Claudia Leitte facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Claudia Leitte
Leitte at The Voice Brasil (2012)
Born	Cláudia Cristina Leite Inácio (1980-07-10) 10 July 1980 (age 45) São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Occupation	Singer television personality
Years active	2000–present
Spouse(s)	Márcio Pedreira ​ (m. 2007)​
Children	3
Musical career
Genres	Axé Latin pop pop
Labels	Universal Sony Som Livre Roc Nation

Cláudia Cristina Leite Inácio (born on July 10, 1980) is a famous Brazilian singer and TV star. She became well-known in late 2002 as the main singer of the Axé music group Babado Novo. The group had many hit songs in Brazil. They also released five gold and platinum albums between 2003 and 2007.

Claudia Leitte started her solo career and released her first album, Ao Vivo em Copacabana, in 2008. This album was recorded live in front of over a million people. It earned gold and triple platinum awards. This made her one of Brazil's biggest stars. The first song from the album, "Exttravasa", became number one in Brazil. It was one of the best-selling songs of that year. In 2010, she released her first studio album, As Máscaras. This album topped the Billboard Brazilian Albums chart. It also earned her a nomination for a Latin Grammy Award. She recorded "We Are One (Ole Ola)" with Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez. This song was the official song for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Claudia Leitte has over 40 million followers on social media. She is one of the most popular female artists in Brazil and Latin America. She has sold over 10 million records. She has also won many awards, including a Latin Grammy. She was nominated for three World Music Awards in 2014 alone. Besides singing, she has been a coach on the Brazilian TV show The Voice. She also coached on The Voice Kids and The Voice +. She was the winning coach for two seasons of The Voice shows.

Early Life and Music Journey

Cláudia Cristina Leite Inácio was born in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro. Her parents are Ilna Leite and Cláudio Inácio. Her family was visiting São Gonçalo when she was born. Just five days after she was born, her family moved to Salvador, Bahia. This was her mother's hometown. Claudia has a younger brother named Cláudio Junior.

Claudia Leitte started her career by entertaining at kids' parties. At that time, she was also taking religion classes at her church. She would sometimes skip church to go to dance and acting classes. Before becoming a full-time singer, she tried studying law, communications, and music in college. But she later left college. She would go to college in the morning. At night, she would sing at bars and festivals for small gigs. At first, her family did not fully support her dream of being an artist. But they changed their minds during a tough financial time. Claudia's singing job became very important for the family's money. Later, she started in the music industry as a backup singer for a local artist named Nando Borges.

During the 1990s, she sang in different groups. These included Forró Violeta, Companhia do Pagode, and Nata do Samba. In Nata do Samba, she met Sérgio Rocha. He was a guitarist and songwriter. He later became the music director for Babado Novo and for much of Claudia's solo career.

Music Career Highlights

2001–2007: Babado Novo Success

After trying other bands and music styles, Claudia Leitte decided to create an Axé band in November 2001. She formed it in Salvador, Bahia with Sérgio Rocha. They named the band Babado Novo. They also brought in other musicians. Their manager was Cal Adan. Their first independent song, "Cai Fora", helped the group get noticed. This led to a contract with Universal and Poly Music. They released their first album, Babado Novo, in 2003. It sold over 500,000 copies and earned a gold record. The album also had hit songs like "Eu Fico" and "Canudinho". Some songs were new versions of older hits. These songs became popular during the 2003 Carnival celebrations.

On December 3, 2003, the band's second album, Sem-vergonha, was released. It had five hit songs. One of them, "Uau", also became the main song for their third album and video, Uau! Ao Vivo em Salvador. This live album came out on December 21, 2004. It sold over 400,000 copies. Later that year, Babado Novo performed in the US for the first time. They also toured in Tokyo, Japan. In 2005, "Doce Desejo" was released. Then came "Caranguejo" and "Me Chama de Amor".

On December 10, 2005, Babado Novo released "Bola de Sabão". This song was the first single from their next album. It quickly became the group's most successful song. You can hear it in the 2006 movie Only God Knows. O Diário de Claudinha was the band's first studio album. It was released on December 30, 2005. It sold over 120,000 copies in its first few weeks. The song "Despenteia" was used in a hair product ad. "Piriripiti" was part of a TV show soundtrack. "A Camisa e o Botão" was another big hit for the band. Babado Novo was the main act at the 2006 New York City Brazilian Day. They performed for 2.5 million people in Times Square.

