Sandy & Junior

Sandy & Junior are today most acclaimed pop singer duo in Brazil. Sandy and Junior already have over 14 CDs in the market, won many platinum, gold and even Diamond records for their sales throughout South America. Biography... Since 1989, when this brother and sister pairing - then just five and six years old - debuted in public on TV show 'Som Brasil', their track record at home has been remarkable: 14 albums, taking in live and remix projects and more than 14 million sales, three DVDs and three long-form videos; high-profile collaborations with international artists such as Andrea Bocelli and Enrique Iglesias; ambitious live shows smashing box office records, including appearances at Rock In Rio (2001) - a performance that was voted the best of the event by fans & critics alike - plus an outing the same year in front of 1.2 million(!) at João Pessoa; key roles in movies and soaps plus their own weekly series on prime-time TV;a constant flow of nominations and awards, with Multishow Music, Kids Choice Nickelodeon and MTV Brazil showing strongly on the list. In 2001 Sandy also played Cristal, in their first soap opera called by Estrela-Guia on TV Globo, released in some countries too. Quite simply, Sandy & Junior - still only 20 and 19 years of age, respectively - have grown into a genuine pop phenomenon, winning the support of both music lovers & media personnel; and now, the pair will be taking on a brand new task - bringing the rest of the world to the party with 'Sandy & Junior', on which for the first time they record in English & Spanish (and also in French)… "Actually, it wasn't all that difficult for me to record in English," says Sandy, "because I'm used to the language now. As a family, we like to take our vacations in other parts of the world, and wherever we go we tend to speak in English… "Over the years, the USA has been a regular holiday haunt for us," she continues, "But we've also been to France, Italy, Spain and Lugano in Switzerland, and it was English that we got by on. When we're away, Junior & I are very much the spokespeople - our family expect us to ask for everything… in English!" It was always in the stars that both Sandy & Junior would make their mark through music; 'Maria Chiquinha', the song they performed on 'Som Brasil', was originally recorded by their maternal grandparents, in addition to which their father, Durval, and uncle, José, go to make up Brazil's most historically important 'sertanejo' (country music) duo, Chitãozinho and Xororó. For Durval and wife Noely, looking after the best interests of their children means providing as much emotional support as possible, with both father and mother - along with cousin "KK" - involved in management and production, ensuring that everything this young duo undertakes is both visually arresting and carefully conceived; Durval was actually the producer of the first 10 albums, whilst Noely - the manager from day one - also acted for a long while as director of the shows, weaving back-up dancers, session musicians, etc. into the sort of spectacle that Sandy & Junior live appearance has come to represent. With the appearance on 'Som Brasil' having run so smoothly, it wasn't long before Sandy & Junior were side by side in the recording studio - the result being their 1991 debut, 'O Aniversário do Tatu', an album that went on to sell in excess of 300,000 copies, giving the pair their first gold award. Sandy & Junior's rise to the top was effectively underway… The follow-up outing, 'Sábado À Noite' (1992), quickly surpassed the sales of its predecessor, allowing the fast-rising duo to take to the stage urged on by crowds of 60,000 plus! No great surprise, therefore, that third album, 'Tô Ligado Em Você' (1993), was destined to take things to a higher level still, with the title track - a Portuguese version of 'You're The One That I Want' from musical 'Grease' - pushing sales to the 450,000 mark and above. It was now the middle of the 1990s, and Sandy & Junior were drawing all of the close attention that comes with 'teen idol' territory; rather than sitting back on their collective laurels, however, they continued to work hard in the studio, releasing fourth album, 'Pra Dançar Com Você', in 1994 - a half million-seller featuring 'Nascemos Para Cantar', previously a hit for Chitãozinho and Xororó, plus a Portuguese cover of the Jackson Five's 'I'll Be There'; and there was even greater success in store, with 'Você É D+' - the 1995 follow-up - selling 550,000 copies and generating a series of high-profile hits, among them 'O Universo Precisa De Vocês' - the theme song for the 'Power Rangers' TV cartoon. By 1996 and the arrival of sixth album, 'Dig Dig Joy', Sandy & Junior were selling out huge venues - not just for consecutive nights but for consecutive weeks! 