Lisa Lisa on Her Life, Cult Jam & Her New Lifetime Movie (Exclusive)
You’ll get “Lost in Emotion” watching the inspiring and triumphant story of Lisa Velez — better known as pop star Lisa Lisa — in Lifetime’s Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story, premiering Saturday, Feb. 1 at 8pm ET. A young Puerto Rican girl from Hell’s Kitchen who never gave up on her dreams, Velez rocketed to the top of pop charts with Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, who released their first album in 1985.
One of 10 siblings raised by a single mother, Velez was just 15 years old when she started in the music industry, quickly rising to fame in the 1980s and becoming the first Latina artist — Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam — to hit multiple music Billboard charts with hits like “Can You Feel the Beat,” “All Cried Out” and “Lost in Emotion.”
But as she topped the charts at 21, inspiring young women worldwide with her music, energy and oh-so-fun fashions, she was also privately battling breast cancer and supporting her family financially.
Velez, who now goes by just Lisa Lisa, serves as an executive producer for Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story and stars as her own mother, opposite Jearnest Corchado, who plays Lisa Lisa.
Velez spoke to ReMIND on the touching Lifetime film, her memories and more.
The tear-jerker moment when she finally saw her name in lights
“The most memorable and emotional part for me in the movie was when I finally got to see my name up in lights. When I was maybe 9 or 10 years old, I remember walking past Radio City Music Hall with my mom and I begged her. I was like, ‘Mommy, please, you got to help me. I want to see my name up in lights. I want my name there.’ And she looked at me so calm and patient and said, ‘Baby, you will.’ (She said that all in Spanish.)
“And years later, for me to jump off the tour bus on the last stop on our tour, and to look up and see our name scrolling. I just threw myself on the floor and kissed the ground. I think that was the most surreal and emotional. I was nuts. I said, ‘Oh man, I finally did it.’”
The road to fame was not easy, and included questionable management and a private battle with cancer
“I have to say that all of that stress and work ethic that I went through made me who I am today. I don’t regret going through any of it, but it’s the music industry, it’s business. They were looking to make their money. And I was there at the time; I was their moneymaker. It was never a question of how I was feeling: ‘Are you sick? What’s going on?’ It was basically, ‘Are you pregnant? You look swollen.’ They didn’t know. But I was going through my chemo. With all the medications and the steroids, I was swollen. It was just a lot. It was hard. It was difficult. Today, I tell people, make sure that everything is in black and white, and get a lawyer.”
Her family kept her driven
“I’m the youngest of 10 siblings and my mom was a single mom; she raised us all alone. She took care of us alone. She paid every bill by herself. So I was determined to make sure that I helped her in this life of mine, which she gave me, because she busted her ass for me. I needed to bust my ass for her. I wanted to make sure that she was taken care of. But the love of what I do still to this day is what drives me to continue. It kept me moving.”
Jearnest Corchado and Lisa Velez. Credit: Lifetime
On playing her mother
“I see my life through my mom’s eyes. And I realized that later in life, we went through a lot, my mother and me. But playing my mom was surreal. I mean, it was both therapeutic and emotional. I miss her so much [her mother passed away 14 years ago of Alzheimer’s]. She went through so much for her children and it made me who I am today as a mom and as a performer.”
Getting her first big paycheck
“I got my very first huge paycheck and I paid for everything. I took care of her, and I gave her the things that she needed that I felt she needed — a home, a car, whatever she needed. I made sure that I got that for her. And I felt so satisfied. I saw her face and that made me feel like I did the right thing. She was always and still is, rest her soul, my hero. But I felt like I was her hero at the time, and I just was so elated.”
Lifetime
When does Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story air?
Saturday, Feb. 1 at 8pm ET/PT (premiere)
Sunday, Feb. 2 at 10pm ET/PT
Monday, Feb. 3 at 2am ET/PT
Saturday, Feb. 8 at 6pm ET/PT
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