Aurea (singer)

Áurea Isabel Ramos de Sousa (born 7 September 1987), known professionally as Aurea, is a Portuguese soul singer from Santiago do Cacém, Setubal. She debuted in 2008 with her single "Okay Alright", which was included on the soundtrack of the Portuguese series Morangos com Açúcar. At the end of 2008, she performed the song live at the Morangos Live Festival, among with two other cover duets. This concert was released on DVD in 2009. Aurea released her debut album, Aurea, in September 2010. The album entered at number 21 at the Portuguese Albums Chart, but quickly reached number 1.[1] It features the number "Busy for Me", which was released as the album's lead single.

Aurea
Background information
Birth nameAurea Sousa
Born (1987-09-07) 7 September 1987
Santiago do Cacém, Portugal
OriginSantiago do Cacém, Portugal
GenresSoul, blues, pop, reggae, R&B, Blue eyed soul
Occupation(s)Singer
InstrumentsVocal
Years active2008–present
LabelsBlim Records / Sony Music
Website

In December 2010, Aurea made a special live TV broadcast to promote some of her songs. It was transmitted by RTP2 and SIC Notícias. Her single "Busy for Me", released in August 2010, became her first number one single; it topped the Portuguese iTunes chart. This has been credited with firmly establishing the singer's career and is now considered her signature song. Critical reviews noted similarities between the song and releases by Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield and The Supremes, as well as contemporaries such as British singer Amy Winehouse or Duffy. During the following year (2011), Aurea made a concert tour around the country to promote her debut album. She sold out all the major national venues and the album remained on the top Portuguese charts for 71 weeks. In 2015, she became the a coach on The Voice Portugal.

Aurea sings in English. As of 2017, the only song she has released in a language other than English is the theme song of TVI's telenovela A Impostora (2016–17), which she recorded in her native Portuguese language.[2]

Life and career

1990s-2009: Early life and career beginnings

Aurea was born in Santiago do Cacém, Alentejo, and grew up in the Algarve. Since she was a child, she realized she wanted to be a singer or actress and she participated in many plays at school. Aurea went to Évora's university, where she studied performing arts.[3] In 2008, Aurea met Rui Ribeiro at the university, who heard her singing. He helped her to release her first single in 2008 through Blim Records, "Okay Alright". The song was included on the soundtrack of the Portuguese soap opera Morangos com Açúcar. In the summer of 2008, she performed the song live at the Morangomania Festival, a show created by the production team of Morangos com Açúcar.[4] In early 2009, Rui Ribeiro composed a song for Aurea and asked if she would like to sing it. They recorded a demo for it and Ribeiro sent it to Blim Records, her future record label. They enjoyed her voice and decided to "go far with it!", by recording an album.

2009-present: Career breakthrough and Aurea

In summer 2010, Aurea said to "Expressões Lusitanas" during an interview: "I think singing in English is better than singing in Portuguese (...) because Soul music was "born" through English words". She also said she feels influenced by Soul artists such as Aretha Franklin, Joss Stone, James Morrison and Amy Winehouse (like Joss Stone, she frequently performs barefoot). Aurea released a single in August 2010, entitled "Busy for Me", a blue-eyed soul ballad influenced by artists such as Aretha Franklin and Amy Winehouse. The song received positive reviews from music critics. Aurea performed her songs on a TV Special broadcast among many other shows on Portuguese television.

A music video for the single, which was directed by Ricardo Reis, was released on 6 August 2010. Aurea was released in September 2010. Rui Ribeiro was responsible for the composition of nine of the original songs from the album, as well as all the original lyrics. It is a pop/soul recording but with many influences of many different musical styles. As with Aurea herself, this work is musically eclectic. The album was produced by Ricardo Ferreira and Rui Ribeiro.[3] The album entered at number 21 on the Portuguese Albums Chart, but quickly reached number 1.[1] "Busy for Me" was chosen as the album's lead single.

Awards
Award Year Cat
Female Personality of the Year, by Lux Magazine (Portugal) 2010 Won
Golden Globe (Portugal) - Best Individual Performer 2011 Won
Golden Globe (Portugal) - Best Song: Busy (for me) 2011 Nominated
Golden Globe (Portugal) - Revelation of the year 2011 Nominated
MTV Europe Music Awards 2011 - Best Portuguese Act 2011 Won
MTV Europe Music Award for Best European Act 2011 Nominated
MTV Europe Music Awards 2012 - Best Portuguese Act 2012 Won
MTV Europe Music Award for Best European Act 2012 Nominated
MTV Europe Music Award for Best Portuguese Act 2016 Nominated
Portuguese Television Awards for Best music 2018 Won

Discography
Studio albums
  • Aurea (2010)
  • Soul Notes (2012)
  • Restart (2016)
  • Confessions (2018)
Live albums
  • Ao Vivo no Coliseu dos Recreios (2011)
Singles
  • "Okay Alright" (2008)
  • "Busy for Me" (2010)
  • "No No No No (I Don't Want Fall In Love With You Baby)" (2011)
  • "The Only Thing That I Wanted " (2011)
  • "Where Is The Love" (ft. Nikolas Takács)
  • "Scratch My Back" (2012)
  • "Nothing Left to Say" (2013)
  • "How Far Would You Go" (2013)
  • "I Didn't Mean It" (2016)
  • "A Impostora" (2016)
  • "I Feel Love Inside" (ft. Enoque) (2017)
  • "Done With You" (2018)
  • "Thrill Seeker" (2018)
  • "Hide" (2018)
  • "Head Over Heels" (2018)

Studio albums
Year Title Chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
POR
2010 Aurea
  • 1st studio album
 1
  • AFP: Double Platinum
2011 Ao Vivo No Coliseu dos Recreios


8
2012 Soul Notes
  • 2nd studio album
 5
  • AFP: Platinum
2016 Restart
  • 3rd studio album
 1
  • AFP: Gold
2018 Confessions
  • 4th studio album
 1
2019 9
  • 1st studio album by Elas (project with Marisa Liz)
 3

Singles
Year Song Peak chart positions Album
POR HUN
2008 "Okay Alright" 11 – Aurea
2010 "Busy for Me" 1 30
2011 "Dream a Little Dream of Me" 23 –
2012 "Scratch My Back" 14 – Soul Notes
2013 "Nothing Left to Say"

"The Star"

 33
 –
2016 "I Didn't Mean It" 2 – Restart
2016 "A Impostora" – – A Impostora soundtrack[5]
2017 "I Feel Love Inside" - - Restart
2018 "Done With You"

"Thrill Seeker"

"Hide"

"Head Over Heels"

 -

-

-

-

 -

-

-

-

 Confessions
2019 "Eu Gosto de Ti" - - 9

References
  1. "Aurea [PT] - Aurea". PortugueseCharts.com. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  2. http://www.tvi.iol.pt/aimpostora/extras/videos/aurea-interpreta-a-impostora/57c8a6190cf29ab4c1c39ef7
  3. AEIOU - Investimentos Multimédia, S.A. "Aurea: Biografia - BLITZ". Blitz.aeiou.pt. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  4. "Qmusika - Qmusika.com - Musica lusiada. Musica portuguesa. Artistas, albuns, noticias, radios, tv, podcast,passatempos " QAutores " QAutor " Aurea". Qmusika.com. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  5. http://www.fnac.pt/Varios-Novelas-A-Impostora-Banda-Sonora-CD-Album/a1003129?omnsearchpos=2
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