'DDJ', which saw the pair tackling a country ballad in 'Etc E Tal', shipped a massive 200,000 copies to the stores, a feat more than matched by its successor, 1997's 'Sonho Azul' - a varied release taking in the gloriously romantic (the all-conquering 'Inesquecível'), the Nashville-influenced ('Little Cowboy') and the immediately familiar (a medley of disco hits by the Bee Gees, sung in Portuguese). Nine busy years down the line, with a regular run of (best-selling) studio albums to their name, it was decided that 1998 was the right time for S & J to break with that formula… at least for the moment. The result? 'Era Uma Vez Sandy & Junior - Ao Vivo' - the duo's first ever live release. Boasting tracks such as 'Inesquecivel', 'Era Uma Vez' and 'Em Cada Sonho', the Portuguese version of 'Titanic' movie signature 'My Heart Will Go On' (a song the pair were permitted to record exclusively for Brazil), this onstage outing notched up an incredible 700,000 sales within two days of hitting the racks, and is now up to 1,700,000 (and counting!). The accompanying video, meanwhile, carved out its own slice of music biz history, quickly achieving sales of 100,000 - five times greater than the closest competition! For some artists, an achievement of this kind would be a career peak to look back on fondly in years to come; for Sandy & multi-instrumentalist Junior, however, it was just the start of an even more successful period, with 'Best Of' album 'Nascemos Para Cantar' (1998) paving the way for 'As Quatro Estações' - a studio affair that saw Sandy turning her hand to lyric-writing and Junior singing solo, both for the first time. With artistic maturity pushed very much to the fore, 'As Quatro Estacoes' (1999) went on to become the duo's strongest seller thus far, with well in excess of 2,500,000 copies having crossed the counter to date, supported by a must-see production that made the Olympia Stadium in Sao Paulo - where the show was officially unveiled in July 2000 - very much the place to be. Indeed, all 30,000 tickets had already been snapped up prior to the first night of this three-week run of performances… With live release 'Quatro Estações - Ao Vivo' (2000 - a 2,700,000- seller) commemorating this special event, and 'Todas As Estações' (issued later the same year) showing that the pair could handle the 'Remix Album' concept with invention and ease, it was 2001's 'Sandy & Junior' that saw them stepping back into the studio to pick up where 'As Quatro Estações' had left off… Once again, awareness of the record was strong from the off, and with 'O Amor Faz' and 'Quando Você Passa', the most recent single, quickly joining an ever-expanding list of hits, it wasn't long before sales were well into seven figures - indeed, it took a mere three days for the first 1,000,000 copies to leave the stores! And then there was Laura Pausini's 2001 show at the Credicard Hall in Sao Paolo, an event that saw S & J guesting with this hugely successful Italian singer on 'Inesquecível', a song originally recorded by the latter in her native tongue… all in all, a magnificent platform from which to launch the international album the duo have been focusing on for the past few months… "It's been such an exciting time," says Junior, "Working with people we never imagined we'd end up meeting, like Dianne Warren..." "Yes, I'm a very big fan of hers," adds Sandy, "so it was kind of an emotional moment when we finally got to talk; she's so cool, and really funny with it…" The tracks for this new release are indeed home to a wealth of writing and production expertise, with respected names such as Jam & Delgado (Aqua, Ace Of Base), Bradley Spalter (O Town, Babyface), Steve Robson (Honeyz, Atomic Kitten), Shep Solomon (S Club 7), Sturkin & Rogers (Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera) and Pelle Nylen & Andreas Carlsson (Backstreet Boys, Westlife) pooling their considerable talents to create a record that - with versions now prepared in English, Spanish & Portuguese - looks set to place Sandy & Junior squarely on the world stage; even Michael Bolton and the afore-mentioned Dianne Warren, hugely experienced songwriters with a fast-track to the charts, were keen to get in on the action, the pair pulling together to great effect on the Simon Franglen-produced 'Whenever You Close Your Eyes' - a ballad spotlighting Sandy on lead vocals… "People often ask us what our favourite new numbers are," concludes Junior, "and it's a really hard question to respond to because we honestly like them all. If you really pushed me for an answer, though, I guess I'd have to say 'I Wanna Be Where You Are', 'When You Need Somebody' and 'This Is Me'…" "… And I'd go for 'Must Be Magic' and 'Whenever You Close Your Eyes'," says Sandy. "Hey, I'm a romantic person!" Already household names in their native land, next years will be the most hard ones in which Sandy & Junior - teenagers in years, seasoned professionals in attitude & experience - prove that music really does have the capacity to cross borders and break down barriers. It's a challenge certainly, but a challenge they've been preparing for since 1989 and that life-altering appearance on Brazilian TV. Websites: www.sandyandjunior.net www.sandyejunior.com.br