Bïa Krieger, better known mononymously as Bïa, is a Brazilian-born singer and recording artist who lives in France and

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

.
She sings in French, Portuguese and Spanish. Her recording career began in 1996 and currently she has at least eight albums.

Early years

During the years of the military dictatorship in Brazil, her parents were forced into exile. They moved the family to Chile, then

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and finally

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. She was 12 when the family went back to their homeland after the Brazilian

Amnesty Law An amnesty law is any legislative, constitutional or executive arrangement that retroactively exempts a select group of people, usually military leaders and government leaders, from criminal liability for the crimes that they committed. More speci ...

. While attending school Krieger was listening to music; Brazilian, Latin-American, English pop, as well as singing and playing guitar to her friends. She began a university degree in Journalism at

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

but quit and relocated to Europe, where she spent a few years sailing around the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. In 1995, she decided to pursue music professionally.https://www.last.fm/music/B%C3%AFa/+wikihttps://www.putumayo.com/b%C3%AFakrieger

Professional career

In 1996, French author and producer

Pierre Barouh Pierre Barouh (born Élie Pierre Barouh; 19 February 1934 – 28 December 2016) was a French writer-composer-singer best known for his work on Claude Lelouch's film ''A Man and a Woman'' as an actor and the lyricist/singer for Francis Lai's music ...

offered Bïa an opportunity to record, after listening to her demo. This first album, ''La Mémoire du Vent''; translations in French of some of the songs of the Brazilian songwriter

Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, econom ...

, earned the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros. In 1998 she recorded the soundtrack for a

Claude Lelouch Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained critical ...

film, and went touring in Japan, Italy and Canada. She released her second album, ''Sources'', in 2000. Partly recorded in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, this album was a return to her country's sources of inspiration. She also paid tribute to the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, by covering

Golden Slumbers "Golden Slumbers" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the sixth song of the album's Abbey Road#Medley, climactic B-side medley. ...

. In 2003, Krieger released her third album, ''Carmin''. Most of the songs are hers, but she still paid homage to favourite songwriters;

, Gianmaria Testa and

Henri Salvador Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean singer, comedian and cabaret artist. Biography Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of an Indigen ...

. She also recorded an Inca mantra, ''Inti'', a Pre-Columbian hymn to the sun. This album was partly recorded in Paris, partly in Montreal, where she spends much of her time. Krieger sings in French as well as in her mother tongue Portuguese, and Spanish. She creates mixes between bossanova or

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

rhythms and French language, pop flavours sung in South American style, and some very Brazilian or afro-Brazilian songs. Her album Carmin has been produced by Robson Galdino, a

carioca Carioca ( or ) is a demonym used to refer to residents of the City of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil and their culture. Like other Brazilians, ''Cariocas'' speak Portuguese. The ''carioca'' accent and sociolect (also simply called "''carioca''", ...

guitar player living in Paris, and Erik West Millette, a bass, guitar and slides player from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Bïa played at the 2003

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival international de Jazz de Montréal is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 ar ...

and was a 2007

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

World Music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

nominee.

Discography

* 2015 : ''Navegar'' * 2014 : ''Chi.Coração'' * 2011 : ''Concert Intime'' * 2008 : ''Nocturno'' * 2005 : ''Coeur vagabond'' * 2003 : ''Carmin'' * 2000 : ''Sources'' * 1997 : ''La memoire du Vent''

Videos

* 2006 : ''Estrela Do Mar''

References

External links

Audiogram
(with audio excerpts)
Bïa Krieger official websiteBïa Krieger official website in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krieger, Bia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Brazilian women singers 20th-century Brazilian singers Brazilian emigrants to France Audiogram (label) artists 21st-century Canadian women singers Musicians from Montreal Canadian world music musicians Spanish-language singers of Canada French-language singers of Canada Brazilian emigrants to Canada