music.wikisort.org - Singer

Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças, known professionally as Céu (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɛw]; born 17 April 1980),[2] is a Brazilian singer-songwriter whose first American album was released on the Six Degrees Records label in April 2007.

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2017) This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (August 2017)

Céu
Céu live in São Paulo on 13 August 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças
Born	(1980-04-17) 17 April 1980 (age 42)
Origin	São Paulo, Brazil
Genres	MPB, bossa nova, world music, trip hop[1]
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, keyboards, percussion
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Urban Jungle, Six Degrees
Website	Céu

Career life

She was born in São Paulo, Brazil, to a musical family. Her father being a composer, arranger and musicologist. It was from her father that she learned to appreciate Brazil's classical music composers, particularly Heitor Villa-Lobos, Ernesto Nazaré and Orlando Silva.

By age fifteen she had decided to become a musician and by her late teens she had studied music theory, as well as the violão (nylon-stringed Brazilian guitar). Her songs reveal many influences, which include samba, valsa, choro, soul, rhythm and blues, hip hop, afrobeat and electrojazz music.[3]

In particular, she cites as influences the music of African-Americans Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu, as well as Brazilian Jorge Ben.[4]

Céu was performing onstage with major artists and exploring the repertoire of the marchinhas (turn-of-the-century carnival music) by her late teens. Soon after that she relocated temporarily to New York City, where she had a chance to meet with fellow Brazilian musician Antônio Pinto. She later learned that he was actually a distant cousin. Their relationship was renewed when he teamed up with lead producer Beto Villares, composer of the musical score for the movie O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias (2007), to help her record her album. Antonio Pinto, who produced Céu's song "Ave Cruz" is the composer of the musical score for two Oscar Nominated films, Central Station (1999) and City of God (2002).[5]

Originally issued in 2005 on the São Paulo-based Urban Jungle, her self-titled debut album Céu was picked up by Six Degrees/Starbucks/Hear Music in the US and UK, JVC in Japan and Harmonia Mundi in France and in the Netherlands. For this album, Céu received a Latin Grammy nomination for "Best New Artist" in 2006[6] and a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2008.

In 2009, her critically acclaimed second album Vagarosa reached No. 2 on the US Billboard's World Music charts. The album has since been nominated for a 2010 Latin Grammy Award for Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album.[7] In 2010, Céu was invited by Herbie Hancock to record a version of "Tempo de Amor" for The Imagine Project album.

In 2011, she contributed a version of the track "It's a Long Way" in collaboration with Apollo Nove and N.A.S.A. for the Red Hot Organization's most recent charitable album Red Hot + Rio 2. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 Red Hot + Rio. In 2012, Céu received her third Latin Grammy nomination for "Best Contemporary Brazilian Pop Album" for her third album Caravana Sereia Bloom.

In 2014, she released in Brazil her first live DVD/CD entitled Céu – Ao Vivo, the concert was filmed in August 2014 in São Paulo and contains 15 tracks in total, including the never before released cover versions of all time classics "Piel Canela" and "Mais Uma Noite de Amor", behind the scenes footage of the band and more. Céu – Ao Vivo also includes live versions of Céu's greatest hits, "Lenda", "Malemolência", "10 Contados", "Cangote" and "Baile de Ilusão".

In 2016, she released her fourth studio album named Tropix. Combining electronic beats with Brazilian rhythms, she went to receive critical acclaim from vehicles like The Guardian[8] and The New York Times.[9] She also won, in the same year, her first Latin Grammy in the Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album category.

Her album APKÁ was considered one of the 25 best Brazilian albums of the second half of 2019 by the São Paulo Association of Art Critics.[10]

Trivia

This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. (August 2017)

• Céu (céu) means "sky" and "heaven" in Portuguese.[2]
• The song "Malemolência" was featured on the soccer game by EA Sports, FIFA 08.[11]
• Starbucks has promoted her album in its coffeehouses through its Hear Music Debut CD series. She is the first international artist chosen by Starbucks for promotion.
• Céu performed at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games.
• In 2008 Céu formed the São Paulo collective Sonantes with Brazilian musicians and producers Rica Amabis, Gui Amabis, Pupillo, Dengue.
• Céu is one of the relatively few Brazilian artists who has performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (2010).
• Between 2013 and 2014 Céu performed a series of concerts in Brazil to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the release of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ legendary album Catch a Fire.

Discography

• Céu (2005)
• Remixed EP (2007)
• Vagarosa (2009)
• Caravana Sereia Bloom (2012)
• Céu – Ao Vivo (2014)
• Tropix (2016)
• Apká! (2019)
• Um Gosto de Sol (2021)

Awards and nominations

Year	Awards	Category	Recipient	Outcome	Ref.
2006	Latin Grammy Award	Best New Artist	Céu	Nominated
2007	MTV Video Music Brazil	Best New Act	Céu	Nominated
2008	Grammy Award	Best Contemporary World Music Album	CéU	Nominated	[12]
2009	Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte	Best Female	Céu	Won	[13]
	MTV Video Music Brazil	Best MPB Act	Céu	Nominated
2010	Latin Grammy Award	Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album	Vagarosa	Nominated
	MTV Video Music Brazil	Best MPB Act	Céu	Nominated
2012	Latin Grammy Award	Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album	Caravana Sereia Bloom	Nominated	[14]
2016	Prêmio Multishow	Version of the Year	"Chico Buarque Song"	Won
		Best Video	"Perfume do Invisível"	Nominated
		Best Direction		Won
		Best Photography		Won
		Song of the Year		Nominated
			"Varanda Suspensa"	Nominated
		Album of the Year	Tropix	Nominated
		Best Album Recording		Won
		Best Album Cover		Nominated
	Latin Grammy Award	Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album		Won	[15]
		Best Engineered Album		Won
	Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte	Artist of the Year	Céu	Won
2020	Latin Grammy Award	Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album	Apká!	Won	[16]

References

External links

• Official Web Site
• "Céu's Brazilian Melting Pot"
• "Singer Ceu brings sexy back to Brazilian music"
• "CéU: From Brazil with Love"
• "Ave Cruz" – free mp3 at music.download.com
• Urban Jungle

---