Her Life Story
Jaya is one of the most exciting new talents in the pop music horizon.
In a way it is easy to love Jaya because she is the daughter of the beloved veteran commedienne Elizabeth Ramsey and was brought home from the U.S. by Asia's Queen of Songs, Pilita Corrales.
But I think it is more because she is a poor girl who is making it through sheer talent and nerve. If she sings with a power and confidence that seems beyond her 29 years, it is because she has emerged triumphant from a difficult childhood and a reckless and passionate adolescence.
She deserves our applause and best wishes for more success in the future.
Jaya performs with a power and confidence unseen in a long time and she is stirring genuine excitement in the pop music industry.
Although she is a relatively new presence in Manila, she is by no means an overnight sensation. She ran away from home and slugged it out in New York where she worked as a back-up singer for emerging greats like Stevie B and MC Hammer, until one day in 1989 a record company gave her a break. One of her songs hi the Billboard Top 40 chart.
It was 4 years ago when her mom's old gangmates Pilita Corrales and Carmen Soriano, Queens of Songs in their own time, finally heard her sing. Right after that concert in the US, Pilita brought her home.
"I've been singing for 17 years. But professionally, this is it. I consider this my true year in the business," says Jaya.