Gabriela Villalba | |
---|---|
Birth name | María Gabriela Villalba Jervis |
Also known as | Gaby |
Born | 20 September 1984 |
Origin | Quito. Ecuador |
Genres | Pop, dance-pop, pop rock |
Associated acts | Kiruba, Kudai. |
María Gabriela Villalba Jervis (born September 20, 1984) is an Ecuadorian singer and actress.
Gabriela Villalba was born in Quito, Ecuador on September 20, 1984. Her full birth name is María Gabriela Villalba Jervis. Her nickname is Gaby and she has seven brothers: Juan Carlos, Ricardo, Diego, Sandra, Mateo, Santiago and Alessandro. Her parents are Juan Carlos Villalba and Paulina Jervis. Gabriela studied at Jacques Cousteau High School in Guangopolo, a rural community outside of Quito. Gaby started in world of media by doing TV commercials at a very young age. Her solo album was released in 2011.
Her fame stardom started when she was chosen to participate in the Ecuadorian version of the reality show Popstars. She won and became a part of the best selling Ecuadorian girl band Kiruba. They sold 20,000 copies of their debut album. Sadly, the band only lasted two years more, recording two studio albums Kiruba and Baila La Luna.
After the disintegration of the group in 2005, Gabriela starred in a Colombian soap opera entitled 'Al Ritmo De Tu Corazón' (To The Rhythm Of Your Heart), where she also sang and composed the main theme song for the show. This international production led to several well-known producers to offer her an opportunity to launch her career as a soloist.
Villalba released her debut album Todo Bien (Everything's Fine) in 2005. Her first and only single "Me Doy Vueltas" ("I Turn In Circles") became a moderate hit in Ecuador.
On May 30, 2006, in Quito, Radio Exa invited Gaby to be the opening act of the famous band Kudai while the group was touring in Ecuador. Kudai’s manager was amazed by Villalba’s vocals and decided to ask her to temporarily replace one of the absent singers.
One month later Nicole Natalino Torres made public her departure from Kudai, and on August 2006 Gabriela officially became part of the group.