Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Simone
Simone in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira
Also known as	Cigarra (Cicada, Buzzer)
Born	(1949-12-25) December 25, 1949 (age 75) Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Genres	Romantic, MPB, samba
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1973–present
Labels	Odeon, EMI, Universal
Associated acts	Ivan Lins, Chico Buarque, Sueli Costa, Isolda, Martinho da Vila, Milton Nascimento

Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira (born December 25, 1949), known simply as Simone, is a famous Brazilian singer. She sings a style of music called Brazilian Popular Music (MPB). Simone has released more than 30 albums throughout her long career.

About Simone's Life

Simone was born on December 25, 1949, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. She was the seventh of nine children in her family. When she was a teenager, Simone was a talented basketball player. She even moved to São Paulo to join the Brazilian women's national basketball team. She also studied physical education in Santos, São Paulo.

Simone's Music Journey

Simone's music career started when a friend, Elodir Barontini, who was a guitar teacher, invited her to sing. She sang at a dinner where a manager from Odeon Records was present. The manager was so impressed that he offered her a contract to record four albums!

Her first album, called Simone, was recorded in October 1972. It was made with a small budget and a few musicians. This album was first shared among her friends and family. Later, it was re-released with a new cover. On March 20, 1973, her album was officially launched for the media. Soon after, she appeared on TV for the first time on TV Bandeirantes. She was seen as a promising new talent.

Simone's parents supported her move from sports to music. Her father was an amateur opera singer, and her mother played the piano. Early in her career, she was invited to go on an international tour. This tour included performances in Paris, New York City, Belgium, and Canada. She released two albums from this tour, Brasil Export 73 and Festa Brasil.

Becoming Famous

By 1977, Simone became very well-known in Brazil. Songs like Jura Secreta, Face a Face, and O Que Será became hits. O Que Será, written by Chico Buarque, was even featured in the movie Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. This helped make the song, and Simone, even more popular. Simone later said that "O Que Será opened doors for me and my career."

In 1978, Simone joined a project called Projeto Pixinguinha. This project helped new singers travel around the country and perform. People praised her performances, saying she was becoming one of Brazil's best singers.

In December 1979, Simone released her album Pedaços. It was very popular and sold over 120,000 copies. This album earned her her first "golden disc," which means it sold a lot of copies.

A Top Seller in the 1980s

Simone became one of the biggest album sellers in the 1980s. In February 1980, she sang for 90,000 people at the 'Canta Brasil' show in Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo. She also had her own TV show called Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira. This show was part of a series called Grandes Nomes (Great Names).

In 1982, a magazine called Revista Veja featured Simone on its cover. They called her the biggest album seller of the decade.

Simone was the first female singer to fill the Maracanãzinho Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. In February 1982, between 15,000 and 20,000 people came to see her perform. She sang songs by famous Brazilian artists like Milton Nascimento and Tom Jobim. In December 1983, she attracted 150,000 people to a New Year's TV show at Quinta da Boa Vista.

As her career grew, Simone also became involved in helping others. She helped raise money for Nordeste já. This was a Brazilian effort similar to the American charity songs We are the World or USA for Africa. She recorded two songs, Chega de Mágoa and Seca D'Água, with 155 other singers.

More recently, Simone has continued to perform. In May 2006, she had a show in São Paulo. She also performed in Peru, where the audience clapped for more than five minutes. In June 2007, she performed with Zélia Duncan in a show called Amigo é Casa. This show was recorded for a DVD.

Simone's Song Collection

Simone has sung about 350 different songs, which is one of the largest collections among Brazilian female singers. Her songs often talk about romantic love and passion, like Começar de Novo and Jura Secreta. She also sings samba songs, such as O Amanhã, and religious songs, including Ave Maria and Jesus Cristo.

When she was growing up, Simone was influenced by singers like Roberto Carlos and Maysa Matarazzo. These artists sang in a style called samba-canção, which had gentle melodies. Simone's love for boleros (a type of slow-tempo Latin music) comes from this musical background.

Some of her notable albums from the 1990s and 2000s include Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira (1995), which had classic samba songs. Café com Leite (1996) was a tribute to the artist Martinho da Vila. Seda Pura (2001) explored pop music, and Baiana da gema (2004) was a tribute to Ivan Lins.

The singer and composer Caetano Veloso greatly admired her album Café com Leite. He said it was "divine" and that Martinho da Vila's songs fit her voice perfectly.

Simone is known for interpreting songs by many different composers. Some of these include Ivan Lins, Milton Nascimento, Chico Buarque, and Martinho da Vila. Her current performances also feature songs by artists like Zélia Duncan and Zeca Pagodinho.

"Começar de Novo"

The song "Começar de Novo" (Starting Over) from her 1979 album Pedaços is very famous. It was the theme song for the TV series Malu Mulher (1979). This show talked about important topics for women at the time, like women's freedom and divorce. The song was written especially for the series by Ivan Lins and Vítor Martins.

