LANDING

To follow the path that led to the “Asian
Beauty” tour, we must go all the way back to
New York City and the Bronx, where she was
born in 1987. Although she was born in the U.S.,
her parents are both Dominican and the family
soon moved back to the Dominican Republic. It
was there that DeLuna formed a love for music.
“Since the very early age of two, I recognized
that my passion for music was more than
just a thing. I had to have it, and be it,” explains
DeLuna.
So, naturally, upon returning to America at
the age of 14, the singer soon attended the
Newark Arts High School in New Jersey. Her
passion for performing grew along with her
skills, and a turning point came in 2002 when
she took first prize in a karaoke competition
with a rendition of “I Will Always Love You,”
Dolly Parton’s hit song that was written fully
into the cultural lexicon by Whitney Houston
and The Bodyguard. Even to this day, DeLuna
cites the legendary diva as a key influence,
saying that “Run to You” is her favorite song
to sing.
Fast-forward to 2006, when DeLuna signed
a recording contract with Epic Records, the label
that has been home to Celine Dion, Sade,
Shakira, Pearl Jam, and Michael Jackson. This
led to the development of her first album, 9
Lives, and the release of the aforementioned
single “Whine Up” in 2007. This Gold-certified
single—whose title comes from the Caribbean
English pronunciation of “wind up,” the act of
moving one’s hips on the dance floor—reached
No. 1 on the Billboard U.S. Dance Club Songs
chart, and landed DeLuna a Billboard Latin
Music Award for Latin Dance Club Play Track
of the Year, making her the first Dominican pop
singer to cross over into the mainstream.
In October 2007, DeLuna was named Best
New Artist at the Premios MTV Latinoamérica
Awards. In the years that followed, her fan base
continued to grow, and in 2009 she moved to
Universal Music and began work on her second
album, Inside Out. The lead single “Push
Push,” featuring prolific R&B master Akon, was
released in 2010.
With each year, expectations have grown,
and one might expect there to be some tough
times to work through, but DeLuna says that
hasn’t been the case. When asked what has
been the most difficult time since her debut,
she explains “There hasn’t been one. I am a
very positive person. I am thankful for my fans
[‘Delunatics’] because they have brought me
to this point. I love what I do and always push
forward no matter what the situation is.”
Following new singles roughly once a year
between 2010 and today, the next step for
DeLuna is her upcoming album Viva Out Loud.
And that brings us to the “Asian Beauty” tour
and the first stop on October 29 at ELE Tokyo.
After this, the tour will continue with shows at
Vanity Osaka (November 2), V2 Tokyo (November
7), Kitsune Kyoto (November 8), and Orca
Nagoya (November 10). Details about all these
dates are available at http://dme-world.net.
Finally, DeLuna leaves us with advice for
up-and-coming artists: “Be strong and believe
that you can do it.”
SINCE THE
VERY EARLY
AGE OF TWO,
I RECOGNIZED
THAT MY
PASSION FOR
MUSIC WAS
MORE THAN
JUST A THING.
I HAD TO HAVE
IT, AND BE IT.”
07