"Fusing radio-friendly pop with hip-hop beats and delivering a sassy, independent persona to the national scene has made Jeannie Ortega stand out as one of the more unique pop stars of the late '00s. Though it's still early in her career, the initial success of her debut album suggests she'll be around for quite a while.Born Jeannette Ortega in Bushwick, NY in 1986, Ortega grew up in a lower-income family and had to learn to grow up fast. Music was an escape for her, and she found inspiration in pop singers like Mariah Carey. Even when she was in kindergarten, Jeannie was performing, usually as a part of a duo with a friend that was called ""Sugar and Spice"" (she was ""Spice"") At eight years of age, she wrote her first song, ""Shine Like Me."" She had obvious talent, and was part of the first graduating class of Brooklyn's High School for the Arts.Ortega certainly has one of the most original ""discovery"" stories in pop history--while riding in a taxi one day, the cabbie heard her voice and mentioned that he moonlighted for a limousine service that catered to music executives. He offered to pass on her music to some of his contacts. Ortega was hesitant at first, but ultimately went for it. It was a wise decision. She was contacted not long afterward by a management team that got her first single recorded. ""Got What It Takes"" went somewhat ignored before it appeared on the soundtrack for Love Don't Cost a Thing. The exposure she received earned her a record deal, and her debut album, No Place Like Brooklyn, was released in 2006. It languished on the Billboard 200, but became a number one on the Top Heatseekers chart."