Laura de Carvalho Rizzotto ( lv, Laura di Karvaļu Rizoto; born 18 July 1994) is a Latvian-Brazilian singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist. She released her debut studio album ''Made in Rio'' in 2011 through Universal Music Brazil, which included the single "Friend in Me". In 2014, she independently released her second studio album ''Reason to Stay'', and independently released the extended play ''RUBY'' in 2017. Rizzotto represented

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song " Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broa ...

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, with the song " Funny Girl", but placed twelfth in the second semifinal and didn't qualify to the final.

Early life and education

Rizzotto was born on 18 July 1994 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 ...

, Brazil. She has an older brother named Lucas Rizzotto, who's a VR/AR creator, and a younger sister named Carolina Rizzotto, who's a content creator, videographer, photographer and producer. Her father is a Brazilian of Latvian descent, with his mother being born in

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

and raised in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, and her mother is Brazilian with Portuguese roots. Rizzotto and her family moved to the United States in 2005, and settled in

Edina, Minnesota Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota. Edina began as a small farming and mil ...

for a year. During that time, she learned how to speak English on the go, by going to school and being surrounded by American kids. In 2006 she moved back to Brazil with her family and spent the rest of her childhood in Ipanema, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Laura started studying music at only 8 years old, taking classical piano lessons until she was 17. She also studied classical ballet for 8 years in the Escola Estadual de Danças Maria Olenewa, a dance conservatory in Rio. She even competed as a ballet dancer, until she decided to dedicate herself to music full-time. At 14 years old, Laura started taking her first singing lessons. In 2012, Laura received a scholarship to attend the prestigious

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

in Boston. She moved to the United States then to pursue her musical studies and an international career. In 2013, Rizzotto moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to attend the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

, graduating with a BFA degree in musical arts. Afterwards, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and received a master's degree in music from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 2017. Rizzotto currently lives in Los Angeles, US.

Career

Rizzotto began her professional music career at 15 years old, when she started doing her first professional shows as a singer/songwriter in her hometown, Rio de Janeiro. Shortly after, she signed her first record deal with Universal Music Brazil. She went on to release her debut studio album ''Made in Rio'' in 2011, which featured 15 original tracks (12 in English and 3 Portuguese versions) written by Laura herself and some in partnership with her older brother, Lucas. The album was produced by Paul Ralphes and the Grammy Award-winning maestro

Eumir Deodato Eumir Deodato de Almeida (; born 22 June 1942) is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as pop, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, classical, ...

. In 2012, Rizzotto performed as the opening act for

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

during her ''

A Special Night with Demi Lovato A Special Night with Demi Lovato was the second headlining concert tour and first world tour by American singer Demi Lovato, in support of her third studio album '' Unbroken'' (2011). Background Launched in November 2011, the first leg consiste ...

'' performances in Brazil. Shortly after, the singer got a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston and moved to the United States to pursue an international career. In 2013, Laura moved to Los Angeles, California, to work on her sophomore album independently. She self-released her second studio album ''Reason to Stay''. in 2014. Less than year later, at only 20 years old, the artist graduated from her BFA in Musical Arts at California Institute of the Arts and moved to NYC to pursue a master's degree in Music and work on her third solo project. In 2015, Rizzotto began her studies at Columbia University, after being awarded a full scholarship for their Masters program in Music. In 2017, at 22 years old, she graduated with an MA in Music and Music Education from the Ivy League institution. In 2016 to 2017, she worked as the

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and ...

coach for

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

after being hired by

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 ...

. In April 2017, Laura was the moderator of the Music and Culture panel at the Brazil Conference, in Harvard University. The panel featured two Brazilian music icons: Gilberto Gil, Brazil's former minister of culture, and Yamandu Costa, a virtuoso on the acoustic guitar. In 2018, Rizzotto self-released ''RUBY'', her third solo project and first EP. Laura also composed the soundtrack for "Where Thoughts Go", a multi-award-winning VR experience that was featured in many festivals around the world, including the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. She also represented Latvia in the Riga Jazz Festival and was invited to perform at the United Nations. In January 2018, Laura participated and won first place in the '' Supernova 2018'' contest, the National Latvian Selection for the

. As the selection winner, Laura represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, the biggest music festival in the world, where she performed her original song " Funny Girl" for an audience of nearly 100 million viewers. After Eurovision, Laura moved to Los Angeles to work on her 3rd studio album and continue pursuing her career as a songwriter and artist. In 2019, Laura made history in her partnership with an Augmented Reality capture studio called METASTAGE. International singer/songwriter Laura Rizzotto is the first musician ever to have a 3D virtual performance in partnership with Metastage, a holocapture stage based in Los Angeles, US. Metastage's mission is to make true-to-life immersive content by capturing live performances, and then presenting them in augmented or virtual reality. Users can download the Metastage mobile app now to see Laura's virtual experience with Metastage (Download the app in iOS or Android). Laura Rizzotto is released her single "One More Night" in augmented reality, as well as a virtual performance of her Eurovision Song, "Funny Girl". The project was featured on Forbes magazine. In 2020, Laura became an official voting member of the

Recording Academy The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

, being able to vote for the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, as well as recommend new talents for the academy, submit music for their awards and have access to their private events.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rizzotto, Laura 1994 births Living people Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian people of Latvian descent Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian women pop singers Brazilian women singer-songwriters Brazilian singer-songwriters Latvian people of Brazilian descent Latvian people of Portuguese descent Latvian people of Italian descent Latvian women singers Latvian pop singers Latvian songwriters Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Latvia Universal Music Group artists Brazilian expatriates in the United States People from Edina, Minnesota Berklee College of Music alumni California Institute of the Arts alumni Columbia University alumni 21st-century Brazilian women singers 21st-century Brazilian singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2018