Loalwa Braz
| Loalwa Braz | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 3, 1953 |
| Origin | Brazil |
| Died | January 19, 2017 (aged 63) |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Associated acts | Kaoma |
Loalwa Braz Vieira (3 June 1953 – 19 January 2017) was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. She was known for providing the lead vocals for the French-Brazilian pop group Kaoma in their 1989 worldwide hit "Lambada". She was fluent in four languages, and recorded songs in her native Portuguese, as well as in Spanish, French and English.
Braz was born in Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro to a family of musicians: her father was an orchestra leader and her mother, a popular and classical pianist. She learned to play the piano at the age of four and started singing at 13. She lived in Paris from 1985 and in Geneva from 2010 until her death in 2017.
She grew up surrounded by Brazil’s rhythms, which shine through her songs. Her natural gifts are strengthened by hard work. Braz quickly obtained many awards, and started performing at Rio’s most prestigious night clubs. Her talent gained her the recognition of Brazil’s greatest pop artists Gilberto Gil, Tim Maia, Alcione, Maria Bethânia, Emílio Santiago, Gal, Costa, Caetano Veloso, who became her stage and recording co-workers from 1975 to 1985. She moved to Paris in 1985, after her success at the Palais des Sports, with the show “Brésil en Fête”.
Braz appeared at major show business venues: Paradis Latin, Méridien (Paris), Olympia (88 and 92), TLP Dejazet, New Morning, Zenith, Madison Square Garden, London Palladium, Waldorf Astoria. In 1989, Braz provided vocals for the Kaoma single Lambada, which became a worldwide hit. Lambada's success also brought new attention to Latin music in non-Latin regions.
Braz composed and sang two songs for the sound-track of the movie “Le Roi Desperados” – produced by French TV studio Canal + - and performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, in Abbey Road, for the sound-track of the French movie “Dis-Moi Oui”; directed by Alexandre Arcady and music by Phillipe Sarde. Many songs have marked her career: Chorando se Foi (Lambada), Tago Mago, Dançando Lambada, Mélodie d’Amour, La Media Noche, etc. Braz's adaptation of Stevie Wonder’s song “Another Star” (Outro Lugar) into Portuguese demonstrates her skills, and that is why great names of world music were interested in her compositions and arrangements.
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