Holder Of The Flame
As eerily similar as Maria Rita's voice is to her late mother's, Elis Regina, Rita has also managed to find her own style, singing pop-flavored play lists with a jazzy feel, backed simply by piano, acoustic bass and drums. On her self-titled debut album, she connected with audiences by making hits out of the Rita Lee-penned "Pagu" and the blues-tinged "Nao Vale A Pena" (It's Not Worth It), and earned two 2004 Latin Grammy Awards for Best New Vocalist and Best Brazilian Album.
On Segundo, her sophomore album, she covers O Rappa's anti-conformist "Minha Alma" (My Soul), giving an acoustic feel to what was originally an electric, hip-hop-inflected tune. The amusing, up-tempo "Feliz" (Happy) allows the singer and her band to take themselves less seriously, while on "Conta Outra" (Tell Me Another Story), Rita seamlessly inserts funk elements into a straight samba song.
This is her first proper U.S. tour-previous appearances were delayed when she became a first-time mom-and fans have been eagerly awaiting Rita's live performance since sampling her flavorful style on her live DVD.