Singer
Songwriter
Actress
Dancer

Carla's Website

"Music is my first true love and has gotten me through some very dark and trying times in my life." This comment comes from Next Millennium Recording International (NMRI) artist, Carla Virola. The singer/songwriter, about to debut her personal project, "Me," is excited to be back on the music scene. The six songs on this album, with their catchy hooks and lyrics, highlight life's moments; romance, oppression, breakup, and joy.

"You Don't Own Me," the first single off the album, was written by Carla after having a bad "day job" experience. "What people don't realize, is that for those of us blessed to be able to express ourselves through music, is that we can take those experiences and work out their meanings through song, even making our own endings along the way," she says with a laugh, "enabling us to work it all out and hopefully get over it."

Born in New York City's East Harlem section, Carla began playing the piano and singing at the young age of 11. Later, Carla attended New York City's "Fame" school, the high school of music and art, studying classically as a vocal major. She went on to study acting at New York City's American Musical and Dramatic Academy, quickly landing appearances on "Saturday Night Live," "As the World Turns" and performing in the lead roles for such notable theater companies as The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and the Westchester Opera Company. Then she and her sister, Lisa Marie, formed the pop R&B vocal duo, Sorella and began recording the material for their debut CD, "Symmetry in Motion" during that time.

The Sorella debut CD, with four songs composed by Carla, was very well-received, getting favorable write-ups by Billboard magazine's Larry Flick -- Reviews and Previews, Nov. 11th 1995 and Jan. 28, 1996 issues and MIXX magazine's Christopher Marz, issue No. 55. Carla and Lisa were elated to see that they made it past the first round of elimination in the 1996 Grammy Award prenomination process in the following categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist, to name a few of the categories the duo qualified in that year's Grammy's.

The duo were making great progress after the official release of their CD, but due to changing creative visions with their producer, they parted ways. Carla notes, "Sometimes creative people just can't overcome their differences. They just have to move on; unfortunately that's life."

After that experience, Carla continued to write and work towards getting her next project off the ground. This new release is heavily influenced by Carla's experiences and set the mood of the material on this new CD. "I'm looking forward to getting on to the next phase in my life, where I feel good in my own skin," she adds. "The changes a person goes through in life can be painful at times and it's no different for me, but I survived it. I hope the music on this album touches people who are out there, going through rough times, and make them realize they are not alone, so they can get through it all."

The journey has just begun for Carla, who is looking forward to performing the songs live from this, her debut solo CD, "Me." Expect to see more from this dynamic artist very soon.

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