Zélia Duncan (, born 28 October 1964), born Zélia Cristina Gonçalves Moreira, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter.

Biography

Duncan was born in

Niterói Niterói () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de ...

, in the state of

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 ...

. She moved with her family to

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, where she lived for 16 years. She started her professional career in 1981 after she won a contest organized by the ''Fundação Nacional de Artes'' (National Foundation of Arts). When she was 22 years old, she returned to Rio. Duncan, Zélia (1994)
"03-Biografia"
UOL. Retrieved 20 December 2010. Using the name "Zélia Cristina", she first performed as a soloist in Botanic in

."Zélia Duncan"
(2010). CliqueMusic. UOL. Retrieved 20 December 2010. In 1990 she launched the LP "Outra Luz" ("Another Light"), and she began performing in cities like

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 ...

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

, and

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and participating in tv shows. In late 1991, she accepted an offer to go play in the

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. She stayed there for 5 months, returning to Brazil in May 1992. It was in this year that she recorded a track in the songbook of Dorival Caymmi, and she also adopted the name Duncan, the maiden name of her mother. In 1994, she launched her first CD, ''Zélia Duncan'', and two years later she recorded ''Intimidade'' (Intimacy), which made her spend a season in Europe and Japan. In 2006, Duncan was invited to join the tour of the

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band Os Mutantes, replacing Rita Lee as the vocalist. The tour was a success and Duncan became a full member of the band. In 2007, however, she decided to leave the band to continue her solo career. In 2008, she released a CD and DVD of the shows she performed with

Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira (born December 25, 1949), better known as Simone, is a Brazilian singer of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) who has recorded more than 30 albums. Biography Simone was born on December 25, 1949, in Salvador, Bah ...

in 2006 and 2007. The title of the CD and DVD was ''Amigo é Casa'' (Friend is the House). Simone and Zélia performed shows in three Portuguese cities—

Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), officially Figueira da Foz City (), often called simply Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, and

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. In

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, her album '' Tudo É Um'' was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Best MPB Album. Zélia's first performance with public presence during the pandemic of COVID-19, took place on November 28, 2020, at Sala São Paulo, in the São Paulo capital, together with Mart'nália. The performance was part of the series Historical Encounters, with the Jazz Sinfônica Orchestra and had all the care of distancing and other sanitary protocols.

Discography

*1990 – ''Outra Luz'' *1994 – ''Zélia Duncan'' *1996 – ''Intimidade'' *1998 – ''Acesso'' *2001 – ''Sortimento'' *2002 – ''Sortimento Vivo'' *2003 – ''Avassaladora'' *2004 – ''Eu me Transformo em Outras'' *2005 – ''Pré-Pós-Tudo-Bossa-Band *2006 – ''Os Mutantes – Live in Barbican Theatre'' (with Os Mutantes) *2008 – ''Amigo é casa'' (live with Simone) *2009 – ''Pelo Sabor do Gesto'' *2012 – ''Tudo Esclarecido''

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Zelia 1964 births Living people Brazilian lesbian musicians Brazilian contraltos Música Popular Brasileira singers 21st-century Brazilian women singers Brazilian women composers 20th-century Brazilian women singers 20th-century Brazilian singers Brazilian people of Scottish descent People from Niterói Brazilian LGBTQ singer-songwriters Brazilian LGBTQ composers 20th-century Brazilian LGBTQ people 21st-century Brazilian LGBTQ people Brazilian women singer-songwriters Lesbian singers Lesbian songwriters Lesbian composers Women in Latin music LGBTQ people in Latin music Brazilian people of Irish descent Os Mutantes members