Gretchen

Gretchen, the Carioca vocalist whose dizzying curves and hot dancing style defined her presence, entered the scene in the late 70's when Mister Sam launched her career. As the sister of Sula Miranda, she had already shared a brief teenage stint in the short-lived group As Melindrosas. Soon afterward she toured Brazil alongside the group Záccaro. Following her first appearance on the Sílvio Santos show, an invitation arrived to record “Dance With Me,” yet the major successes—“Freak Le Boom Boom,” “Melô do Piripiri,” “Conga Conga Conga,” and “I Love You/Je T'Aime”—arrived only between 1980 and 1982 via the albums My Name Is Gretchen, You and Me, and Lonely. During those years she turned into a national sensation, ranking among Brazil’s most commercially potent artists while filling thousands of live engagements and making frequent appearances on programs hosted by Chacrinha, Sílvio Santos, Raul Gil, and Bolinha. Even as her popularity waned through the 80's, attempts to ride emerging trends such as lambada proved insufficient; she embraced Protestantism and shifted to gospel music. By the 90's her earlier tracks had acquired cult status on Brazil’s upscale dance floors, and the parallel rise of comparably curvaceous performers such as Carla Perez, along with acts introduced by É o Tchan and its followers, prompted recognition of Gretchen as the originator of that particular style.