19, Karla Genessis is an American singer, song-writer, dancer, and performer from Puerto Rico. She is known for her unique style that blends pop, r&b, jazz and soul. Karla Genessis Ortiz-Perez was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on July 31, 1995. Growing up she was exposed mostly to spanish gospel singers, but thanks to her Aunt she was also heavily influenced by the late Amy Winehouse. Growing up Karla never passed up the opportunity to perform. There was something about singing and having everyone slowly get silent just to take a listen that made her want more. "My mom told me a story about how I was in either in first or second grade and there was a show going on at my school but there was an opening so I got up on the stage and sang 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' with all of my heart" Karla said when asked about her first time performing for a crowd. In 2011, Karla got involved in the performing arts program at her school. Before she knew it, her class was making a video for a contest that "Glee" was holding and she was featured singing "Rolling in the Deep". When asked about the experience Karla said "Honestly I just sang the song because we were forced to sing a song for our theatre class and that was my 'go to' song, I had no idea that they'd want to use me for such an important video, I was seriously stunned!". In 2012, Karla auditioned for her very first musical of her high school career and was shocked to learn that she got the lead role of the Scarecrow (The Wiz). There were complications so she also had to pick up the part of Dorothy. The cast went on to perform at the annual "Rosies" (http://www.yorkdispatch.com/ci_20635844/popular-rosies-showcase-teen-talent) where they received the Judge's Award. Karla was chosen as one of the four finalist to perform with the finalists from other schools in a grand finale. Before the night ended Karla was awarded the Director's award for her hard work, dedication, and for taking on two lead roles. She showed that she was reliable and from that moment forward she became the "go to" girl. Feeling excitement from all of the positive feedback from the shows, Karla went on to upload her very first cover on YouTube. The song was "Heaven" by rock singer Bryan Adams. She received positive feedback from friends and strangers alike. Her covers range from popular songs such as "Titanium" (David Guetta), "Ordinary People" (John Legend), and "Rolling In the Deep" (Adele) all the way to songs such as "If I Die Young" (The Band Perry), "You Sent Me Flying" (Amy Winehouse), and "With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear" (Sleeping with Sirens). She always makes sure to add her own twist to each and every cover as if the song was her own. She even got recognition from music artist Tess Henley and producer Dennis "AGANEE" Jenkins, who has worked on Justin Bieber's album "Believe" as well as Ariana Grande's albums "Yours Truly" and "My Everything." Between 2012 and 2014 Karla has been asked to perform the national anthem for the each graduating class including her own (2013). She has performed on the local news as Carmen Diaz from the musical "FAME". In 2014 alone Karla has been shown nothing but support and admiration from her fans who she call her #inspirations. "One day I was thinking about what I would want to call my fan base if I ever made it big and most celebrities name their fans something that is attached to their name but I wanted to be different. #Inspirations is not connected to my name in any way, shape, or form, but I feel like it explains my following as a whole. They are all normal everyday people but to me they're extraordinary for believing in me and supporting my dreams." Karla said when asked about her fan base. She always take time out of her day to thank her supporters for believing in her because she knows how rough it is for someone who is chasing their dream, to find people who genuinely believe you can make it to the top. Karla was fortunate enough to have enough positive buzz going around about her that she got in contact with Mr. Logik Lee and his studio (AK Beatz). During their first meeting she got to meet an artist that AK Beatz had been working with for a while. Less than an hour from the time they met they wrote a song together and recorded it in one day (“One in a Million”)! Karla recently posted a video of an original song called “Legacy” and much to her surprise people really liked it! The video since the initial post has gotten well over 1400 views without any type of promotion or push. “I was just completely shocked when people kept sharing the video and asking for me to record an official version so they could download it from itunes. And I was getting all of these messages about how people could really relate to the song. That’s really all I wanted.” Karla said about the overwhelming response to her original song. In collaboration with AK Beatz Karla recently released her new song “Say It” for free via soundcloud. Karla has also been in the process of collaborating with people in the latino said of the music industry to get more in touch with her Puerto Rican roots. “Sometimes I feel like music speaks for you but in my case sometimes it just has to be in spanish.” Karla said about working on spanish music. Karla will be performing all throughout the summer at various venues while working on new music and has plans to release her debut EP as an independent artist in late 2015/ early 2016.