Nicknamed "Little Miss Dynamite" for her many talents, Shelly Lares is one of the most enduring artists on the Tejano music scene over the last 38 years and a member of The Tejano Roots Hall of Fame. She has a large and devoted following due to her powerfully resonant singing voice and charismatic stage presence. Lares writes or co-writes all of her own songs and is also a talented guitarist and percussionists. She's been nominated and won several categories for the Tejano Music Awards, Pura Vida Awards, Cyber Awards, My Tejano Awards and many others.
Lares recorded her first record at age 10 with The Hot Tamales band (Orquestra) which is where she was introduced to Tejano Music. Lares stayed with them for four years recording five 45 records before branching out on her own and signed with Manny Guerra. She recorded for Manny Music between 1989 and 1995. Her fifth album, the 1994 date Quiero Ser Tu Amante, proved a breakthrough and landed inside the Top 40 of the Latin Albums charts. Her biggest hit "Soy tu amor" whom she cowrote with JJ Reyes (her keyboardist, cowriter and arranger) was THE MOST latin played song of 1994. After leaving Manny she signed to Sony, and her self-titled 1996 album peaked at 35 on the Top Latin Albums chart and its single, "Siempre Lo Esperare", inside the Top 30 was recognized by BMI that same year. It reached number 18 on the Regional Mexican Songs chart. Through the rest of the decade, she released two more albums, Aqui Me Encuentro (1997) and Donde Hay Fuego (1998). She continued to tour and perform regionally as well as writing for other artists.
Lares kicked off the new century with Mil Besos, her final album for Sony. It did well regionally and gave her the opportunity to record half of the album in Nashville alongside country super star Vince Gill, who was featured on guitar and vocals. It also guaranteed her more nominations at the Tejano Music Awards (including Album of the Year) and touring opportunities. (Since being released digitally in 2010, it has become one of her bestselling records.) Her 2002 album 3 Veces was her debut for Tejas Records. The album garnered significant regional airplay and sales. "Encore" followed where Lares re recorded her earliest hits with modern technology in able to give her fans their favorite Shelly songs that by this time were no longer being manufactured and weren't available for purchase.
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Lares immersed herself in touring, writing, doing charity and community work, particularly with the San Antonio Children's Shelter and Downtown Youth Drop-In Center and mentoring many students from elementary to college.
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Issued in 2004, Sigue Mi Camino netted her the first of three straight double victories from the Tejano Music Awards as Female Vocalist and Female Entertainer of the Year; the last coincided with her 2007 album Reflejo. Lares continued to record, issuing Mirando Adelante in 2010, her final cd with Tejas. In 2012 she started her own record label Shellshock Records 3 which allowed her full control of recordings, manufacturing, distribution and sales. Renacer in 2012 was the first off her label and did well on the digital charts and continued to rack up sales years after the initial release. Her 2013 album, De Mi Corazon, was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the best Tejano Album category. Lares issued her own single, "Trato y Trato," in August of 2015 the first single off of Obra de amor which has had significant success in sales and won Single of the year for "Devuelveme el Corazon" at the Tejano Music Awards. Shelly continues to tour, produce her music as well as artists like Anjelique and Crystal Torres, new females in the industry. She has done numerous collaborations throughout her career which artists such as Little Joe, Ruben Ramos, Jay Perez, Negami, Pression, Avizo, Stevie D and many others. One of her most successful collaborations has been with Elida Reyna and Stefani Montiel as LAS TRES DIVAS. They toured the United States, Japan, Guam and Korea and received a Grammy Nomination as well as a Latin Grammy nomination for their cd "Las tres divas". Shelly is back in the studio working on her upcoming cd and plans to one day sign artists to her label Shellshock Records 3.