Tejano Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year

[1] The awards are presented by the Texas Talent Musicians Association (TTMA), to "promote excellence in the Tejano music industry" using the popular vote method to select the winner of the female vocalist of the year.

Laura Canales won the award five nonconsecutive times and is considered Tejano music's first leading lady before the genre's golden age in the 1990s.

[2] Early European settlers introduced the accordion and bajo sexto, one of the major musical components used in the genre, to the state of Texas.

[1] Historically, female musicians were seen as inferior and less successful commercially than their male counterparts, and were often turned down by music concert organizers who wanted sellouts.

[5] Nominees were originally selected by a voting poll conducted by program directors and disc jockeys at Spanish-language radio stations in Texas.

[8] Currently, winners are selected through a survey of 50,000 Texas households with Hispanic surnames,[9] though anyone with Internet access is eligible to vote on the official website page.

[12] The award was first presented to American singer Lisa Lopez, who had a US Billboard Regional Mexican Airplay number one single with "Si Quieres Verme Llorar" (1982).

[4] Lopez' core audience was Mexicans, and she became the first female Tejano singer to appear on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in October 1986.

[15] At the sixth Tejano Music Awards (1986), Female Vocalist of the Year nominees included newcomers Shelly Lares and Selena who were up against veteran winner Canales.

[14] At the 10th Tejano Music Awards (1990), the nomination pool increased to include newcomers Cathy Chavez, Jean Le Grand, Agnes Torres, and veteran performers Selena, Lares, Elsa García, and Canales.