by Marisa Brown
Born in Mexico City, siblings Jesse and Joy didn't begin seriously writing songs until 2001, when they were 18 and 15, respectively, sitting down together with their father to see what they could produce. With Jesse on guitar, piano, drums, and background vocals and Joy on vocals and guitar, the duo practiced constantly, hard work that paid off when they were signed to a major-label deal with Warner Music Mexico in April 2005. A few months later they made their live debut in front of 100,000 people in their hometown at the bequest of Sin Bandera, the band that was sponsoring the event. More performances, including one opening for James Blunt in May, followed before Jesse & Joy's debut single, "Espacio Sideral," and then their album, Esta Es Mi Vida, which had been recorded in San Diego with producer Kiko Cibrian, came out in the summer of 2006, with a U.S. release coming the next year.