Colorado teen Raquel Garcia looks to make it big in music for her late father

Like most teenagers, Raquel Garcia from Westminster has always liked music.

"I really don't exactly know what it is, but it has always moved something in me," she said.

Unlike most teenagers, she can really sing very well. At an early age, her father Ariel Garcia took notice.

"When I was like 10, my dad started doing karaoke with me," she said with a laugh.

After a few years of karaoke, Ariel decided it was time to sink or swim. He signed Raquel up to perform. She was terrified, but he had her back.

"He was like 'yeah, you could do it, you could do it,'" Raquel recalls.

That was all it took for music to become an obsession for Raquel.

"I fell in love with it. I was like 'this is what I want to do for a long time,'" she said.

Raquel and her dad started performing around Denver. Then five years ago after a performance for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, she caught the eye of promoter Chuck Morris and he decided to invest in her.

Now, she's working on an album with songs written by herself and others like international pop star, Ed Sheeran. Raquel says she couldn't believe it at first.

"Who?" Raquel asked. "Hold on a second I heard that wrong. Repeat that again."

Even with all her success, one thing is missing -- her father, Ariel. Two years ago, he passed away from COVID-19.

"Everything I did (after that) like going on stage was like a stabbing in the heart," she said.

But before he died Ariel left Raquel with one more piece of encouragement that helped her get back to work.

"He was like, 'I'm probably not going to be there when you get your Grammy, but I will be there and spirit,'" Raquel said.

Now, at 18 years old, she is now balancing her senior year of high school and finishing her album. 

It's not a big deal for her though because she wants to take the world by storm. Not just for herself, but for her biggest fan. Her father.

"I'm going to do this not only for me because it's my passion, but also for him because it was also his dream," Raquel said.

Raquel says she hopes to have her album ready to release this summer. You can hear more of her singing by visiting her website.