VAVÁ

Vavá left the group Karametade claiming that, in his solo career, he is going to make a "mix of samba, soul and pop". Well, there’s basically no real samba on his debut and homonym CD. Or soul – unless his definition of soul music is the sub-mediocre R&B imported from America. Pop, maybe; especially in Brazil, where the market takes sentimental crap for pop music. Relação, Desencontros, Me Liga, É Só Felicidade, are all dangerously close to the worst type of neo-country, even more than to the worst type of romantic pagode.

(Marco Antonio Barbosa)