Mariza

Biography

Marisa dos Reis Nunes (born 16 December 1973), known professionally as Mariza (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈɾizɐ]), 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 and her great grandmother was from Goa. 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.

Music career

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 (4,000 copies of a fado disc would have been considered successful). 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 (South Korea) against Portugal.
By the time Mariza's second album, Fado Curvo×Fado curvo28 March 2003 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1O silêncio da guitarra2:512Cavaleiro monge3:403Feira de Castro2:344Vielas de Alfama4:015Retrato4:026Fado curvo2:557Menino do bairro negro2:548Caravelas5:049Entre o rio e a razão1:5810O deserto5:3611Primavera4:4212Anéis do meu cabelo1:55, 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 (EBBA) 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.
Mariza's third album, Transparente×Transparente25 April 2005 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Há uma música do Povo3:112Meu Fado Meu3:263Recusa2:174Quando me sinto só2:585Montras3:356Há palavras que nos beijam2:537Transparente2:298Fado Português do nós2:249Malmequer3:1110Medo3:1111Toada do desengano3:3512Fado tordo2:1413Duas Lágrimas de Orvalho2:3714Desejos vãos3:32, was recorded in Brazil and released in 2005. She performed at Live 8; she sang at the Eden Project in Cornwall, after which she has been invited to concerts and events worldwide to promote Portuguese culture, from Australia to Finland, the United States and Argentina. That album eventually reached Top Ten in countries which include The Netherlands, Spain and Finland. Mariza, who lives in the upmarket Alcântara dockside area of Lisbon, has received awards from Denmark, Australia, Canada, Germany, UK, Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.
She has performed at venues such as New York's Carnegie Hall and Central Park, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Barbican, Hollywood Bowl, London's Royal Albert Hall, Union Chapel, Royal Festival Hall, Lisbon's Centro Cultural de Belém, Frankfurt's Alte Oper, Paris' Théâtre de la Ville, Madrid's Teatro Albéniz, Barcelona's Teatro Grec, X Cairo International Song Festival 2004, Centro Cultural de Macau, Moscow International House of Music, Toronto's Massey Hall, Sydney Opera House and the National Concert Hall in Dublin in February 2010.

Her album released in 2007 Concerto em Lisboa×Concerto em Lisboa5 November 2006 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Loucura4:412Medo3:153Maria Lisboa3:154Montras3:415Há uma música do povo3:366Menino do bairro negro4:177Meu fado meu3:458Duas lágrimas de orvalho3:119Cavaleiro monge5:0110Recusa2:2811Há palavras que nos beijam3:2712Feira de castro5:1013Desejos vãos5:0414Primavera5:2615Chuva4:4916Ó gente da minha terra7:45 received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. The following year, she again released an album, Terra×Terra2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Já me deixou3:492Minh'Alma4:043Rosa branca2:474Recurso3:075Beijo de saudade4:176Vozes do mar3:567Fronteira2:488Alfama4:029Tasco da Mouraria4:3010Alma de vento4:0111Se eu mandasse nas palavras3:2212As guitarras4:1613Pequenas verdades3:0814Morada aberta3:59 which also was nominated for Best Folk Album at the Latin Grammy Awards. This album continued to mix a variety of genres, containing basic fado influenced by jazz, flamenco, Latin and African sounds.
In 2010, Mariza was featured in the pilot episode of the PBS music series, Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders, singing the "global hit" -- "Minh' Alma." In 2010, Mariza released the album Fado Tradicional×Fado Tradicional29 November 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Fado Vianinha2:312Promete, Jura3:533As meninas dos meus olhos2:354Mais uma Lua3:385Dona Rosa2:166Ai, esta pena de mim2:337Na rua do silêncio2:488Rosa da Madragoa1:549Boa noite solidão3:4510Desalma2:3011Meus olhos que por alguém2:5312Promete, jura3:54, returning to the roots of Fado, but also interpreting the music in Mariza's unique style.
Beginning on 28 February 2011 the airline TAP Portugal began airing its "TAP With Arms Wide Open" (TAP de Braços Abertos) campaign, featuring its new slogan. Three singers, Mariza, the Brazilian singer Roberta de Sá, and the Angolan singer Paulo Flores starred in a music video with the song "Arms Wide Open."
Mariza performed alongside Ana Moura as the opening act of the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 held in Lisbon, Portugal, singing "Barco Negro".
In May 2024, Mariza released the single "Desamor" (featuring GSon), from her forthcoming album Amor.

Personal life

Mariza was married to António Ferreira, father of the singer's first and only child, Martim, born on 6 July 2011 two months ahead of schedule, and later diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Mariza said that her Catholic faith strengthened as a result of a promise that she made to Our Lady of Fátima, after the birth of her son.