About Mariza
Marisa dos Reis Nunes ComIH , known professionally as Mariza .mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-smallPortuguese pronunciation: ), is a Portuguese fado singer.
Mariza was born in Lourenço Marques, Portuguese Mozambique, to a Portuguese father, José Brandão Nunes, and a Mozambican mother, Isabel Nunes. When she was three years old, her family moved to Metropolitan Portugal, and she was raised in Lisbon's historic quarters of Mouraria and Alfama. While very young, she began singing in a wide variety of musical styles, including gospel, soul and jazz. Her father strongly encouraged her to adopt fado; he felt that participating in the traditional music would grant her greater acceptance in the Portuguese community. Mariza has sold over 1 million records worldwide.
In 1999, fado's most famous and beloved interpreter, Amália Rodrigues died. In the public remembrance and mourning that followed, fado regained much of its previous popularity, and Mariza was asked to perform a broadcast tribute to Rodrigues' memory, which caused her friends to begin urging her to record an album of fado music. She did so, and in 2001 Fado em Mim was released. It sold an astounding 100,000 copies . After this the record company made the disc available worldwide, and sales eventually topped 140,000 copies.
One of Mariza's hit songs, Transparente is a tribute to her African grandmother.
Mariza sang the Portuguese national anthem at the 2002 FIFA World Cup of football, at the game which pitted the home team against Portugal.
By the time Mariza's second album, Fado Curvo, was released in 2003, she was considered a member of the New Fado movement, with a voice reminiscent of traditional divas of the musical form such as Rodrigues. Her interpretations of fado standards brought her rapid international recognition, leading to her being the recipient, in March 2003, of BBC Radio 3's award for Best European Artist in World Music. Her British television debut was on Later with Jools Holland. For the Olympic Games of Athens 2004 she sang "A Thousand Years," as a duet with Sting. It was released on the official pop album of the Athens Olympics, Unity, on which fado is sung in English and Portuguese.
In 2004 Mariza won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards recognize the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year.
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