Arts & Entertainment
Judy Torres, ‘Queen of Freestyle,’ Honored by Hudson County
Freestyle music icon Judy Torres, who got her start in Jersey City, was honored in her old neighborhood at the “Freestyle in the Heights” concert on Sunday, October 4, 2026, during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
The free outdoor concert, presented by Community 1st at Pershing Field, featured a reunion of performers from Foxes, one of Jersey City’s most iconic former nightclubs. Torres, who lived just two blocks from the concert site during her Foxes days, was among the headliners.
“We are here in my hometown, Pershing Field, Jersey City,” Torres said. “I just want to say thank you to all the people of Jersey City for supporting freestyle for all these years.”
Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea, who said he knew Torres from her early Jersey City years, presented her with a resolution from the Board of County Commissioners honoring her career. “Judy, we love you,” O’Dea said. “You are part of the Jersey City Hall of Fame.”
Born in the Bronx to a family of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent, Torres rose to prominence in the late 1980s and became known as the “Queen of Freestyle,” with hits including “No Reason to Cry,” “Come Into My Arms,” and a dance rendition of Journey’s “Faithfully.” She has also acted on stage and screen, including the CBS drama “Blue Bloods” and an off-Broadway run.
Torres recently published a memoir, “No Reason to Cry,” named for one of her signature songs and released September 29, 2026, in hardcover, digital, and an audiobook she narrated. In it, she writes candidly about the struggles behind her career and frames the book as a message of resilience, that, as she puts it, each person is the author of their own story.
On stage, Torres celebrated the genre’s roots and the fans who have sustained it. “Freestyle, it’s part of our Latino legacy. Freestyle was created by Latinos,” she said. “The thing that keeps it alive is you. You have kept it going for over 40 years.”
The lineup also included TKA/K7, Coro, Alisha, Betty Dee of Sweet Sensation, Aby Cruz, C Bank, and Boricua Posse.
