Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas (March 11, 1969), mononymously known as Soraya, was a Colombian-American singer-songwriter who rose to fame through a series of chart-topping singles in the early aughts. Born in the city of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, she spent most of her childhood moving back and forth between Colombia and the United States. She became interested in music from a very young age and gave her first performance playing violin at New York City's Carnegie Hall with the NYC Youth Philharmonic. In 1996, Soraya made her official debut with the album En Esta Noche, which was simultaneously released in both English and Spanish. The popularity of her first album allowed her to tour the US, Latin America, and Europe opening up for artists like Natalie Merchant, Sting, and Alanis Morissette. Two of the album's singles, "De Repente" and "Amor en Tus Ojos," climbed to the top of the Billboard Latin Pop chart while their English counterparts received considerable airplay on Adult Contemporary radio. Torre de Marfil, her sophomore effort, brought her international recognition and featured a song co-written with Carole King, one of her longtime music heroes. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Soraya postponed the promotional tour for her third full-length Cuerpo y Alma to receive treatment and recover from the illness. She would return in 2003 with an eponymous LP that won Best Album by a Singer-Songwriter at the Latin Grammys. El Otro Lado de Mí, her fifth and last album, appeared in 2006 shortly before her untimely passing later that year.
