A successful Colombian music star, she had two number-one songs on Billboard's Latin Pop Airplay charts. She won a 2004 Latin Grammy Award for the self titled album "Soraya" as "Best Album by Songwriter", which she produced, and a 2005 Latin Grammy Awards nomination for "Female Pop Vocal Album" for her album El Otro Lado de Mí (literally "The Other Side of Me"). She was the opening act for the 2005 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Her career spanned ten years, and she recorded five albums.
She was born Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, a year after her father, mother, and brother moved to the United States from their native Colombia. The family moved back to Colombia when she was a baby, but when Soraya was eight years old, they returned to New Jersey. "Soraya" is a very common name in the Middle East, and its meaning can be translated "rich" or "princess". Soraya's maternal side of the family was Lebanese Christians who emigrated from Lebanon to Colombia. Soraya's mother, Yamila Gharib Cuevas, had been a housewife in Colombia. Soraya's father, Gregorio, worked for an exporting company in Colombia; in the U.S., life was hard for the family, so to make ends meet, he worked three or four jobs.
Soraya first became interested in music at the age of five when she heard her uncle playing music in Colombia. Her uncle played "Pueblito Viejo", a Colombian traditional folk song using an instrument called the tiple, which is a kind of guitar with triple strings. Her parents bought her a guitar, which she taught herself how to play. She became proficient in classical violin, and her first 'public' performance was at Carnegie Hall in New York City as a member of the N.Y.C. Youth Philharmonic. She was valedictorian of her class at Point Pleasant Boro High School, where she began writing her own music.
Soraya was only twelve years old when her mother was first diagnosed with breast cancer; she was eighteen when her mother had a recurrence and twenty-two when her mother died, in 1992. Soraya had said that her sense of responsibility increased because she needed to take care of her mother and do all of the chores around the house. She would also go to the doctor's office with her mother; together they did breast-cancer research and participated in the Race for the Cure.
Soraya attended Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she studied English literature, French philosophy, and women's studies. Initially, Soraya worried she might be too shy to play before big crowds, but she eventually triumphed over her fear and realized her tremendous talent as a live performer when she played to rapt audiences at coffee houses and rallies around the sprawling Rutgers campus. She worked as a flight attendant before starting her music career.
Soraya obtained a record contract with Polygram Records/Island Records in 1996. Her first album, released simultaneously in both English and Spanish was titled "On Nights Like This / En Esta Noche". Both versions received positive critical acclaim and enabled her to tour in the U.S., Latin America, and Europe, as a guest performer in concerts for famous musicians such as Natalie Merchant, Zucchero, Sting, Michael Bolton, and Alanis Morissette.
Her songs climbed to the top of the charts just about everywhere in Latin American, European, and U.S.' Hispanic markets. Her first single "Suddenly/De Repente" reached #1 in Billboard Latin Pop listings, with the English version receiving some mainstream Adult Contemporary airplay. Her second album, Torre de Marfil / Wall of Smiles, titled after a song co-written with her idol Carole King was released in late 1997, and helped her attain worldwide recognition.
Unfortunately, in 2000, she was diagnosed with Stage III Breast Cancer, shortly after the release of her third album "Cuerpo y Alma / I'm Yours" — just days before she was about to tour and promote it. She took time off to fight this deadful disease.
Feeling healthy and in remission, Soraya returned to the music scene in 2003 with the release of her fourth and self-titled album "Soraya". The songs reflected her struggles, beliefs, and love for life. She composed, produced, and arranged this Latin Grammy winner for "Best Album by a Singer-Songwriter" and once again - Soraya was at the top.
She created one more successful album - "El Otro Lado de Mí", before she finally succumbed to the disease in 2006.
Soraya died of breast cancer on May 10, 2006, aged 37. She was first diagnosed in 2000, at the age of 31, after finding a lump while conducting a routine self-examination. She was diagnosed at Stage III and had a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction as well as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. In addition to her own death, Soraya lost her mother, a grandmother, and a maternal aunt to breast cancer.
