CéU

At 18, Céu relocated to New York City for a time. There she encountered many new influences, including old-school jazz singers such as Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as contemporary R&B singers such as Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu. While in New York City, she befriended Antonio Pinto, a fellow Brazilian musician best known for composing the award-winning score to the film City of God (2002). After moving back to Brazil and fronting a couple groups, Céu recorded her debut album, a self-titled release produced largely by Beto Villares, with the aid of Pinto. CéU was released in 2005 by Urban Jungle, a label based in São Paulo, in partnership with Ambulante Discos, Villares' label. The album was later licensed by Six Degrees, a stylish label based in San Francisco that is known for its catalog of Brazilian releases, after CéU had already met with success in parts of Europe, including France, and, by association, French-speaking Canada as well. Thanks to the buzz surrounding her debut, Céu's debut landed at the top of the World Albums Charts and inside the top half of the Top 200. The set earned a Latin Grammy nomination in 2006 for Best New Artist. Her sophomore release, Vagarosa, arrived in early 2009. For 2012's Caravana Sereia Bloom, Céu worked with producer Gui Amabis to radically alter her approach to recording. She drew inspiration from earlier tropicalia while incorporating everything from Peruvian chicas and cumbias to reggae to alter her sound.

From 🇧🇷 Brazil