Emanuel

biography Emanuel is one of the most popular singers of the so-called pimba music, which emerged in Portugal in the 1990s. Emanuel is the author of the hit “Pimba Pimba”, which became a popular phenomenon and changed the Portuguese record market. He became known for other hits such as “Rapaziada Vamos Dançar”, “Happiness (When the Phone Rings)” and “Still Want to Be Happy”. He received several awards and honors, such as the title of “D. Emanuel I, King of Portuguese Popular Music” in the presence of the legitimate heir to the throne of Portugal. Emanuel was born in Sabrosa, Covas do Douro, on March 25, 1957, the first of four children. He left his homeland at the age of ten, in search of a better future. He began learning to play classical guitar in 1973, at a specialized school. Over the next six years, he focused on training in classical music and took on music as his only professional activity: he became a teacher for eight years and directed small orchestras, played in bars and released an album with just instrumentals. In 1988, Emanuel began working as a composer and producer for other Portuguese light music artists, such as Marco Paulo, for whom Emanuel produced the album “Joana”, which reached quadruple platinum. In 1992, Emanuel decided to become a performer and released his first solo album. The following year, Emanuel released his second solo album: “Rapaziada Vamos Dançar”. The album contained lively and danceable songs that made many people take to the streets to dance pimba. The term pimba came to be used to label a specific genre of popular music in Portugal. In 1995, Emanuel released his third solo album: “Pimba Pimba”. The album was an unprecedented phenomenon in Portuguese music. The song “Pimba Pimba” sold more than 500 thousand copies in the first six months alone. The receptivity to the new musical concept created by Emanuel was such that he was nicknamed “pimba music” by the media, being one of the few people to have his name in the Dictionary of the Portuguese Language. This success also spread to the rest of the Lusofonia world. In 1996, Emanuel released his fourth solo album: “Happiness (When the Telephone Toca)”. The album revealed his side as a romantic singer, with melodic and sentimental songs. In 1998, Emanuel received the title of “D. Emanuel I, King of Portuguese Popular Music” at the Castle of Ourém in the presence of D. Duarte Pio de Bragança - the legitimate heir to the throne of Portugal. Since then, Emanuel has continued to release albums, some of his latest works are: - Amo Amar-Te (2021) - Hoje Há Festa (2019) - A Moda Dos Beats Afro (2015) - Toma Toma Minha Linda (2015).