A Decade Later: Who Is Asia Cruise?

She worked with multi-platinum artist and songwriter T-Pain.

She appeared on MTV’s “Total Request Live” for the premiere of her first music video.

She was named one of the “Top 5 Young Artists to Watch” by USA Today.

Ten years later, she’s living a normal life as a full-time employee and wife in the Sunshine State.

Asia Kovacs, formerly known by her professional name “Asia Cruise,” was an R&B singer on the rise in 2008. She brought a new look to the music industry and was on the fast track to becoming the next big thing. But she gave it all up before it ever really began.

The Jacksonville native started singing when she was 5 years old. At the age of 10, she attended a youth theater camp. In her first performance at that camp, Kovacs received such a positive reaction from the audience it inspired her to pursue a career in music.

The musical influences of Britney Spears, Aaliyah and Selena also played a part in Kovacs’ quest for stardom. Aaliyah’s “Try Again” was the first song she ever sang on stage.

“My mom made me this hideous sequined outfit, which I thought was so cool at the time,” the 28-year-old said. “Every time I see pictures, I just cringe. I blame my teen idols for my interesting stage costumes.”

Kovacs made her voice known in her home state, performing for the American Cancer Society, the Jacksonville Fair and singing the national anthem for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (known as the Jacksonville Suns at the time).

She eventually took her talents on the road, traveling to different states, singing in different venues. Kovacs said she was home-schooled during high school so that she could keep up with classes and still perform full time.

The aspiring singer’s travels included a special trip to Atlanta. There, she recorded a five-song demo that was sent out to various labels. Jive Records picked it up, making her the label’s first Asian artist.

The 18-year-old released the single, “Selfish,” along with a music video, that same year.

The song came off her forthcoming album “Who Is Asia Cruise?” The album concept was part of a marketing campaign that featured only a silhouette of a girl on the cover to create a buzz about the upcoming artist. It was set to be released the following year.

But it didn’t happen.

The pressures of the music industry had become too much for Kovacs to bear. Label executives constantly critiqued and criticized her looks, especially her ethnicity.

“The things I would hear,” she said. “Always saying I was too fat, needed to be less ethnic. They tried to make me not Asian. Said it didn’t sell well.”

At that point, Kovacs had fallen out of love. She wanted out.

She went back home and back to school.

Kovacs finished high school and attended college at the University of Florida, where she got a degree in English.

She later began working at a law firm in her home city. There, she met her now-husband Chris Kovacs. The couple moved to Alachua County and got married in August 2017.

Kovacs’ husband works in hospital administration, while she currently holds an assistant position at a local law firm.

Her life isn’t as glamorous as the one she left behind, but Kovacs said she is “much happier” now that there’s “less pressure to be somebody else.”

And although her brush with the music industry left a bad taste in her mouth, one thing hasn’t changed.

“I still love to sing!” she said. “But just for fun.”

Update: Asia Kovacs currently resides in Florida with her husband and three children.