Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças (born 17 April 1980), known professionally by the

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

Céu (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter whose first American album was released on the Six Degrees Records label in April 2007.

Early life and education

Céu was born in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil, to a musical family. Her father was a composer, arranger, and

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

. It was from her father that she learned to appreciate Brazil's classical music composers, particularly

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has globally bec ...

, Ernesto Nazaré, and Orlando Silva. At fifteen, she decided to become a musician and by her late teens, she studied

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

, as well as the '' violão'' (a nylon-stringed Brazilian guitar). Her songs reveal many influences, which include

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

, s''alsa'',

choro ''Choro'' (, "cry" or "lament"), also popularly called ''chorinho'' ("little cry" or "little lament"), is an instrumental Brazilian popular music genre which originated in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music often has a fa ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

afrobeat Afrobeat (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...

, and electrojazz music. She cites as influences the music of African-Americans

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American musician. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the popular music, m ...

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

, and Jorge Ben. Céu was performing onstage and exploring the repertoire of turn-of-the-century carnival music by her late teens. Soon after that, she relocated temporarily to New York City, where met with fellow Brazilian musician Antônio Pinto, whom she later learned was a distant cousin. Their relationship 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 Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

'' (1999) and '' City of God'' (2002).

Career

Originally issued in 2005 on the São Paulo-based Urban Jungle, her self-titled debut album Céu was picked up by Six Degrees/

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

Hear Music Hear Music was a record label that was founded in 2007 in a partnership between Concord Music Group and Starbucks. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999. Concep ...

in the US and UK,

JVC JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as , the company was best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for developin ...

in Japan and

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is a record label that specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group, which is itself owned by Universal M ...

in France and in the Netherlands. For this album, Céu received a

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

nomination for "

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...

" in 2006 and a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination for Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2008. Céu performed at the opening ceremony of the 2007

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

. In 2008, Céu formed the São Paulo collective ''Sonantes'' with Brazilian musicians and producers Rica Amabis, Gui Amabis, Pupillo, and Dengue. The song "Malemolência" was featured in the soccer game by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

, ''

FIFA 08 ''FIFA 08'' (titled ''FIFA Soccer 08'' in North America) is a Association football, football Simulation video game, simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on all po ...

''. In 2009, her critically acclaimed second album '' Vagarosa'' reached No. 2 on the US Billboard's World Music charts. The album was nominated for a 2010 Latin Grammy Award for Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album. In 2010, Céu was invited by

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

to record a version of "Tempo de Amor" for '' The Imagine Project'' album. Céu also performed at the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colora ...

in 2010. 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 ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

's most recent charitable album '' Red Hot + Rio 2''. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 ''

Red Hot + Rio Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

''. In 2012, Céu received her third

nomination for "Best Contemporary Brazilian Pop Album" for her third album '' Caravana Sereia Bloom''. 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 Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

' legendary album ''

Catch a Fire ''Catch a Fire'' is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers (aka Bob Marley and the Wailers), released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had sta ...

''. In 2014, she released her first live DVD/CD entitled ''Céu – Ao Vivo'' in Brazil. The concert was filmed in August 2014 in

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. She received critical acclaim from such publications as

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

and

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

. She also won, in the same year, her first

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 SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...

has promoted her album in its coffeehouses through its

Debut CD series. She was the first international artist chosen by Starbucks for promotion.

Personal life

''Céu'' (''céu'') means "sky" and "heaven" in Portuguese. She is the second cousin of Maria Casadevall.

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) * ''Novela'' (2024)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official Web Site

"Céu's Brazilian Melting Pot"

"Singer Ceu brings sexy back to Brazilian music"

"CéU: From Brazil with Love"

Urban Jungle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceu 1980 births Living people Brazilian bossa nova singers Brazilian jazz keyboardists Música Popular Brasileira singers Singers from São Paulo Latin Grammy Award winners 21st-century Brazilian singer-songwriters 21st-century Brazilian women singers Brazilian soul singers Six Degrees Records artists Women in Latin music Portuguese-language singers of Brazil