Gabriela Sepúlveda (born September 21, 1999) is a bilingual American singer-songwriter, and actress of Mexican-Chilean descent, singing in both Spanish as well as English.[1] She became the first person to sing, Miley Cyrus’s hit song, “The Climb” in Spanish from the feature film Hannah Montana: The Movie, obtaining rights from the Walt Disney Company in 2012.[2] Sepulveda made her acting debut in 2017 for the Telemundo network series, Jenni Rivera: Mariposa de Barrio where she played the youngest daughter of Mexican-American singer, Jenni Rivera.[3] Sepulveda was only 8 when she began performing on television shows. Sepulveda first gained recognition from performing in the popular Saturday night Univision program, Sabádo Gigante four times. She would later participate in La Voz Kids in 2013 and American Idol in 2016.[2][4] In 2012, Sepulveda collaborated with Spanish recording artist and record producer, Abraham Mateo, in 2012 for the song “Un 5 De Agosto.” A song dedicated to the 33 rescued Chilean Miners from the Copiapó Mining Incident.[5] In 2021, Sepulveda collaborated with the Grammy winning Regional Mexican band, Banda Los Sebastianes with the song from Grupo Liberación, “Ese Loco Soy Yo” during their live concert in Salinas Sports Complex.[6] Sepulveda has been featured on several radio shows, talk shows, and magazines 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.[7]
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Gabriela Sepulveda was born in San Jose, California on September 21, 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.”[8] 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.”[8] 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.”[5] In 2010, Sepulveda released her first CD is 2010 titled 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.[7] 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.[9]
After her third place winning in Juguemos a Cantar, Sepulveda began to get invited to various radio shows around the Bay Area as well as notable Spanish-speaking programs. 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 performing for a total of four times on the family-friendly program. She participated in the first segment, Los Rancheritos, 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.[5] At only 11 years old, Sepulveda was invited by Estrella TV to audition for the competition, Tengo Talento Mucho Talento, in Los Angeles, California. Inspired by the framework of the America’s Got Talent, Sepulveda auditioned and was said “yes” by all three judges, Héctor Suárez, Patricia Manterola, and Pepe Garza. She was eliminated in the semi-finals.
In 2013, at the age of 13, Gabriela Sepulveda was invited by the television station, Telemundo, to audition for La Voz Kids in Miami, Florida.[2] The show followed the format of the North American television show, The Voice. The judges were Roberto Tapia, Paulina Rubio, and Prince Royce for that season.Gabriela auditioned in the blind auditions with the song “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson. 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 entirety of part one but was eliminated before part two, the battle rounds.[2]
In 2016, Gabriela Sepulveda was invited by Fox to audition for American Idol in its last farewell season.[10] Sepulveda auditioned with the song, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” by The Shirelles for the judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Conick Jr. All three judges said “yes” and she was given the Golden Ticket to Hollywood. She was eliminated later in the season.[11][4]
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