Daniela Mercuri de Almeida Póvoas
better known as Daniela Mercury
(born on July 28, 1965 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil) is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Brazilian axé, samba-reggae and MPB singer, songwriter and record producer. Since her breakthrough, Mercury has become one of the best known Brazilian female singers, selling over 10 million albums in her home country and almost 20 million albums worldwide. She is also the Brazilian female performer with most #1 hits in the country, with 14.
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Early life
Daniela Mercuri de Almeida was born on July 28, 1965, in
Salvador,
Bahia. Her mother is Liliana Mercuri, a
social worker of
Italian ancestry, and her father is Antônio Fernando de Abreu Ferreira de Almeida, a
Portuguese industrial mechanic. Mercury spent her childhood in a house in the Brotas neighborhood with her four siblings: Tom, Cristiana, Vânia (who would also become a singer) and Marcos.
[1]
When Mercury was eight years old, she began dance lessons (
classic ballet, African dances and
jazz). At thirteen, she decided to become a singer (apparently influenced by the work of
Elis Regina), and at sixteen, she started to sing in
trio elétricos
. Two years later, she entered the
Federal University of Bahia's School of Dance.
Mercury married electronic engineer Zalther Portela Laborda Póvoas in 1984, when she was nineteen years old.
[2] One year later, in September 3, 1985, Mercury gave birth to her first child, Gabriel (who is now a singer and songwriter). One year later, she gave birth to a girl named Giovanna (who is now a dancer in Mercury's band). In 1996, Mercury and Póvoas divorced.
Career
Early career (1984-1990)
Before starting her solo career, Daniela Mercury was a member of Banda Eva and a
backing vocalist in
Gilberto Gil's band. From 1988 to 1990, Mercury was the lead singer of
pop music band
Companhia Clic. She recorded her first two albums (titled
Companhia Clic Vol.1
and
Vol.2
) with them. Their
singles "Pega que Oh!" and "Ilha das Bananas" became minor hits in Bahia.
Rise to fame (1991-1993)
Mercury's self-titled
debut album was released in 1991 through independent record company Eldorado. The lead single of the album, "Swing da Cor", which features
Olodum, became a number-one hit in Brazil and the album was soon known as
Swing da Cor
. Another song from the album, "Menino do Pelô", which also features Olodum, became Mercury's second top-ten hit in Brazil, charting at number six.
In 1992, Mercury became an independent artist, which means she would start to produce her own albums and sell them to record companies (since then, she has founded a production company called Canto da Cidade and Páginas do Mar, a publishing house). That same year,
O Canto da Cidade
was released through
Sony. The title track became a number-one hit in Brazil for months. The album gave Mercury the distinction of being the first singer to sell more than two million copies in Brazil
. The singles "Batuque", "O Mais Belo dos Belos" and "Você Não Entende Nada" all became number-one hits, while "Só pra te Mostrar", which features
Herbert Vianna, was a top-ten hit.
Artistic development (1994-2000)
In 1994,
Música de Rua
was released through Sony. The album was received with lukewarm reviews, with some critics complaining about the similarities between this album and its predecessor. Nevertheless, the album was very well received by the public, selling more than one million copies and producing the hits "Música de Rua", "O Reggae e o Mar" (both number-one hits), "Por Amor ao Ilê" (a top-ten hit) and "A Rosa" (top-twenty). This was Mercury's first album to produce singles which have failed to chart.
In 1996,
Feijão com Arroz
was released through
Sony. This album was much more well-received by the critics than its predecessor. It is Mercury's most well rated album at
Allmusic, with four and a half stars. As of today,
Feijão com Arroz
is Mercury's second best selling album, behind only
O Canto da Cidade
. It produced the hits "À Primeira Vista", "Nobre Vagabundo", "Rapunzel" (all number-one hits), "Minas com Bahia" (which features
Samuel Rosa from
Skank and was a top-twenty hit) and "Feijão de Corda" (a top-ten hit).
In 1998, Mercury's first live album,
Elétrica
was released through Sony. It sold almost half a million copies and produced the top-ten hit "Trio Metal", which charted at number eight.
Experimentation with electronica (2000-2004)
thumb,
Brasília
In 2000, Mercury released her fifth studio album,
Sol da Liberdade
, through
BMG. The album sold almost a million copies and produced two number-one singles ("Ilê Pérola Negra" and a cover of
Antonio Marcus' "Como Vai Você"). The album, which was produced by Suba, was innovative in Mercury's career for its fusion with
electronic music sounds.
The following year, Mercury released
Sou de Qualquer Lugar
through
BMG. The album sold half of its predecessor, but was able to produce the number-one single "Mutante", a cover of
Rita Lee. In this album, Mercury also experimented with electronic sounds.
In April 2003, Mercuy's second live album,
Eletrodoméstico – MTV Live
, was released through
BMG. It was recorded in January 23 and 24 of that same year at the Castro Alves Theater in Salvador for
MTV Brasil. It was also released in the DVD format, Mercury's first. Among the artists who performed with the singer were
Dulce Pontes,
Rosario Flores,
Jovanotti,
Carlinhos Brown and
Olodum. The sales were very inferior to Mercury's previous and it only produced one top twenty hit ("Meu Plano").
