Biography
The award-winning Raquel Tavares ranks among the foremost voices shaping contemporary fado. She calls Lisbon’s Alfama district home and entered the world already steeped in the music. Competitive singing began at age five; by twelve she had collected more than a dozen first prizes, among them the 1997 Grande Noite do Fado.
Her debut album, Porque Canto Fado, appeared on the city’s leading independent imprint, Metro-Sound, when she turned fifteen. She performed throughout Lisbon while still entering contests. In 2002 the “King of Fado,” Fernando Maurício, invited her to interpret the classic repertoire professionally inside the capital’s great fado houses. She trained with many of the genre’s masters, including Maurício, Hermínia Silva, Lucília do Carmo, Berta Cardoso, and Beatriz da Conceição.
A small role as a fado singer in Mário Barroso’s 2004 film O Milagre Segundo Salomé marked her screen debut. Tavares joined the Movieplay roster in 2005 and released her self-titled album the following year, which earned her the Amália Rodrigues and Casa da Imprensa awards for best new female artist. International touring commenced, taking her to festival and concert stages across Europe, North Africa, the U.K., Australia, and Canada.
Bairro followed in 2008, entering the Portuguese charts at number ten and rising to number three; eight years would pass before her next recording. That same year she and singing partner João Tiago represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest and finished eighth. Alongside her travels she undertook a detailed examination of Brazilian samba’s roots. First concerts with Ivan Lins occurred in 2012.
She repeated the collaboration in Rio de Janeiro in January 2013. In April she curated and performed the concert “Nem Todo o Fado é Triste, Nem Todo o Samba é Alegre” at Lisbon’s Espaço Brasil during Portugal’s Year of Brazil, juxtaposing canonical samba and traditional fado. The next year she appeared at the international Book Fair in Bogotá at the Gabriel Garcia Marquéz Cultural Center.
Sony signed Tavares in 2015; the 2016 album Raquel opened with fado yet traversed samba, MPB, and further styles. Concert exposure propelled the record to gold certification in Portugal and the top of the album charts. She performed at Lisbon’s NOS Alive Festival alongside the Pixies, Arcade Fire, and other artists—the only fado singer on that bill. The appearance drew an enthusiastic new audience of indie-rock listeners and attracted press attention from the U.S., Indo-Asia, and Europe.
Her second Sony release, Roberto Carlos por Raquel Tavares: Do Fundo Do Meu Coração, arrived in November 2017 as an homage to the legendary singer-songwriter. The set featured two duets: “Debaixo Dos Caracóis Dos Seus Cabelos” with Caetano Veloso and “De Tanto Amor” with Ana Carolina. It again led the album charts for more than ten weeks and ultimately received double-gold certification.
Her debut album, Porque Canto Fado, appeared on the city’s leading independent imprint, Metro-Sound, when she turned fifteen. She performed throughout Lisbon while still entering contests. In 2002 the “King of Fado,” Fernando Maurício, invited her to interpret the classic repertoire professionally inside the capital’s great fado houses. She trained with many of the genre’s masters, including Maurício, Hermínia Silva, Lucília do Carmo, Berta Cardoso, and Beatriz da Conceição.
A small role as a fado singer in Mário Barroso’s 2004 film O Milagre Segundo Salomé marked her screen debut. Tavares joined the Movieplay roster in 2005 and released her self-titled album the following year, which earned her the Amália Rodrigues and Casa da Imprensa awards for best new female artist. International touring commenced, taking her to festival and concert stages across Europe, North Africa, the U.K., Australia, and Canada.
Bairro followed in 2008, entering the Portuguese charts at number ten and rising to number three; eight years would pass before her next recording. That same year she and singing partner João Tiago represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest and finished eighth. Alongside her travels she undertook a detailed examination of Brazilian samba’s roots. First concerts with Ivan Lins occurred in 2012.
She repeated the collaboration in Rio de Janeiro in January 2013. In April she curated and performed the concert “Nem Todo o Fado é Triste, Nem Todo o Samba é Alegre” at Lisbon’s Espaço Brasil during Portugal’s Year of Brazil, juxtaposing canonical samba and traditional fado. The next year she appeared at the international Book Fair in Bogotá at the Gabriel Garcia Marquéz Cultural Center.
Sony signed Tavares in 2015; the 2016 album Raquel opened with fado yet traversed samba, MPB, and further styles. Concert exposure propelled the record to gold certification in Portugal and the top of the album charts. She performed at Lisbon’s NOS Alive Festival alongside the Pixies, Arcade Fire, and other artists—the only fado singer on that bill. The appearance drew an enthusiastic new audience of indie-rock listeners and attracted press attention from the U.S., Indo-Asia, and Europe.
Her second Sony release, Roberto Carlos por Raquel Tavares: Do Fundo Do Meu Coração, arrived in November 2017 as an homage to the legendary singer-songwriter. The set featured two duets: “Debaixo Dos Caracóis Dos Seus Cabelos” with Caetano Veloso and “De Tanto Amor” with Ana Carolina. It again led the album charts for more than ten weeks and ultimately received double-gold certification.
Albums
Singles
