If I was a teenage pop-fan growing up in Brazil now I’d definitely want posters of Catarina Dee Jah & Gaby Amarantos on my wall. They might be polar opposites – glamorous Gaby and cool-as-ice Catarina – yet they both ooze ‘pop-idol’ glamour & attitude.
Gaby is the ‘Beyonce do Pará’ – the most famous of all the tecnobrega singers from Pará in the north of Brazil (see my earlier post on tecnobrega). She’s the one all the girls want to be and all the guys want to be with. Catarina is Recife’s rude gal with attitude – she’s like the love child of Debbie Harry & Chico Science (former singer with Nação Zumbi) who makes killer reggae-ska-rude-gal pop.
The video below sees them buddying up to perform a version of Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ – renamed for a Brazilian audience as “Hoje eu tô solteira” (Today, I’m single). Gaby’s tecnobrega version of this tune saw her explode onto the scene last year and below the ladies (and their respective bands) join force for a treatment where tecnobrega meets guittarada with added 80s rock guitars and computer games synths. Below I’ve also included the version of ‘Kay Fora’ they did together – the original version from Catarina is featured on ‘Oi!’ available from the store.
Expect my directorial debut featuring Catarina soon – I filmed her performing a gig in a mental hospital in Recife just before Christmas – no jokes…
