Mexican-American singing sensation Amanda Perez had a rough and stumble path to success. Born in 1980 and hailing from Fort Wayne, Indiana, singer-songwriter Amanda showed a propensity for music at an early age. At 2, she was attempting to play her father’s accordion. And Amanda’s interest in music only grew while watching the local success of her kin who made up the band The Sombra Chicana USA. Following in their footsteps, Amanda began playing keyboards by 4 years old.  Her relatives’ influence did not stop there.

By 11 years of age, Amanda had created her own band that was dubbed The Sombra Chicana Chiquitos. She and her band performed during sets put on by The Sombra Chicana USA.  This way, her band gained exposure that otherwise would have taken years to get. Amanda continues singing in her school choirs and entered talent shows whenever they were held. She even won "Junior Vocalist of the Year Female" category in an Indianapolis Black Expo where she remembered being the only Latina contestant.

Although she was gaining minor success locally, Amanda was having a bit of trouble getting major labels to take a chance on her. Because of the struggle to get a viable musical career going, Amanda Perez resorted to drug dealing to support herself during those years where a deal with a record company was elusive. When reminiscing about those days, Amanda always talks of her regret while at the same time advising others against taking the path she had taken.   

In 2000, Amanda’s fate took a turn for the better when she met with a music talent scout in her hometown. Since she created her own music and lyrics, the scout saw enough potential to sign her to the music company Powerhouse, a sort of indie-music focused business.  On this label, Amanda worked on music that can be somewhat described as a laidback mixture of R&B and hip hop.

By 2001, Amanda earned her first single to make the Billboard Hot 100 with the song “Never" off of the album “Where You At” getting as high as #79.  She gained further success on TRL with videos directed and produced by music producer Mike Quinn which led to her to get a contract with Universal Records.  In 2003, Amanda Perez then released a second album and another single both titled “Angel”.  This album and song was dedicated to an uncle and was her only song to break into the top twenty on the American Billboard charts to date.

Amanda’s third album released called I Pray had a single to make the charts in Australia. In actuality, Amanda Perez’s music has found quite a lot of success in Australia with “Angel" having gone platinum, "I Like It” hitting  #54, and  "I Pray (Never Forget)" getting to  #94 on the charts.  Amanda’s fourth album Hand of Fate, was to be released in 2007 in the hopes that she would gain more fame and success for no reason other than to help her give back to her community.  As a Latina who has such crossover appeal, Amanda stands as a testament to what can happen to a person when she or he allows nothing to get in her or his way.