Mariza

Gifted with an expressive and powerful soprano, charting and platinum-selling fado singer Mariza is a superstar of the fado movement with a global following. Though she always works within fado's traditional boundaries, she takes chances by engaging elements of folk traditions from her native Mozambique, the southern reaches of her home in Portugal, Brazil, and even further afield: Her repertoire, while firmly rooted in classical and contemporary fado, has grown to include occasional Cape Verdean mornas, R&B and Motown classics, and any other music she holds dear at any given time. With the release of her debut album Fado Em Mim in 2001, her reputation in Portugal was equaled internationally. On tour, she performed on sold-out festival stages including the Québec Summer Festival (where she received the event's First Award for Most Outstanding Performance), at New York’s Central Park, the Hollywood Bowl, the Royal Festival Hall, the Womad Festival -- and ultimately earned the BBC Radio 3 Award for Best European Artist in the area of World Music. Her 2005 offering, Transparente, was the first fado album in history to top the Portuguese charts. She has repeated that feat numerous times since then, four of her five releases through 2018's Mariza topped the charts as well (2010's Fado Tradicional peaked at number two). All were certified platinum. She has received dozens of awards -- including what she considers the most prestigious, Best Artist from the Amália Rodrigues Foundation -- and is a UNICEF Good Will Ambassador.

Born in Mozambique but raised in Portugal, singer Mariza became one of the most popular fado performers ever after releasing her debut album Fado Em Mim