Stefy Rae
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Stefy Rae (born July 19, 1985) is the lead singer for the eponymously named band STEFY.
[edit] Early Life and Career
Born Stephanie Rae Eustace on July 19, 1985 in Fountain Valley, California, and raised in Santa Ana, California, Stefy Rae made an early start in the entertainment industry. At the age of four, she won a national child modeling contest held by Kids 'R' Us and appeared in their 1990 spring fashion booklet. Soon after, Stefy appeared in various commercials, including McDonalds, Burger King, Fannie Mae Foundation, Bank of America, Publix, Barbie, Smucker's, Nike, Reebok, Sears, Robinsons-May, Crisco, Kohl's, Disneyland, Universal Studios, Southwestern Bell, and others. Her television work included appearances on "General Hospital" and "WIOU" (on CBS) as well as a voiceover as "Tanya" for "Spider-Man: the Animated Series." Stefy attended Calvary Chapel Junior High School where she excelled in softball and basketball. She enrolled in Fountain Valley High School and spent most of her time with her family. She was inspired to start singing by her sister Carol, a singer and songwriter who let Stefy accompany her to various auditions and performances throughout Southern California. Looking to Carol for direction, Stefy sang to the radio every day and studied the singing styles of various artists.
When Stefy's interest in singing intensified, she was chosen to be the only Latina singer in the Los Angeles-based pop group Scoolgirlz. Hard work paid off and the act was flown to New York in February 2000 to perform on stage during Fashion Week. Many celebrities and other well-knowns were in the audience including P-Diddy's mom Janice Combs, Monica Lewinsky, and Oscar De La Renta. After the group broke up, Stefy decided to attend the Orange County School of the Arts, where she studied musical theater, dance, vocal, and acting classes. Though Stefy was determined to make it as a singer, she and her parents decided to give the entertainment business a six-month trial. If nothing promising materialized by the deadline, Stefy would finish school and pursue her other ambition: to become a police officer. "My dream was to be a star and if that dream wasn't meant to be, then I wanted to be a cop," Stefy says. The day after Stefy and her family set the "deadline," Jeff Gordon (of Smash America Entertainment, Inc.) called the Eustace home. He'd seen Stefy perform and was very intrigued by her talent and charisma. Jeff had heard she was no longer in a group and wanted to manage her as a solo artist.
She began working with Jeff in June 2001, and over the next two months, took voice lessons, worked with a choreographer, and recorded a series of songs. By September 2001, Stefy Rae was being shopped to record labels and creating a major buzz in the industry. During that time, Larry Rudolph (Britney Spears' manager and founding partner of the entertainment law firm Rudolph & Beer, LLP) decided to join Stefy's team first as her lawyer and later as co-manager. Stefy performed live at Hits magazine (a rarity for an unsigned artist) and went #1 in the country on the Hits-sponsored "Wheels and Deals" unsigned artist chart. Numerous labels became interested in signing her and a trip to New York was set up for October 2001. Performing two songs at Sony Music Studios in New York City, Stefy was offered a deal on the spot. Stefy Rae's first single and album will be released on Columbia Records.
Stefy formed the band STEFY, formerly known as "The Lovely." The band produced two singles, "Chelsea" and "Hey School Boy." Also two more videos were filmed from the bands debut CD "The Orange Album." "Orange County" was released in August 2007 and "Pretty Little Nightmare" released in February 2008.
In the video for Orange County, the baby featured in the single was believed to be Stefy's but she said in her Myspace bulletin that this was false. It was confirmed that the little girl was her brother's.
[edit] External Links
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | US | UK | IE | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Chelsea" | 15 | 82 | 96 | The Orange Album |
| 2006 | "Hey Schoolboy" | - | - | - | The Orange Album |
| 2007 | "Orange County" | - | - | - | The Orange Album |
| 2008 | "Pretty Little Nightmare" | - | - | - | The Orange Album |