Leitte performing in 2007

In January 2007, "Insolação do Coração" was released. This was the first song from the band's fifth and last album, Ver-te Mar. It was recorded live in Salvador, Bahia, and released on February 16, 2007. "Doce Paixão" and "Pensando em Você" were also released as songs. Claudia Leitte won an award at the 2007 MTV Video Music Brasil.

After selling over 5 million records with Babado Novo, Claudia Leitte announced in late 2007 that she would start a solo career. She took her bandmates with her.

2008–2009: Solo Start and First Album

On December 18, 2007, Claudia Leitte released her first solo song, "Exttravasa". This song was played the most on the radio in 2008. It sold over a million digital copies. On February 5, 2008, she performed for the last time with Babado Novo. She started her solo career with a live concert on February 17, 2008. This concert was held at Copacabana Beach. Many famous guests joined her. Almost a million people watched the show. On April 22, 2008, her second song, "Pássaros", was released. Claudia Leitte released her first solo album, Ao Vivo em Copacabana, on July 4, 2008. On the same day, she began her first solo tour, the Exttravasa Tour. This tour had sold-out shows in Brazil and Europe. She visited cities like London and Lisbon for 82 concerts.

The home video of Ao Vivo em Copacabana came out on August 11, 2008. It sold over 500,000 copies. The third song from the album, "Beijar na Boca", was released on November 25, 2008. The last song from the album, "Horizonte", came out on May 24, 2009. A fan wrote this song especially for Claudia.

During that year, Claudia Leitte became the face of Cor&Ton hair products. She also signed deals with AmBev for Guaraná Antarctica and SKY Brasil. On November 22, 2009, she released her first perfume, Elo.

In 2009, Claudia also went on two smaller tours. The Beija Eu Tour had 15 shows. The Sette Tour ran from July 2, 2009, to January 22, 2010, with 47 shows.

2010–2013: New Albums and The Voice Brasil

After signing with Sony Music, Claudia Leitte released "As Máscaras (Se Deixa Levar)". This was the first song from her second album, As Máscaras. In February 2010, she performed with Akon at the Salvador Summer Festival. On April 10, 2010, Claudia Leitte entered the Guinness World Records. She set a record for the biggest gathering of kissing people. Over 8,372 couples kissed at the same time during her 2009 Axé Brasil performance. In the same month, Claudia performed at Miami's Brazilian Day. Over 320,000 people watched her. After the May 8 release of "Famosa" with Travie McCoy, As Máscaras was released on May 23, 2010. The album received mixed reviews. To support the album, Claudia started the Rhytmos tour on July 3, 2010. The album was nominated for a 2010 Latin Grammy Award. On October 22, 2010, she released her second perfume, Claudia Leitte Intense. On December 18 of that year, Claudia was ranked sixth on Billboard's Next Big Sound Music Chart.

In May 2011, Walt Disney Pictures asked Claudia Leitte to voice Carla Veloso. This was a racing car character in the Brazilian Portuguese version of the movie Cars 2. In September 2011, Claudia sang at the Rock in Rio music festival. She performed with Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Elton John. In the same month, she sang "Locomotion Batucada" live at the Miss Universe 2011 pageant. This event was watched by two billion people worldwide. She was also featured in Ricky Martin's song "Samba" and its music video.

In January 2012, Claudia Leitte signed a new record deal with Som Livre. In May of that year, she was a guest host for six episodes of the TV show Superbonita. Soon after, she was invited to be a coach on The Voice Brasil. She joined other famous singers like Lulu Santos and Carlinhos Brown. The show started on September 23, 2012.

Claudia Leitte released her second live album, Negalora: Íntimo, on August 29, 2012. This album showed her in a different, romantic music style. She was praised for being able to change her style while still honoring her roots. On September 13, 2012, she released "Largadinho". This song was a big hit. It even had an English version called "Lazy Groove". The song reached number five on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart. On October 13, 2012, she started the Sambah Tour. This tour had 92 shows in Brazil and Europe.

In late 2013, Jay Brown, a co-founder of Roc Nation, became interested in Claudia Leitte. They met, and this led to a deal with Roc Nation's management team. The plan was to help her career grow internationally.