"Começar de Novo" was also recorded by famous American singers Barbra Streisand and Sarah Vaughan. They sang it with English lyrics as "The Island." Because of her amazing singing, the American music producer Quincy Jones called Simone "one of the world's greatest singers." Other musicians have compared her to Sarah Vaughan, praising her "strong identity, passion, and grace." Julio Iglesias has also said Simone is one of his favorite Brazilian female singers.

Simone's Albums

EMI Records

• 1973 – Simone
• 1973 – Brasil Export
• 1973 – Expo Som 73 – ao vivo
• 1974 – Festa Brasil
• 1974 – Quatro Paredes
• 1975 – Gotas D'Água
• 1977 – Face a Face
• 1978 – Cigarra
• 1979 – Pedaços
• 1980 – Simone Ao Vivo no Canecão
• 1980 – Simone (Atrevida)

Sony BMG / CBS Records

• 1981 – Amar
• 1982 – Corpo e Alma
• 1983 – Delírios e Delícias
• 1984 – Desejos
• 1985 – Cristal
• 1986 – Amor e Paixão
• 1987 – Vício
• 1988 – Sedução
• 1989 – Simone (Tudo por Amor)
• 1991 – Raio de Luz
• 1991 – Simone – Procuro olvidarte (Spanish) (featuring Hernaldo Zúñiga)
• 1993 – Sou Eu
• 1993 – La Distancia (Spanish)
• 1995 – Simone Simone
• 1995 – Dos Enamoradas (Spanish)

Universal / Polygram Records

• 1995 – 25 de Dezembro
• 1996 – Café com Leite
• 1996 – 25 de diciembre (Spanish)
• 1997 – Brasil, O Show – Live
• 1998 – Loca (Espanhol)
• 2000 – Fica Comigo Esta Noite
• 2001 – Seda Pura
• 2002 – Feminino – Live

EMI Records (again)

• 2004 – Baiana da Gema
• 2005 – Simone ao Vivo

Biscoito Fino Records

• Amigo é Casa (CD)
• Amigo é Casa (DVD)

EMI Records (again)

• O canto da Cigarra nos anos 70 (CD)

Songs in Brazilian TV Shows

Simone's songs have been used as theme songs for many Brazilian TV soap operas:

• Um desejo só não basta (Corpo a Corpo) – Sony
• Pensamentos (Explode Coração) – Universal
• Íntimo (Uma Esperança no Ar) – Sony
• Naquela noite com Yoko (Brilhante) – Sony
• Quem é Você (A Próxima Vítima) – Sony
• É festa (Senhora do Destino) – Universal
• Sentimental demais (Laços de Família) – Universal
• Será (Perigosas Peruas) – Sony
• Desafio (Mulheres de Areia) – Sony
• Apaixonada (Pantanal) – Sony
• Então Me Diz (Belíssima) – EMI
• Raios de Luz (De Corpo e Alma) – Sony
• Muito Estranho (Desejos de Mulher) – Universal
• Veneziana (A Lua me Disse) – EMI
• Seu Corpo (Sassaricando) – Sony
• Loca-Crazy (Torre de Babel) – Universal
• Tô Que Tô (Sol de Verão) – Sony
• Anjo de Mim (Anjo de Mim) – Sony
• Em Flor (Roda de Fogo) – Sony
• Amor explícito (Corpo Santo) – Sony
• Carta Marcada (Araponga) – Sony
• Beija, Me Beija, Me Beija (O Amor Está no Ar) – Universal
• Uma Nova Mulher (Tieta) – Sony
• Sob Medida (Os Gigantes) – EMI
• Saindo de Mim (Chega Mais) – EMI
• Medo de Amar nº 2 (Sinal de Alerta) – EMI
• Povo da Raça Brasil (Terras do Sem Fim) – EMI
• Mulher da Vida (Champagne) – Sony
• O Tempo Não Pára (O Salvador da Pátria) – Sony
• Começar de Novo (Malu Mulher) – EMI
• A Outra (Roque Santeiro) – Sony
• Desesperar jamais (Água Viva) – EMI
• Face a Face (O Pulo do Gato) – EMI
• Valsa do Desejo (Força de um Desejo) – Universal
• Mundo Delirante (Elas por Elas) – Sony
• Vento nordeste (Pé de Vento) – EMI
• Existe um céu (Paraíso Tropical) – EMI
• Jura secreta (O Profeta e Memórias de Amor) – EMI
• Cigarra (Cara a Cara) – EMI'
• Ela disse-me assim (Os Imigrantes – Terceira Geração) – EMI
• Então vale a pena (Salário mínimo) – EMI
• O que será (Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands) – EMI
• Enrosco (Paixões Proibidas) – EMI

See also

In Spanish: Simone (cantante brasileña) para niños