Born in Nashville, TN, to a Cuban father and a Mexican mother, Alberti moved to Miami to attend Florida International University after graduating from high school. Influenced by English-language R&B singers such as Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey as well as Latin pop acts such as Maná and Aleks Syntek, she recorded her debut album, Alejandra Alberti, with the assistance of producer Yasmil Marrufo, best known for his collaborations with Ricardo Montaner and Servando y Florentino. The album's ten songs were written collaboratively; Alberti and Marrufo were joined in their songwriting efforts on several songs by the producer's wife Daisy Sanz and Luis Fonsi's brother Jean Rodriguez. Released by Rockera Records in December 2006, the album initially failed to garner much airplay; however, after it was announced that Alberti had been nominated for the Best New Artist Latin Grammy Award in 2007, her career took a sharp upswing. In October she released her debut single, "Quiero," and in November her second single, "Dignidad de Mujer," was put in rotation on MTVtr3s, where Alberti was invited on air for a MiTRL interview in January 2008. A glowing People en Español profile followed in February. ~ Jason Birchmeier