Kat DeLuna

Things are heating up for Kat DeLuna. At just 19, the fiery young singer burst onto the hip-hop scene in 2007 with her sizzling summer anthem "Whine Up," featuring Elephant Man. But despite her young age, it's been a long, hard road to success for this Latina powerhouse. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., and raised in the Dominican Republic, Kat grew up listening to and imitating artists like Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday. She learned to sing opera at a very young age and has a five-octave vocal range a la Mariah Carey. Shortly after relocating back to the States -- to the coarse streets of Newark, N.J. -- Kat's parents divorced and she was forced to beg for food. But the hard-knock life only made her more determined to make her dream come true. She started performing at local carnivals, where she took the stage with the likes of the "Queen of Merengue" Milly Quezada and Marc Anthony. She started writing her own music when she was just 15 and formed the all-girl Latina hip-hop group Coquette, which opened for Cassidy in 2004, before the DeLuna was finally signed as a solo artist. With a background like that, it's no wonder that her sound is a colorful canvas that blends R&B, hip-hop, meringue, pop, Latin jazz, electronica and dance. To call her a crossover artist would be an understatement. Kat DeLuna is the complete package and she embodies the girl-next-door attitude that helps her effortlessly connect with fans.