Fernanda Abreu

Fernanda Sampaio de Lacerda Abreu (born in Rio de Janeiro on September 8th, 1961) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and dancer. Known as “the mother of Brazilian pop” in her home country, Abreu rose to fame for singing backing vocals for rock band BLITZ during the late 80s. She started her solo career with SLA Radical Dance Disco Club (1990), which was one of the first Brazilian albums to make extensive use of samples. The LP was produced by Herbert Vianna (of Paralamas fame) and sold more than 260,000 copies upon its release. She followed this success with SLA 2 Be Sample (1992), an album that flirted with R&B and hip-hop, and featured the smash hit “Rio 40 Graus.” Considered a major milestone in her career, Da Lata (1995) incorporated elements from samba, MPB, and funk carioca into her songs. That same year, the album was named Best Latin American Album by Billboard. After touring throughout Europe and Asia in 1996, Abreu released Raio X (1997), a collection of alternative versions of her biggest hits. Following the release of Entidade Urbana (2000), an ambitious concept album about urban life that failed to impress critics, Na Paz was released in 2004. The album, which combined Brazilian rhythms with oriental music, was a moderate success, selling 50,000 copies in her native Brazil. Due to her mother’s hospitalization and subsequent death, Abreu remained inactive between 2007 and 2014. Amor Geral (2016), her first solo album in 12 years, featured hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa and was ranked 13th on Rolling Stone’s Best Albums of 2016 list.