Gabriela Sepúlveda

Gabriela Sepúlveda
File:Sepulveda in 2019 posing in a traditional Mexican dress.jpg Sepulveda in 2019 posing in a traditional Mexican dress.
Background information
Birth name	Gabriela Isabel Sepúlveda
Born	September 21, 1999 (age 20) San Jose, California, U.S.
Genres	Mariachi - Norteño - Regional Mexican - Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer - songwriter - actress
Years active	2008 - present
Website	gabrielasepulvedamusic.com

Gabriela Sepulveda is a bilingual singer and composer of Mexican-Chilean descent, singing in both Spanish as well as English. She became the first person to sing, Miley Cyrus’s hit song, “The Climb” in Spanish, obtaining rights from the Walt Disney Company in 2012. She has participated in La Voz Kids in 2013 and later went on to participate in American Idol, 2016. She has been featured on several radio shows as well as talk shows including the Dante Night Show, Otra Noche con Ustedes, Buenos Días con Celina, Stereo Play Beat, Acceso Total, El Show International de Paula Maruri, Encuentro en la Bahía, El Show Pistolero de Chicago, Comunidad del Valle, and in La Bamba Magazine. She made her acting debut in Telemundo’s, Mariposa de Barrio in 2017.  

Life and career

1999-2011: Early life and career beginnings

Gabriela Sepulveda was born in San Jose, California on September 21st, 1999, to a mother of Mexican descent and a father or Chilean descent. She was exposed to music early on in her life as her father plays several South American instruments and sings and composes Andean music on his own. She stated in one of her interviews that, “the passion of music runs in the family.” Gabriela has mentioned in several interviews that she was always an entertainer even at a very young age, singing and making jokes to the point where her family ended up nicknaming her, “The Showgirl.” The first time she sang on stage was at her elementary school talent show singing Selena Quintanilla’s song “Como La Flor.” After that, at the age of eight, Gabriela was entered by her mother in a contest in Gilroy, California called, Juguemos a Cantar. She won third place singing a Mexican folk song called “Los Laureles.”

After her third place winning in Juguemos a Cantar, Sepulveda began to get invited to various radio shows around the Bay Area. She was invited to sing in Univision’s television shows, Al Despertar, and Encuentro en La Bahía. Gabriela went to participate in two segments of the popular show Sabado Gigante. The first one was Los Rancheritos where she participated twice, once in 2009 and again in 2010, winning both  times. In 2011 she participated in another segment, Estellas de Futuro and made it to the semi finals. Sepulveda released her first CD is 2010 called Mis Primeras Canciones. She wrote her first song “Ya No Te Quiero” at the age of nine and released the song on her new youtube channel when she was twelve. Gabriela continued to sing in various community events around the Bay Area and was also invited to perform at several Mariachi Festivals in San Jose. She performed in Rosarito, Mexico and at the “Fiestas Jalisco” in Chicago, Illinois. Sepulveda released her second CD in 2015 called Cantos del Corazon.

La Voz Kids

In 2013,  at the age of 13, Gabriela Sepulveda went on to audition for La Voz Kids in Miami, Florida. The show was for the television station Telemundo and followed the format of the North American television show, The Voice. Gabriela auditioned with the song “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson. The judges were Roberto Tapia, Paulina Rubio, and Prince Royce for that season. Roberto Tapia was the judge to turn his chair around for the young singer, stating that he found her voice to be very versatile and able to sing more than one genre of music. Sepulveda was on the show for the whole of part one but was eliminated before part two, the battle rounds.

Pero Nadie and Fame in Venezuela

In 2014, Sepulveda released her single, “Pero Nadie," a ranchera style ballad song, written in collaboration with her mother and manager, Diana Sepulveda. She mentioned in her 2017 interview with El Diario de Guayana, that the song was inspired by the dramatic and intense nature of telenovelas (Spanish soap operas) and drove her to make the song intense and dramatic as well.   The song was later nominated in the “World Category” for the Josie Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee in 2016, winning the award for “Song of the Year." The song was played on Venezuelan radio station, Esplendida 91.9 and received a positive reception. She has been featured in many Venezuelan magazine and newspaper articles. Her first fan club was established in Venezuela.”

American Idol

In 2016, Gabriela Sepulveda auditioned for American Idol in its last farewell season with the song, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” by The Shirelles. All three judges said “yes” and she was given the Golden Ticket to Hollywood. She was eliminated later in the season.

Jenni Rivera: Mariposa De Barrio

Gabriela Sepulveda made her acting debut in Telemundo’s, Jenni Rivera: Mariposa De Barrio on June 27, 2017. The show follows the life story of the late singer-songwriter Jenni Rivera. Sepulveda portrayed her youngest daughter, Jenicka López Rivera. She played twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen- year-old Jenicka.

Performances

Gabriela Sepulveda has been invited to perform in several venues in the Bay Area. On September 13th, 2014, she was asked to sing the U.S. National Anthem for the San Francisco Giants. In December 11th of 2014, she was invited to perform with the the San Jose ice hockey team, the Sharks. She sang for the San Jose Earthquakes, and San Jose Barracudas in 2015. She also performs in the annual event, Noche Bohemia, in Salinas, California. She has performed in Fiesta Gigantes de San Francisco, and Navidad en Mexico Bay Area Tour, featured alongside Ballet Folklorico de Carlos Moreno. Sepulveda also performed in the National Policy Forum on Arts Education, an event organized by the White House and Vivafest.

Singing Style and Collaborations

As a bilingual singer, Gabriela sings both english as well as spanish songs. Her biggest singing inspiration is Selena Quintanilla, prompting her to choose many of Quintanilla’s songs in her concerts. Sepulveda has sung from several genres of music such as mariachi, country music, pop, ballads, blues, bachata, and soul music. She has mentioned in many interviews that she shares a close bond with her Latin American heritage and that Mariachi and Mexican ranchera style music is closest to her heart. Sepulveda has collaborated with Victor Hugo Santos on his album “25 Años de Canciones para Niños.” She also sang with and Miguel Sotomayor in the songs “Vivo por Ella”, “Hoy Tengo Ganas de Ti”, and “Written in the Stars.” Sepulveda also has collaborated with the famous Spanish pop star Abraham Mateo Chamorro in the song “Un 5 de Agosto.”

Personal Life

Gabriela Sepulveda always calls herself a “full-time student” in most interviews when asked on her views on education. She mentioned in one of her interviews that, “Education is the one thing that I know will always carry with me everywhere I go, but I also learn because I enjoy opening my eyes to different topics and exploring my mind along with it.” Sepulveda has also actively voiced her support for animal rights and supports the organization PETA. She continues to perform in places like the Children’s Discovery Museum as well as Monterey Bay Aquarium on a regular basis. She is also the ambassador for the organization, “Juntos por la Vida”, which works to help suicidal teens and victims of abuse.