"Vossa Excelência" is the nineteenth single by

Titãs Titãs () are a Brazilian rock band from São Paulo. Though they basically play pop/alternative rock, their music has touched a number of other styles throughout their 30-year career, such as new wave, punk rock, grunge, MPB and electronic mu ...

, released in 2005. The song basically criticizes the hypocrisy and lack of care from politicians, referring to the

Mensalão scandal The Mensalão scandal ( pt, Escândalo do Mensalão, ) was a major parliamentary vote-buying scandal by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration that threatened to bring down his government in 2005. ''Mensalão'' is a neologism, a variant of ...

. It was performed for the first time on 5 August 2005 during a show at

Circo Voador Circo Voador (Portuguese for Flying Circus) is a concert venue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Located adjacent to the Carioca Aqueduct in the Lapa neighborhood, it is a large tent-like structure covering the stage and spectator areas, but with open ...

, in Rio de Janeiro, around ten days after the song's completion. It received a live video which was nominated for the 2006

MTV Video Music Brazil The MTV Video Music Brazil awards (originally Video Music Awards Brazil), more commonly known as VMB, were MTV Brasil's annual award ceremony, established in 1995. MTV viewers picked the winners for most categories since 2001. Unlike in the MTV V ...

award. The band said that at the time of the single's release, they were informed by the label that radio stations of

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

(capital of Brazil) were not airing the song, although some stations from the Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo axis weren't giving them any airplay either. At the time, guitarist and coauthor of the track,

Tony Bellotto Antonio Carlos Liberalli Bellotto (; born June 30, 1960) is a Brazilian musician and writer, best known as the lead guitarist of Brazilian rock band Titãs. He has also written and released several books. Childhood Bellotto spent his childhood ...

, said he believed many of Brasília stations were "committed" with politicians, and that stations from the Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo axis could have been afraid of offending any politician.

Composition and lyrics

Commenting about the track, Bellotto said: On the other hand, he stated the song does not generalize corruption in Brasília. About its composition, he said the initiative came from vocalist and guitarist

Paulo Miklos Paulo Roberto de Souza Miklos (known as Paulo Miklos , born on January 21, 1959) is a Brazilian multi-instrumentalist, musician and actor. He is best known for his tenure with the band Titãs, in which he was a vocalist, guitarist and occasional ...

(another coauthor of the track), who was already scratching some songs for the group's then-upcoming album '' MTV ao Vivo'', in which the single would be featured. The song was finished in three days and, for Bellotto, "it was born quite spontaneous, in the heat of the moment. ..The lyrics ended up with that comic and sharp vein of Miklos .. And it's got that indignant chorus which represents - I think - the words everyone would like to use at that time. I think it expresses the population's will to swear, to put out all the feeling of indignation". When asked about his opinion on the fact that few artists have expressed their views about the scandals of that time, Bellotto said that "most of the rtisticclass has always supported hen president of Brazil Lula. I don't know if they felt committed to him, or if they just sat in the fence, just like Lula did". On the other hand, he said he was still sympathetic about the former president, although he was disappointed with what he saw as a "shy" reaction to the scandal. "I always liked him very much and I think all this dirt does not destroy the brilliant guy that he was, that he is. But his attitude was below expectations. He had to be clearer, more emphatic, and, however, before all that mess, he sat in the fence." Miklos, however, said he wanted the song to "supplant the opportunistic criticism and serve as a channel to denounce the 'chronic corruption' that infests the country since a long time and 'turns everyone into accomplices'."

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the booklet of ''MTV ao Vivo'', the album in which the single was featured: *

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Branco Mello Branco Mello (; born Claudio Corrêa de Mello Júnior on March 16, 1962) is a Brazilian musician and actor, best known as the vocalist and bassist of Brazilian rock band Titãs. He has also played small but significant roles for the movies. Ch ...

backing vocal A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

s *

Sérgio Britto Sérgio Britto (, born Sérgio de Britto Álvares Affonso(September 18, 1959) is a Brazilian musician, best known as a member of the rock band Titãs, for which he contributes with lead vocals, keyboards and, more recently, the bass guitar. He ha ...

- backing vocals *

- guitar *

Charles Gavin Charles de Souza Gavin (born July 9, 1960) is a Brazilian drummer and music producer, perhaps best known for his 25-year tenure with rock band Titãs. Before Titãs, he had brief stints at Ira! and RPM. Early life and first works At age 8, his ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

;Session musicians * Emerson Villani - guitar * Lee Marcucci -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vossa Excelencia 2005 singles Titãs songs Political songs Protest songs 2005 songs Songs written by Paulo Miklos Songs written by Tony Bellotto Sony BMG singles