In 2004,
Carnaval Eletrônico
was released through
BMG. For the recording of this album, Mercury invited DJs and producers of electronic music in
Brazil, as well as
Gilberto Gil,
Carlinhos Brown, and Lenine. It is a commemorative disc celebrating the five years of her having formed
TrioTechno
, the first trio elétrico of electronic music in
Bahian Carnaval. The disc received a Latin Grammy nomination for best pop album of the year and Mercury was nominated for a TIM Award for best female pop/rock vocalist. Internet users voted
Carnaval Eletrônico
the best pop album of the year online in one of Brazil’s most important weekly magazines
Revista Isto É
.
Back to basics (2005-2007)
In 2005,
Clássica
was released through
Som Livre on both CD and DVD. Recorded from a concert Mercury gave the year before at
São Paulo's Casa de Espetáculo, the album is a sampler of
bossa nova,
jazz, and some of her biggest MPB hits. The record signaled a new phase for Mercury, who chose independence from record companies to gain full control of her work. Mercury was in
London, during the
July 7 bombings.
[3]
That same year, Mercury's eighth studio album,
Balé Mulato
, was released, but through
EMI. The album was very well received by the critics, with some even saying it was Mercury's best album since
Feijão com Arroz
(1996). It was not, however, very well received by the public, with none of the singles being able to chart on the top-ten; a large part due to lack of record company support. The next year, the
Latin Grammy Award-winning
live version of
Balé Mulato
, was released. Daniela Mercury has copmpleted her newest release, Canibalia to be launched in September 2009.
Present
Daniela Mercury's last US performance, an open air free concert, on Sunday March 22, 2009 took place on Hollywood Beach, FL. As the headline act for 'Brazil on the Beach', she performed to the largest single-day crowd in Hollywood history. More than 65K attended the festival on Sunday alone, according to official estimates.
In July 13, 2007, Daniela Mercury closed the opening ceremony of the
XV Pan American Games singing a
medley of André Filho's "
Cidade Maravilhosa" and
Ary Barroso's "
Aquarela do Brasil".
[4]
In July 25, 2007, Mercury went to
Buenos Aires to record a duet with
Argentine singer
Marcela Morelo. The song, titled "Ponermos de Acuerdo", will be featured in Morelo's first acoustic CD/DVD which is set to be released in the end of the year.
[5]
An article published in the website of
newspaper Folha de S. Paulo
in August 15, 2007
[6] erroneously referred to Mercury as being a member of the controversial
Movimento Cívico pelo Direito dos Brasileiros (popularly known as
Cansei
). The newspaper later released an
erratum note in August 23 stating that Mercury is not a member of the organization.
[7]
Philanthropy
Mercury has performed at a large number of charitable events. She is the second Brazilian honored as an ambassador for
UNICEF (
Renato Aragão was the first). She is also an ambassador for
UNAIDS and
UNESCO. She has performed at
Rede Globo's annual charity
Criança Esperança
for fifteen consecutive years (1992-2007). She also represents various non-profit organizations including Caravana da Musica which has spawned her own Instituto Sol da Liberdade.
Discography
See: Daniela Mercury discography
Videography
Year
| Video
| Album
|
1991
| "Swing da Cor" (featuring Olodum)
| Daniela Mercury
|
1992
| "O Canto da Cidade"
| O Canto da Cidade
|
"O Mais Belo dos Belos"
|
"Batuque"
|
1993
| "Você Não Entende Nada"
|
"Só Pra te Mostrar" (featuring Herbert Vianna)
|
1994
| "Música de Rua"
| Música de Rua
|
"O Reggae e o Mar"
|
1997
| "Nobre Vagabundo"
| Feijão com Arroz
|
"Rapunzel"
|
"Feijão de Corda"
|
1998
| "Trio Metal"
| Elétrica - Ao Vivo
|
2000
| "Ilê Pérola Negra"
| Sol da Liberdade
|
"Santa Helena"
|
2001
| "Beat Lamento"
| Sou de Qualquer Lugar
|
2002
| "Mutante"
|
2003
| "Dona da Banca"
| MTV Ao Vivo - Eletrodoméstico
|
"Meu Plano"
|
2004
| "Maimbê Dandá" (featuring Carlinhos Brown)
| Carnaval Eletrônico
|
2005
| "Aeromoça"
| Clássica
|
"Sua Estupidez"
|
"Topo do Mundo"
| Balé Mulato
|
"Levada Brasileira"
|
2006
| "Quero a Felicidade" (featuring Jammil e Uma Noites)
| Balé Mulato - Ao Vivo
|
"Toneladas de Amor"
|
References
- Daniela Mercury - Biography
- Dictionary Cravo Albin of the Brazilian Popular Music
- Folha Online - Ilustrada - Em Londres, Daniela Mercury relata horror das explosões - 07/07/2005
- Folha Online - Esporte - Público usa branco e mostra patriotismo em abertura do Pan - 13/07/2007
- Folha Online - Ilustrada - Daniela Mercury participa de novo trabalho da argentina Marcela Morelo - 26/07/2007
- Folha Online - Brasil - D. Odilo diz desconhecer ato do "Cansei" na Catedral da Sé - 15/08/2007
- Folha Online - Brasil - Erramos: D. Odilo diz desconhecer ato do "Cansei" na Catedral da Sé - 23/08/2007