Emílio Santiago

Once described by a group of physicians as “the most perfect voice in Brazil,” Brazilian singer Emílio Vitalino Santiago (December 6, 1946), or simply Emilio Santiago, jumped to fame as an interpreter in the late 80s with his Aquarelas Brasileiras project. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Emilio Santiago discovered his passion for singing while attending law school, winning several festivals organized by the University of Rio de Janeiro before eventually dropping out to focus on his music career. He also participated in several TV contests, including Flavio Cavalcanti’s show on now-defunct TV Tupi, and replaced lead singer Tony Tornado on Ed Lincoln’s orchestra. His official debut arrived in 1973 with the singles “Transa de Amor” and “Saravá Nega,” which received heavy airplay and were featured in a couple of TV shows. An eponymous full-length arrived in 1975 and featured obscure gems from established Brazilian songwriters such as Ivan Lins, Jorge Ben Jor, and Marcos Valle. In 1976, Emilio Santiago signed with Philips/Polygram, a partnership that spawned ten LPs with little to no commercial success. After winning the Rede Globo MPB Shell contest with the song “Pelo Amor de Deus” in 1982 and being named Best Performer at 1985’s Festival dos Festivais, Emilio Santiago finally broke through with the project Aquarelas Brasileiras, in which he explored the Brazilian songbook in detail. Seven albums were released between 1988 and 1995, selling over four million copies in total and establishing Emilio Santiago as one of the most popular Brazilian musicians of his time. The following decade, he paid tribute to singer Dick Farney on 1995’s Perdido de Amor and reversioned classic Hispanic boleros for 1996’s Dias de Luna. The 2000s and 2010s found the singer more active than ever, releasing the albums Bossa Nova (2000), Um Sorriso Nos Lábios (2001), O Melhor das Aquarelas Ao Vivo (2005), and Só Danço Samba Ao Vivo (2011), which won a Latin Grammy for Best Samba-Pagode Album. In 2013, Emilio Santiago died at the age of 66 due to complications of a stroke.

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