Living in Rosemead, CA, a predominantly Latin American suburb of Los Angeles, the girls were discovered while doing choreography and dancing for a friend, R&B recording artist Nikki Flores, and were introduced to Stefanie Ridel, a former bandmate of Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson in the pop act Wild Orchid. Ridel took the pair under her creative wing, and quickly realized that while trios are a lot more common in pop music than duos, this was one pair that would survive just fine on their own.
“We’ve always stuck together, and we’ve always had that fire and known that we really wanted to do this,” says Jessica. “If one of us was good at something, the other was just as good, because we always did everything together.” “And, if one of us ever thought we couldn’t do something, we’ve always been there to support each other,” says Janelle. “We’re so close, we’re like sisters, we’re best friends and we’re never apart. This is just a dream come true.”
“Now that we’ve gotten this far, we’ve realized that it doesn’t matter if you’re the average, girl-next-door type,” says Jessica. “It doesn’t matter what you look like or where you’re from, you should never think that you can’t accomplish something.”
As Mexican-Americans, they hope to be role models to both American and Latin girls, as they consider themselves the face of the new Hispanic in America, part of an emerging generation that “speaks English and lives Latin.” They even go so far as to affectionately refer to each other as “chilosa", a made-up word that they feel defines Prima-J: two sassy, classy, spicy and feisty girls. They may be the girls next door, but they’re also fun and fearless, with an independent spirit and deep sense of inner confidence.
“We want to have a good time, but we also want to send a message to younger people and be idols for American and the Latin community,” sums Janelle. “Too many people don’t know that if they set their mind to it, they can accomplish anything, just like we have.”
