Sara Correia has been a regular presence in the best Fado houses in Lisbon since she was an infant. As a result, she sings with the personality and strength of someone who grew up listening to Fado. Sara Correia's debut album, "Sara Correia," was released in September 2018. "I identify strongly with the songs on this album; I see myself in all of the stories, and they define who I am as a Fado singer." "That's why I decided to title it with my own name," Sara Correia explains.
She has lived and breathed Fado since she was a child. She grew up in a Fado family, which helped her to grow up surrounded by music and musicians and to live that life in a very natural way. "Everything happened so quickly. "I've been going to Fado houses since I was a little girl, I come from a Fado family, and I started singing at a young age," she says. Nonetheless, there was a particularly memorable moment in the early stages of her journey that inspired her to decide to devote her entire life to Fado. "When I won the Grande Noite do Fado (an iconic Portuguese Fado competition) in Lisbon, I knew this was what I wanted to do," she explained. Sara Correia was only 13 years old when she won the Grande Noite do Fado, and she was soon invited to sing in one of the city's most legendary Fado houses, Casa de Linhares. There, she had the opportunity to sing and learn alongside legendary Fado singers such as Celeste Rodrigues, Jorge
Fernando, and Maria da Nazaré, among others. Sara describes them as "the school of being a Fado singer," and they "were and will always be the school of being a Fado singer."
In fact, the experience of singing in a Fado house is crucial for her. "In my opinion, treading on Fado houses is very important, if not mandatory." It's where we conquer the experience of singing, where we face night after night of singing as the most important thing in our lives. All of today's great Fado singers have their roots in Fado houses."
She grew up listening to the legendary Amália Rodrigues, who inspired her so much on the path she has followed until today in all aspects, but Sara Correia also draws inspiration from other great voices, including Fernanda Maria, Beatriz da Conceição, and Hermínia Silva.
Her talent also drew the attention of French director Joel Santoni, who invited her to sing "Grito" by Amália Rodrigues for his series "Une Famille Formidable" in 2018. Diogo Varela Silva, the director of the film "Alfama em Si," also asked her to play Severa, a historical character who is a true symbol of Fado. Some of Portugal's greatest artists were also cast in the film.
"Sara Correia," the first album released by Universal Music Portugal, was created in collaboration with producer Diogo Clemente. Among those who contributed to the album were Ângelo Freire – "unquestionably a genius of the Portuguese guitar of this generation" –, bass master Marino de Freitas, Vicky Marques on percussion, and Rúben Alves on piano. In Portugal, critics lauded Sara Correia's debut and unanimously praised the "great voice of the new generation." In 2019, the album earned her two nominations for the first edition of the Play - Portuguese Music Awards, in the "Breakthrough Artist" and "Best Fado Album" categories, as well as the Rádio Festival's Revelation Award, and more than 30 concerts and audiences surrendered in countries such as Spain, South Korea, Norway, Italy, Austria, Reunion Island, and, already in 2020, in India, Belgium, Holland, and Chile.
In September 2020, she released "Do Coração," her sophomore album, which she produced and co-created with Diogo Clemente. Other songs written and composed for “Sara Correia” that Sara Correia easily turns into Fados coexist with traditional Fados, where she imprints her personality like no one else. The album's first single, "Chegou Tão Tarde," features lyrics and music by acclaimed newcomer singer-songwriter Joana Espadinha. To name a few, Carolina Deslandes, Luísa Sobral, António Zambujo – with whom she sings a duet on the album – Jorge Cruz, and Diogo Clemente.
The fado singer was invited to perform live at the opening concert of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, at Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon, in early 2021, where she was accompanied by the Portuguese Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Joana Carneiro. She had the opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary Fado singer Carlos do Carmo at the event. Some of Portugal's most famous Fado singers, including Camané, Carminho, and Ana Moura, also performed.
The album "Do Coração" received one PLAY - Portuguese Music Awards in the category "Best Fado Album" in 2021. She was nominated alongside the legendary Mariza for "Mariza Canta Amália," Cuca Roseta for "Amália Por Cuca Roseta," both tribute albums to Portuguese Fado legend Amália Rodrigues, and Buba Espinho for his self-titled debut album. Sara Correia not only won the prestigious award, but she also performed live at the gala.
The acclaimed and award-winning fado singer reissued "Do Coração" in July of the same year. The new version, titled "+ Do Coração," includes the original lineup as well as three live recordings: "Antes Que Digas Adeus," "Os Teus Recados," and "Alfama." The extended version
of the album was accompanied by a live concert recorded in October 2020 as part of the Internacional Cervantino Festival, Latin America's largest cultural event. Sara Correia sang tracks from her album "Do Coração" as well as two Fados popularized by Amália Rodrigues, "Alfama" and "Fado Português," to commemorate the centenary of the legendary Fado singer, which was celebrated in 2020.
The anthem to Lusophony "Meu Bairro, Minha Lingua" was published the same month. Vinicius Terra, a Brazilian rapper, wrote the song about rediscovering our roots, cultural heritages, and historical relationships. Along with Dino D'Santiago, Elza Soares, Linn da Quebrada, and Vinicius Terra himself, the Fado singer was one of the great ambassadors of Lusophony chosen to sing the theme. The song was written to commemorate the reopening of the Museum of the Portuguese Language in São Paulo, Brazil, and has been part of the museum's collection since its reopening on July 31, 2021, following the restoration work that followed the fire in 2015. The project also resulted in an eight-episode web series, and Sara Correia contributed some of her own experiences, dreams, and encounters with music and Fado in her own neighborhood to the initiative.
Sara Correia's hard work and talent earned her a Latin Grammy nomination in 2021 for "Do Coração." Sara Correia was one of five nominees for Best Portuguese Language Roots Album by the Recording Academy, joining fellow nominees Elba Ramalho, Ivete Sangalo, Luiz Caldas, and Orquestra Afrosinfônica. On November 18th 2021 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Sara Correia takes the stage to present four awards to fellow nominees in the ceremony.
2022 opens with "Quero é Viver," a cover of António Variações’s 1983 song for the opening credits of TVI's primetime telenovela of the same name. Even without a videoclip, the song skyrockets the Shazam and YouTube charts in its first week and remains in the charts as a poignant reminder of Sara Correia's unique voice and interpretation.
With a war raging in Europe, Pedro Abrunhosa, a Portuguese star, invites Sara Correia to perform a duet in his song "Que o Amor te Salve nesta Noite Escura." On March 25th, the track is released, and it immediately climbs the YouTube trends chart to number three. All earnings will be donated to the WE HELP UKRAINE solidarity organization.
Sara Correia will release a new album in 2023, beginning with "Bocas do Mundo," an extraordinary love song that crosses Portugal and Spain, Fado and Flamenco, in a collaboration with Israel Fernández.