Kaoma was a French-Brazilian band formed in 1988 by
Loalwa Braz (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 ...
, Arconte from
Guadeloupe, and Braz from Brazil.
Career
In 1989, they had a major chart-topping international hit with their dance music single "
Lambada
Lambada () is a dance from State of Pará, Brazil. The dance became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in the Philippines, Latin America and Caribbean countries. It has adopted aspects of dances such as forró, salsa, merengue, ...
", a direct cover of the 1986 dance hit "
Chorando Se Foi" by Brazilian singer-songwriter Márcia Ferreira, which itself was a legally authorized
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
-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
Bolivian 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. Th ...
. Given Kaoma's clear act of plagiarism and release of their single without Los Kjarkas' permission, Los Kjarkas successfully sued. "
Dançando Lambada" 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 c ...
'' 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" 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