Filipino-Canadian pop singer Elise Estrada says she is confident, self-possessed and unapologetically sexy.
“It’s about being a strong woman,” said Estrada who has been singing hit songs one after the other since winning a radio station contest in Vancouver in 2007.
Her debut single “Insatiable” made it to the Canadian Top 40 Charts, while her self-titled album produced chart topping hits.
Producer and song writer Adam Hurstfield is all praises for his first Filipino-Canadian talent.
“Elise is the best I’ve ever worked with. She’s very down-to-earth. She doesn’t take anything for granted. We were the first mainstream label to really get behind a Filipino artist and I’m very proud of it,” Hurstfield said.
Estrada has been nominated for a Juno Award, Canada’s equivalent of the Grammy’s for best R&B Soul album 2009.
Estrada also embarked on a television and movie career and plans are underway to release her album in the Philippines.
Riding a popularity wave, Times Telecom Inc., a leading Canadian telecommunication provider, announced that Estrada has signed an exclusive endorsement contract with the company. According to Alan Yong, Chairman and CEO of Times Telecom: “Elise Estrada’s persona epitomizes the tech-savvy generation of today. We are positioning Times Telecom to reach the younger market.”
Estrada developed a quality by spending her entire life relentlessly pursuing her dream through endless pageants, talent shows and singing competitions.
“I’ve wanted to do this since I was four years old. I was always that little girl who sang at every family party, and we Filipinos, we love our karaoke,” she says, laughing.
Still, it wasn’t until she began singing professionally at age sixteen that Estrada truly set out to make her dream a lasting reality, taking every gig she could to hone her vocal and performance chops. “I did everything and anything I could to gain experience and prepare myself for when an opportunity did come.”
When Estrada was ready - After winning an international ‘Idol’ style competition in Canada she went on to compete in the finals of Asia’s immensely popular ‘Pinoy Pop Superstar’ television series, ultimately landing a lead role in a Disney Television pilot that was to be loosely based on her real life pursuit of stardom.
Shortly after moving to L.A to work on the project, however, the deal went south; leaving Estrada feeling momentarily defeated, but still determined to succeed.
“Sometimes doors are going to close, and sometimes they’re going to slam in your face, but you have to keep going and that’s what I did.”
Once back in Vancouver, Estrada entered the 2007 ‘Beat 94.5 Music Awards and won the grand prize, a recording/management deal with high powered North American indie label RockSTAR Music Corp www.rockstarmusiccorp.com .
 “A dream come true, again,” she says, but one she approached with a more critical eye than she might have previously, knowing the project might not last beyond her first single.
Now, two years and nine MediaBase top ten hits in a row later, Estrada’s star is shining brighter than ever.
In 2011 Estrada will return to the small screen as a mentor on a new Much series entitled ‘Rockstar Academy’, but will also make her big screen debut in ‘Beverly Hills Ninja 2; Dancing Ninja’ co-starring alongside David Hasselhoff and Lucas Grabeel (High School Musical, Milk).
To say Estrada has a lot going on is a huge understatement, but she approaches every aspect of her work with unflagging professionalism. “I don’t get overwhelmed. I don’t get stressed. I wake up every morning doing something I love. I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”