Vanessa da Mata

With seven hit albums to her credit the Brazilian música popular Brasileira singer Vanessa Da Mata is one of Brazil's most popular contemporary pop singers.

She was born in a small town in the Matto Grosso region in 1976 and as a young aspiring singer she immersed herself in the popular traditional music cultures of Brazil including carimbó, sertaneja and samba. She started out her professional career as a reggae singer and then joined the Jamaican band Black Uhuru for a brief spell. After unsuccessfully trying out alternative employment opportunites which included basketball and modelling, she concentrated on building a successful career as a singer and in 2002 released her self-titled debut through Sony.

She has now released seven successful studio albums which have spawned a number of hit singles including 'Segue o Som' for which she received a nomination for a Latin Grammy.