Breast cancer advocateSoraya was a breast cancer advocate for support and education, especially of Hispanic women. Soraya became the first Latin spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, touring the Americas to raise awareness. During September and October, she took a break from her music career to focus on breast awareness.
In order to encourage other women like herself, Soraya wrote and recorded "No One Else/Por Ser Quien Soy", a song that reflects her experience in fighting breast cancer. Both tracks can be downloaded on her official website. All proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
"I know there are many questions without answers, and that hope doesn't leave with me, and above all, that my mission does not end with my physical story" were Soraya's last words to her fans and the media before her passing.
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Soraya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My mother says when you gonna live your life right
Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones
And girls they want to have fun
Oh girls just want to have fun
The phone rings in the middle of the night
My father yells what you gonna do with your life
But girls they want to have fun
Oh girls just want to have -
That's all they really want
Some fun
When the working day is done
Girls - they want to have fun
Oh girls just want to have fun
Some boys take a beautiful girl
And hide her away from the rest of the world
I want to be the one to walk in the sun
Oh girls they want to have fun
Oh girls just want to have
That's all they really want
Some fun
When the working day is done
Girls - they want to have fun
Oh girls just want to have fun,
They want to have fun,
They want to have fun....
Soraya's version of Girls Just Want To Have Fun is a cover of the 1983 Cyndi Lauper hit. The song is about women wanting to have fun and not necessarily worrying about what society expects of them. The song portrays the everyday struggles of young women as they juggle societal expectations and their own desires. The lyrics describe the singer coming home in the morning light, getting a scolding from her mother about living life right, and being questioned by her father about her future plans. However, despite the societal pressure to conform, the singer and her friends are determined to have fun and enjoy life. They do not care about hiding or being hidden, instead, they want to "walk in the sun," free to be themselves and have fun.
Line by Line Meaning
I come home in the morning light
I return home early in the morning.
My mother says when you gonna live your life right
My mother criticizes my lifestyle and urges me to change.
Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones
We are not lucky enough to have an easy life, dear mother.
And girls they want to have fun
Girls also desire to have fun.
Oh girls just want to have fun
Girls only ask for an enjoyable and carefree life.
The phone rings in the middle of the night
The phone disturbs my sleep by ringing unexpectedly at night.
My father yells what you gonna do with your life
My father expresses his concern about my future and angrily questions my plans.
Oh daddy dear you know you're still number one
You are still the most important person in my life, dear dad.
That's all they really want
All girls truly desire is
Some fun
to have some enjoyment
When the working day is done
After a long day of laborious work is over
Girls - they want to have fun
Girls wish to experience joy and pleasure.
Some boys take a beautiful girl
Certain males tend to take attractive girls
And hide her away from the rest of the world
And isolate her from the world.
I want to be the one to walk in the sun
I wish to be a person who can enjoy life and freedom openly
Oh girls they want to have fun
Girls' primary motivation is to undergo fewer troubles and worry and enjoy life more.
Oh girls just want to have
Girls want to experience
They want to have fun
fun, they desire it so much irrespective of the people around them.
Contributed by Isabelle D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
James Diaz
esta es la mejor version que he escuchado, muy buen remix soraya!!!! =D
ianmilleris
Her pronunciation is simply gorgeous. "When the working day is done, when the working day is done!" Absolutely beautiful xxx
Ruben De Gracia Diaz
Pedazo de versión Soraya!!
fireandicea
Soraya's english sounds near perfect, and I personally like this version better than Lauper's orginal
Cesar Alemão
💓😘😘😘🌺linda
poeticho
Soraya vuelve a hacer discos ochenteros, aún hay más canciones que perfectamente puedes cantar. Amo tu voz.
Johan Israel
@Damien Kieran yup, I've been watching on KaldroStream for months myself =)
Damien Kieran
pro tip : you can watch movies on kaldroStream. Me and my gf have been using them for watching all kinds of movies recently.
Shitosław Pasterski
She is all wonderfull,great
jose molina
me parece pero le falta fuerza a la voz, sigo insistiendo soraya tiene un timbre especial y puede darle mas fuerza a este temazo 80s