Quick Facts
Biography
Fernanda Brandão Gonçalves da Silva (born 3 May 1983 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil) is a Brazilian singer, dancer and recording artist, based in Munich, Germany. She became famous under her stage name Laava, then with Latin pop trio, Hot Banditoz.
Biography
Early years
Fernanda Brandão was born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and grew up in Rio de Janeiro. By the age of four, she had danced at the Rio Carnival and sung to samba folklore hits. She came from an artistic family, with her mother having produced some successful Brazilian pop songs, and her aunt and uncle being well-known singers in Brazil, and she spent much of her childhood in recording studios. When she was nine, she moved to Hamburg, with her mother, whose partner was German, travelling between Germany and Brazil, ever since.
Commercial success
In Germany, she took lessons in jazz, modern dance, Hip hop, ballet and voice. Brandão, who speaks Portuguese, Spanish, German and English, left school early in 2001, so as to be able to concentrate solely on her music career. She also appeared as a dancer in many music videos and live shows for major international artistes including Enrique Iglesias, Kylie Minogue, Pink, Shaggy, Coolio, Gabriella Cilmi, Safri Duo and rock group Seed. She has further participated in various stage and television appearances of artists including Modern Talking, ATC, Sarah Connor and Rick Astley. As well as being a choreographer for various music videos, fashion shows and events, she is a licensed fitness trainer in aerobics, body pump and Tae Bo.
Laava launch
From 2002-2004, Fernanda Brandão gained popularity as a solo singer in America, Canada and Europe, under the alias Laava, with her dance-pop song Wherever You Are (I Feel Love), which was released through Edel Records in Germany and Robbins Entertainment in America. The track was written especially for her by Hamburg songwriters Pop Master, Sliteye and Newsky, who along with Dr. E., had created successful productions with The Underdog Project, Dune vs Trubblemaker, Rumble Rokkaz, Funky Divas, ScapeBabyz, Nana and Kenny Blake. Various techno and Eurodance versions of the song were released including one by Yugoslavian-German electronic dance music producer, DJ Pulsedriver, remixer for Vengaboys, Lasgo, Ian Van Dahl, Sinéad O'Connor and Kim Wilde, and one by Stuttgart's DJ Chopstick, who has produced and remixed for Madonna, Britney Spears, LL Cool J, Deep Dish and Sister Sledge. The video for the song was directed by Swedish director, Patric Ullaeus.
Music collaborations
From 2004-2010, Fernanda Brandão was a member of the Latin pop group, Hot Banditoz, known for its summer-Latino sound. The group also included Bolivian (La Paz) singer, Gabriela Gottschalk (former member of the Super Moonies), German singer and actor of Chilean-Turkish descent, Silva Gonzalez, and from 2008, Chilean (Valparaiso) singer and songwriter, José Valdes. Their debut single Veo, Veo, released on Polydor in 2004, became a number 3 hit in Germany, achieving gold status, and was one of five songs to stay in the German charts for more than eight weeks, during that year. This was followed by several more singles including Shake Your Balla which reached position 5 in the Media Control Charts, and two studio albums Mini Disco in 2004 and Bodyshaker in 2007, which both reached the top 50 in Germany, and a compilation album Best Of Holiday Club Hits, also in 2007, all for Universal Music. The group were successful in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
In 2010, the electropop song Gigolo, sung by Brandão in Portuguese, was released as a promotional video directed by Moritz Krebs and Matthias Lorenz-Meyer. The song was produced by Grammy-nominated German-Asian producer Taan Newjam, who has also created music for Britney Spears, Omarion, and Sugababes, and co-written by Brandão and Newjam.
Television appearances
In 2011, Fernanda Brandão was invited to be a member of the jury, in the 8th season of the popular German television talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar which aired on RTL, alongside German songwriter Dieter Bohlen and Swiss singer Patrick Nuo. She also appeared in the German edition of the French television game show, Fort Boyard.
In the summer of 2011, Fernanda Brandão was invited to appear on the latest season of the German music casting television series Popstars, as a celebrity juror, and on the Austrian casting tour Mission Österreich (2011), alongside German choreographer, Detlef Soost, for broadcast channel Puls 4.
German developments
In July 2011, Fernanda Brandão appeared as the cover star of German edition of men's magazine FHM, having been voted in a survey of 150,000 of its readers as "Sexiest Woman in the World 2011".
Discography
Solo singles
- 2002 Laava Wherever You Are (I Feel Love), Club Tools/Edel Records, Germany
- 2003 Laava Wherever You Are (I Feel Love), Robbins Entertainment, America
- 2010 Fernanda Brandao Vs. Taan Newjam Gigolo, Urbasian Music/Dragonman Entertainment, Germany
Group singles
- 2004 Hot Banditoz Veo, Veo, Polydor, Germany
- 2004 Hot Banditoz Chucu Chucu (El Tren), Polydor, Germany
- 2005 Hot Banditoz Shake Your Balla (1,2,3 Alarma), Polydor, Germany
- 2006 Hot Banditoz La Cucaracha Dance, Universal Music, Germany
- 2006 Hot Banditoz I Want It That Way, Polydor, Germany
- 2007 Hot Banditoz Que Si, Que No, Polydor, Germany
Group albums
- 2004 Hot Banditoz Mini Disco, Universal Music, Germany
- 2005 Hot Banditoz Mini Disco, Tancevalnij Raj, Russia
- 2007 Hot Banditoz Bodyshaker, Universal Music, Germany
- 2007 Hot Banditoz Best Of Holiday Club Hits, Universal Music, Germany