Lisa Lisa has been through a lot in her life, including surviving breast cancer when she was only 21 years old, and she has one person to thank: her mother.
“Remembering everything that my mother went through” gave her the strength to battle the disease, Lisa Lisa (born Lisa Velez) exclusively told Us Weekly at Lifetime’s “Voices of a Lifetime” event, where Whoopi (Whoopi Goldberg’s new line of Prosecco) was the exclusive drink of the night. “She had to raise 10 kids on her own, and I saw her fight. I wanted to fight for her.”
Fighting cancer “made me stronger,” the “Head to Toe” singer, now 58, added. “It made me want more, and it gave me my voice to speak up for myself.”
Get ready to feel the beat with Lifetime’s upcoming Lisa Lisa biopic. Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story, which premieres on the network Saturday, February 1, tells the story of Lisa Velez, a.k.a Lisa Lisa, the 15-year-old Puerto Rican singer turned global phenomenon. Executive produced by Velez herself, the film stars Jearnest […]
The singer, who helped popularize freestyle dance music in the mid to late-80s, is celebrating the February 1 premiere of her biopic Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story on Lifetime. She said the release of the movie feels “surreal,” especially since it puts her in the company of fellow music heavyweight Mary J. Blige, whose own Lifetime biopic premiered on the network in late January.
“It’s nuts. I didn’t know anybody wanted to know anything about me, but I was convinced to do it and I’m here,” she said. Of Blige, Velez added, “It’s an honor to be on this lineup with such talented women, icons. I’m so happy to be here today.”
The “All Cried Out” chanteuse also named Bad Bunny as an artist she would love to collaborate with before the conversation turned more personal. While reflecting on happiness, Velez said, “Happiness comes from within. You got to find it within.”
“You got to love what you do and love who you are, and I really, really do,” she added. “I fought so hard to get to where I am today. I’m still not done. There’s so much more I want to do and I find a lot of happiness through my creation, my music, and my children, my boys, my world.”
As for bringing that energy out on the road for fans, Velez pointed out that she hasn’t “stopped touring in 40 years — and I will continue to do it.” In fact, she can next be seen in Inglewood, California, on March 1.
In between tour dates, there’s nothing Velez loves more than “hanging with my kids.” Velez and her husband Antonimar Mello have two children together. If she has to pick something else, she’s also a fan of watching “Friends” reruns and new releases.
“I still watch [Friends] over and over and over again, but right now I just finished watching Emilia Perez,” she explained. “It’s like a roller coaster of emotion with that movie and I love it. Zoe [Saldaña] did a crazy job on this. Kill it, girl!”
Reporting by Travis Cronin
Leave a Reply