''O Canto da Cidade'' ( Portuguese for ''"The

Chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

of the Town"'') is the second studio album by

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian axé/ MPB singer Daniela Mercury, released in 1992 in Brazil and on March 23, 1993 in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

through

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

Background

Later in 1992, Daniela Mercury went to a project called "Som do Meio-Dia" (Midday Sound), when she played at the Art Museum of São Paulo ( MASP). The show brought together over thirty thousand spectators, which eventually leave the traffic jam in the vicinity of the

Paulista Avenue Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, ''Paulista'' being the demonym for those born in the state of São Paulo) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. It stretches and runs northwest to southeast. Its northwest p ...

. After a forty-minute concert, Daniela was removed from the stage by representatives of the

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

tourist office, that concerned with the museum structure, obtained an order from the military police to remove it from the local. Soon after the show, Daniela was hired by

label and through this, released her second solo album, ''O Canto da Cidade''. The album sold over 2.5 million copies in

alone (which made Mercury the first artist to receive a double-diamond certification in her country) and was considered by journalist André Domingues one of the best MPB albums ever. ''O Canto da Cidade'' is Mercury's album with most number-one songs (four in total; "

O Canto da Cidade ''O Canto da Cidade'' (Portuguese for ''"The Chant of the Town"'') is the second studio album by Brazilian axé/ MPB singer Daniela Mercury, released in 1992 in Brazil and on March 23, 1993 in North America and Europe through Sony Music. Bac ...

", " O Mais Belo dos Belos", " Batuque" and " Você Não Entende Nada/Cotidiano"). The songs " Só Pra Te Mostrar", a duet with

Herbert Vianna Herbert Lemos de Sousa Vianna (born May 4, 1961) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer mainly known for his work with rock band Os Paralamas do Sucesso. Biography Herbert was born in João Pessoa, Paraíba. His fat ...

, and " Bandidos da América" made a moderate success in the Brazilian radio stations, reaching number nine and twenty-one in the charts, respectively. ''O Canto da Cidade'' is recognized as the album responsible for taking Axé Music to mainstream audiences in Brazil. The album also yielded Mercury, a year-end special on

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Gr ...

channel, which were mixed with live performances in the square of Apotheosis in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, and video clips with Caetano Veloso,

and Tom Jobim. Years later, the special, previously unreleased in video was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the release of the album. In July 1993, Mercury was one of Brazil's attractions at the prestigious

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Some consider ''O Canto da Cidade'' was the forerunner of the

samba-reggae Samba-reggae is a music genre from Bahia, Brazil. Samba reggae, as its name suggests, was originally derived as a blend of Brazilian samba with Jamaican reggae as typified by Bob Marley. History and background Samba-reggae arose in the context of ...

movement, then called Axé Music, gaining strength in all regions of the country and allowing other genre artists, were featured in the Brazilian music scene. It is believed that after this album, the Carnival of Bahia gained a massive media coverage. Mercury experienced during this period, a peak of popularity rarely seen in the history of Brazilian music industry, being dubbed "the hurricane of Bahia" and "Queen of the Axé".

Track listing

Notes

*"Você Não Entende Nada" contains "Cotidiano" by Chico Buarque as incidental song.

Awards

*Prêmio Sharp – Special award for best song ("O Canto da Cidade") *Prêmio Sharp – Award for best female singer (regional)

Sales and certifications

Release history

References

External links

About the album in Mercury's official website
*

A review of the album A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canto Da Cidade 1992 albums Daniela Mercury albums Albums produced by Liminha