However, the Kaoma group did not credit the original song of Los Kjarkas, turning their version into plagiarism and ending with lawsuits that would be won by the original authors of the song, the Bolivian group and their Portuguese-language co-authors. Overall, "Lambada" sold 5 million copies worldwide in 1989 alone according to the New York Times. The song in Portuguese was a mix cover of the 1986 hit "Chorando Se Foi" by Márcia Ferreira (with lyrics translated to Portuguese) and the Cuarteto Continental hit "Llorando Se Fue" (the first upbeat version of the song introducing the accordion), released in 1984 through the Peruvian record label INFOPESA and produced by Alberto Maraví both songs were adapted from the 1981 Bolivian song " Llorando se fue" by Los Kjarkas.Īt the time of release, "Lambada" was regarded as the most successful European single in the history of CBS Records, with sales of 1.8 million copies in France and more than 4 million across Europe. The video, filmed on Cocos beach in the city of Trancoso, in the state of Bahia, Brazil featured the Brazilian child duo Chico & Roberta. It featured guest vocals by Brazilian vocalist Loalwa Braz, and was released as the first single from Kaoma's debut album Worldbeat. But, after a few minutes, the engine of this began to fail and they decided to burn it, with the artist inside it ”as published by El Mundo at the time.Īfter this tragic outcome, the singer’s fans paid her countless tributes." Lambada", also known as " Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)" or " Llorando Se Fue (Lambada)" (both meaning 'crying, he/she went away' in Portuguese and Spanish, respectively), is a song by French-Brazilian pop group Kaoma. So, they decided to put it in the trunk of a car. “To make her shut up, they hit her with a wooden stick and threatened her with a knife. To intimidate the artist, her malefactors were cruel to her and finally murdered her: However, the singer made the drastic decision to stay away from the stage for a while because she had been receiving death threats.Īccording to Efe, on January 19 of that year, three men entered the Brazilian property (in Rio de Janeiro) in order to steal 3,500 euros. The Kaoma vocalist re-recorded some of the group’s hits after recovering from cancer in early 2017. Loalwa Braz’s fame and career success suddenly fizzled out. Kaoma: the tragic end of Loalwa Braz vocalist of the group
On the other hand, Kaoma’s vocalist Loalwa Braz was also able to have a lot of notoriety in France and composed a couple of songs for French movies and was decorated as an important member of the French Academy of Arts.
And that was not all, because the Bolivian group toured many carrying this hit with which they earned a large amount of money (the exact figure is still unknown). However, due to all the problems that arose from the Kaoma issue, everyone benefited, as the Kjarkas and Marcia Ferreira managed to achieve fame. From this, a complaint of plagiarism changed the course of history.īut what happened? Jean-Claude Bonaventure, Kaoma’s producer and keyboardist, had based “Lambada” on another song: “Chorando se foi”, by Brazilian Marcia Ferreira, who translated the original version of “Llorando se fue” into Portuguese. Although no less important is the great physical attractiveness and sympathy that the members of the group possessed: Among them, the Martinican Chyco Dru, the Guadeloupean Jacky Arconte, the French Jean-Claude Bonaventure and the Brazilian (and better known face of Kaoma) Loalwa Braz, who was the interpreter of the song.Īt that time, the overwhelming fame that this hit achieved attracted attention because many critics did not find anything new in it.
Many wonder why this song was so contagious? and it is presumed that it was from the choreography that consisted of a sensual movement of the pelvis, which was not very easy to perform. YOU CAN SEE: Who is Kerem Bürsin, the Turkish heartthrob linked to Stephanie Cayo by international media Kaoma: the group that caused a sensation for “Lambada”Įight artists from Brazil and France joined Kaoma and jumped to the fore with “Lambada”, a song that achieved unprecedented success in 1989. In this note we will tell you the story of this boom with which his group reached stardom. However, shortly after becoming a worldwide phenomenon, this song was condemned for plagiarism and its singer had a tragic end: she was murdered. This song, which became one of the summer themes of that time, was not only a hit because of its rhythm, but also because of the choreography, and the multiple cultures that could be seen in the video clip.
More than 30 years ago “Lambada” of the Kaoma group caused a furor among all the young people who chanted, at the top of their lungs, the sticky lyrics, despite not mastering Portuguese: ‘Chorando se foi quem um dia só me fez chorar’.