come true,” Joy says about her impressive winning streak. “I had wanted to do it since I was a little girl. To be on that stage with Ed McMahon and the whole audience cheering you on, it was a thrill, and something that I’ll never forget. And I can show it to my kids.”

VHS cassettes of Joy singing songs by Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Celine Dion, not to mention gospel hymns “Precious Lord” and “His Eye Is On The Sparrow,” served as her demo tapes that lead to several lucrative recording deal opportunities. But Joy wasn’t quick to take any of the offers, as she had her mind set on working with Babyface.

“I couldn’t sign with anyone until I met Babyface,” Joy remembers. “I wanted to meet Babyface and work with him. I asked all the record companies, ‘Can you deliver Babyface to me? Can you guarantee that I’m going to work with Babyface? And they said, ‘No, we can’t.’ And I said, ‘Well, all right then, I’ll be back.’” When her opportunity to audition for Babyface finally came, she was ready. Though she was actually auditioning to be a part of a singing group, she ended up with a solo deal.

Since signing with La Face, the excitement has intensified. In 1999, she recorded the ballad “How Could I Not Love You” for the motion picture “Anna and the King” soundtrack which was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards. And in 1997, Joy lent background vocals to “When You Believe,” the historic teaming of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey for the Prince Of Egypt soundtrack.

“It was an honor to be singing for two people who I really admired and looked up to growing up, and listened to their music,” Joy says. “They’re two divas. To know that my name is on the same record with them, was the icing on the cake.”

And with Joy’s debut, the singer proves her own vocal prowess, tackling an impressive combination of romantic ballads and bouncy dance floor songs.

The album’s first commercial release “Tell Me How You Feel” gives Joy an opportunity to make people dance. She actually co-wrote the song along with producers Soulshock and Karlin.

“It’s happy, it shows my skills as a writer, and I think that a lot of people will like it,” Joy says. “It shows my personality. To me that’s the most important thing. It’s fun, and that’s who I am. I’m happy. I want everybody to see that.”

Joy additionally had an impact in the issues addressed on the album’s other 10 songs. She was happy to sing about being a single, independent woman on the Freddie Jerkins’ produced “I Don’t Want You.”

“They asked me, ‘How do you feel about a man right now?’” Joy recalls with a laugh. “I said, ‘I really don’t need a man right now. I don’t want a man because I don’t want to be distracted right now.’ So they came up with ‘I don’t want you/ I don’t need you/No/You’re not really what I’m into.’”

Joy’s down to earth demeanor comes across in every song. Her vulnerable romantic side shows on ballads such as the “With This Love” and “Losing The Love.” “Someday,” produced by Babyface, embodies her deep-rooted R&B influences. On the sassy “Situations” she dumps the guy she has been dating when she finds out that he has a girlfriend. The energy of her family’s backyard barbecues thrives on the conga driven “Shake Up The Party.” And her love and appreciation for her family and God is clearly felt on the emotional “Just When I Needed You.”

“I want to be a great role model for kids,” says the singer who insists that her parents manage her career and her sister serves as her executive assistant. “And I’m not just saying that to say because that’s the right thing to say. I say it because I mean it. ‘Cause I have lots of cousins and a lot of family that I want to uplift. And I want them to look at things like, ‘Look at that girl from Whittier. She’s from Whittier, California, and she’s working with Babyface, and has a song on MTV. If she can do it, I can do it.’ That’s the way I want to come across, that if I can do it, anyone can do it.”

Guess it’s no coincidence that her parents named her Joy.