Kaoma was a French-Brazilian band formed in 1988 by

Loalwa Braz Loalwa Braz Vieira (3 June 1953 – 19 January 2017) was a Brazilian vocalist and musician, best known for providing the lead vocals for the French-Brazilian recording act Kaoma for their 1989 cover of the hit "" (by Ulysses Hermosa, lead singer ...

(lead vocals), Chyco Dru (bass), Jacky Arconte (guitar), Jean-Claude Bonaventure (keyboard), Michel Abihssira (drums and percussion) and Fania (backing vocals). Dru is from

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

, Arconte from

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

, and Braz from Brazil.

Career

In 1989, they had a major chart-topping international hit with their dance music single " Lambada", a direct cover of the 1986 dance hit " Chorando Se Foi" by Brazilian singer-songwriter Márcia Ferreira, which itself was a legally authorized Portuguese-translated rendition of the original slow

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

Llorando se fue "Llorando se fue" ( en, e/Sheleft in tears) is a Bolivian folk song recorded by Los Kjarkas in 1981 on the album ''Canto a la mujer de mi pueblo'' and released as a B-side of the "Wa ya yay" single in 1982. The song has been very popular in Latin ...

" (1981) by

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

n group

Los Kjarkas Los Kjarkas is a Bolivian band from the Capinota province in the department of Cochabamba, and one of the most popular Andean folk music bands in the country's history. Among the styles they play are Saya, tuntuna, huayno, and carnavales. The ...

. Given Kaoma's clear act of plagiarism and release of their single without Los Kjarkas' permission, Los Kjarkas successfully sued. "

Dançando Lambada "Dançando Lambada" is a song by French-Brazilian group Kaoma with the Brazilian vocalist Loalwa Braz. It was the second single from Kaoma's debut album ''Worldbeat'' and followed the smash worldwide hit "Lambada Lambada () is a dance from Sta ...

" and " Mélodie d'amour" were the next two singles and were also hits, although they failed to earn the same success as "Lambada", which itself peaked at number 46 in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Lambada" fared better in Europe, reaching number 4 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Also in 1989, Kaoma released their first album ''

Worldbeat Worldbeat is a music genre that blends pop music or rock music with world music or traditional music. Worldbeat is similar to other cross-pollination labels of contemporary and roots genres, and which suggest a rhythmic, harmonic or textural con ...

'' which achieved worldwide success, becoming - along with Beto Barbosa - one of the legends of Brazilian lambada. At the 1990 Lo Nuestro Awards, Kaoma won two awards for Pop Group of the Year and New Pop Artist of the Year. In 1991, Kaoma released the album ''Tribal-Pursuit'' which provided the singles "

Danca tago-mago "Danca tago-mago" is a 1991 song recorded by French-Brazilian band Kaoma. Written by Loalwa Braz with amusic by Michel Abihssir, it was released in the summer of 1991 as the first single from their second album ''Tribal-Pursuit'', on which it app ...

" and "Moço do dende". On January 19, 2017, Braz was found dead in her car. Police arrested three suspects for the murder; several motives were suspected, such as a botched robbery or a revenge killing.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

Kaoma Lambada webpage
{{Authority control Zouk musicians French dance music groups Brazilian dance music groups Worldbeat groups Epic Records artists