2014–Present: International Steps

On January 14, 2014, Claudia Leitte released her fourth album, Axemusic – Ao Vivo. It was recorded live at a festival in Recife. The album sold out quickly. It reached platinum status with over 123,000 copies sold that year. Special guests at the concert included Wesley Safadão and Luiz Caldas.

In February 2014, it was reported that Claudia Leitte was working with famous producers. She started recording English songs for her planned international album. She also continued touring in South America. She wrote and produced over 30 songs during this time. She was featured in a version of "La Luz" by Juanes.

Leitte (left) performing alongside Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull at the 2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony

Pitbull and FIFA asked Claudia Leitte to represent Brazil in the 2014 FIFA World Cup official song. She joined Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull for "We Are One (Ole Ola)". This song sold over 5.6 million copies worldwide. The trio performed the song at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. They also performed it during the World Cup opening ceremony on June 12, 2014, in São Paulo. Before that, Claudia sang "Aquarela do Brasil" by herself. This performance helped Claudia become known around the world. She was on Billboard's Social 50 chart for over eight weeks.

In October 2014, Claudia Leitte announced she would not renew her contract with Som Livre. She said she was moving to Los Angeles to work on her new album. Later that month, she released her first extended play (EP), Sette. She released it under her own label, 2Ts Entretenimento. The main song, "Matimba", was a collaboration with rappers Big Sean and MC Guimê. The second song, "Cartório", featured singer Luan Santana. It was one of the most played songs during Brazil's Carnival in 2015.

On December 26, 2014, Claudia Leitte performed "Signs" for the first time. This was an emotional performance during The Voice Brasil finale. It was her first solo English pop song. The song was written by Danny O'Donoghue and others. It was also featured in the TV show I Love Paraisópolis. A music video for "Signs" came out on July 31, 2015. In April 2015, Claudia released her fourth perfume, Secret. Another song, "Shiver Down My Spine", was released on Tidal on October 22, 2015. This was her first project with Roc Nation. It was also her first English song that she helped write. The song was in the 2015 movie S.O.S. Mulheres ao Mar and the 2016 TV show Haja Coração.

Claudia later released "Corazón" with Puerto Rican singer Daddy Yankee on December 17, 2015. This song is expected to be on her next album. That album will have songs in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. In January 2016, Claudia announced her fifth perfume, Chic. Ten months later, her sixth perfume, Glam, was released. A new song, "Taquitá", came out on November 11, 2016. It was promoted during Carnival in February 2017. "Baldin de Gelo" was released on August 4, 2017. It has Spanish and Portuguese lyrics and reggaeton influences. Both "Taquitá" and "Baldin de Gelo" earned gold awards in Brazil. After the fifth season of The Voice Brasil ended in December 2016, Claudia Leitte was replaced by Ivete Sangalo. This was because Claudia was focusing on her new music. However, Claudia later became a coach on the third season of The Voice Kids. In January 2018, Claudia announced a new song, "Carnaval", with Pitbull. It was released on January 26, 2018.

Personal Life

Claudia Leitte was in a relationship with Manno Góes from the band Jammil e uma Noites. It ended in 2005 after two years. Soon after, she met businessman Márcio Pedreira. They got married on March 7, 2007. Their first child, a boy named Davi, was born on January 20, 2009. There was some talk because Claudia went back to work and performed in Carnival only a month after giving birth. The couple welcomed their second child, a son named Rafael, on August 15, 2012. On February 3, 2019, Claudia Leitte announced she was expecting her third child, a girl named Bela.

Music Albums

Studio Albums

• As Máscaras

EPs (Extended Plays)

• Sette

Live Albums

• Ao Vivo em Copacabana
• Negalora: Íntimo
• Axemusic – Ao Vivo

Concert Tours

Leitte performing during Corazón Tour, 2016

• Exttravasa Tour (2008–2009)
• Beija Eu Tour (2009)
• Sette Tour (2009–2010)
• O Samba Tour (2010)
• Rhytmos Tour (2010)
• Claudia Leitte Tour (2011–2012)
• Sambah Tour (2012–2013)
• AXEMUSIC Tour (2014)
• Sette2 Tour (2014–2016)
• Corazón Tour (2016–2017)
• Claudia 10 Tour (2017–)

Film and TV Appearances

Movies

Television Shows

See also

In Spanish: Claudia Leitte para niños