Alexandre Pires

Hailing from Brazil, Alexandre Pires—born Alexandre Pires do Nascimento—entered the professional music scene toward the close of the 1980s by joining the local ensemble Só Pra Contrariar. The band issued its self-titled debut album in 1993 and rose to top-selling status in 1997 on the strength of chart momentum from “Depois do Prazer” and “Mineirinho.” In 1999 Só Pra Contrariar delivered the commercially strong Spanish-language set Juegos de Amor, which included the track “Santo Santo” recorded with Gloria Estefan, and the group received an Ondas award that same year. Pires’s first solo album appeared simultaneously in the U.S. and Latin America in 2001.