Born in the historic city of San Antonio and with over a decade of performance experience, Leslie Lugo represents the American/Hispanic bicultural influences where she grew up. Living close to the Mexican border, she embraced her creative and artistic musical Mexican American influences by performing in English and Spanish, engaging her audience with her powerful voice, spectacular style and charismatic personality. As a seasoned, bilingual, versatile performer, Leslie is one of a select few with the ability to perform a wide range of musical genres. Her extensive repertoire caters to a wide diverse audience and includes American standards, ballads, rock, dance, pop, jazz, disco and Latin & tropical rhythms such as: balladas, cumbia, salsa, meringue, rancheras, mariachi and Tejano music.
In 2006, Leslie recorded the duet "Caen Porque Caen" with Joe Posada on his Amor Y Fuego CD which became a National hit thanks to all the fans. The CD was nominated for a 2006 Latin Grammy. Joe Posada and Leslie Lugo were nominated for Best Tejano Vocal Duo performance at the 2006 Tejano Music Awards.
Leslie’s highly anticipated self-titled Tejano CD was unveiled at the 2007 National Tejano Music Convention held at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada. The CD was produced by 6 time Grammy Award winner, Gilbert Velasquez with Tejano Super Star Joe Posada acting as Executive Producer. Leslie’s hit single, “Que Vas Hacer” has heated up the Tejano radio airwaves charting top honors throughout the U.S. and Mexico positioning it as one of the top Tejano songs of 2007. With the release of her breakthrough debut album, Leslie has been embraced by Tejano music fans worldwide and recognized by music industry professionals with several key music award nominations such as: The Academy of Tejano Music Awards 2007 Female Vocalist of the Year, The Tejano Music Awards 2008 Female Vocalist of the Year and 2008 Most Promising Band of the Year, and the coveted Univision Premios A La Musica Latina Awards 2008 Mejor Vocalista Femenina and 2008 Revelacion Del Año.
An accomplished songwriter, Leslie has written songs for many other artists. In 1997, Leslie was honored with an accolade from the Grammy’s for her songwriter performance in the Grammy Award recording, “Said and Done” by Flaco Jimenez. She also co-wrote a song for Flaco Jimenez for the Woody Allen movie, “Picking Up The Pieces”.
Leslie has enhanced her musical abilities and great versatility as a background vocalist by being part of other artist’s musical productions. Her collaborations with other artists have garnered an amazing four Grammy nominations.
A noted professional voice over performer, Leslie’s dynamic and extraordinary voice can be heard from coast to coast in her impressive list of recorded Radio/Television National/Regional Commercials and jingles for Coca Cola, Time Warner, Chrysler, Dodge, Burger King, Enterprise Rent A Car, as well as many others.
Leslie inherited her love of music from her musical family. Her father, Raul Lugo, a Professional Engineer by trade, is also a classical guitarist. Her mother, Bitsy, and her paternal grandmother would sing at family gatherings. As a baby, Leslie’s first words were sung, not spoken. Instead of the usual "Mama" and "Dada" that most babies utter, Leslie sang "Wild Fire", the two words of a popular song she had heard on the radio. For her amazed parents, this was the first indication that Leslie loved music. While still a baby, Leslie would carry a carrot the same way one holds a microphone, singing and making up song lyrics as she went along. Leslie’s first steps in her creative life were developed at a very early age. Barely reaching the strings of the guitar as she sang, Leslie, at 5 years old, was already performing for her pre-kindergarten class. During her early years, Leslie was The San Antonio and Texas State Winner of Young American Stars. She was a Trophy Winner at the "Talent Showcase" International Model & Talent Association in New York City where she competed against hundreds of singers from all over the world.
At the tender age of sixteen, Leslie Lugo, was selected as Lead Vocalist for one of the primer orchestras in Texas, The Ramiro Cervera Orchestra, a San Antonio institution with a 17-piece aggregation of music veterans. She performed locally, throughout Texas, as well as in other states on occasion. Shortly after, while still in High School, she joined a popular local band, a Latino beat ensemble led by experienced accomplished musicians. At eighteen years of age and the youngest performer, Leslie represented Texas in the prestigious National OTI (Organizacion de Televisoras Ibero-Americanas) song contest in Miami, Florida. She performed live, via The Univision International TV network, before an estimated 200 million television viewers in 33 countries in the U.S. and Latin America. Leslie was also featured on two telecasts of "Ritmo Internacional", a TV show via the Hispanic Telemundo Network and broadcast from Walt Disney World Pleasure Island in Orlando, Florida.
By the age of 19, Leslie Lugo struck out on her own, forming her own band and entertaining audiences with a variety of English/Spanish music. "The Leslie Lugo Band" has performed in numerous festivals, conventions, concerts and special events, such as: The Festival Latino and Noche De Gala Festival in Washington, D.C., National El Presidente Latin Music Songwriting Talent Search in Los Angeles, Calif., The Selena World Premier Movie Gala Celebration in San Antonio, Texas, National Council of La Raza National Convention in Dallas, Texas, The Lulac Foundation Achievement Award Ceremony in Houston, Texas and The George Washington Celebration Noche Mexicana, Colonial Ball and Noche De Cabaret in Laredo, Texas. El Camino To Fame, a bilingual National syndicated TV show that utilized the technologies of the Internet, featured Leslie as Co-Host and was televised from Fiesta Texas Theme Park in San Antonio, Texas.
Leslie’s debut album has taken her musical career on a new journey artistically and personally reflecting a true representation of where Leslie Lugo is today. She wrote or co-wrote four of the songs on her new album adding her own personal creativity and feeling to her music. The CD is a Latino mix of exciting original music and Leslie performs the powerful tracts brilliantly, blending heart and soul with her unique style. Her maturity, drive and marvelous ability to captivate and enchant her audiences over the past few years has brought her to the forefront of the entertainment world and poised her for the success she so richly deserves.
