Ivete Maria Dias de Sangalo ( born 27 May 1972) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, TV host, and occasional actress. She was on six albums with Banda Eva, and seven more solo albums. Sangalo is noted for her powerful voice, charisma and live performances. Her music is popular in Portugal. She has sold 25 million copies of her albums and won 4 Latin Grammy Awards

As a child, Sangalo started to sing and play guitar at the school where she studied. Her debut show happened in Ondina, Salvador in August 1992. With that show she won the Dorival Caymmi trophy, considered the Grammy of Bahia music.

Ivete Sangalo was born in Juazeiro, Bahia, where she spent her childhood. Her grandfather was born in Spain Spanish. She started her singing career in events at school and then started singing at bars. She started to receive attention and signed with Sony Music. In 1993, Sony decided to reform the Axé group Banda Eva and she was chosen as the lead singer. Her live album with the band, Banda Eva Ao Vivo, was their best-selling album, selling over a million copies. In 1997 she started a solo career and in 1999 she released her first album. With many upbeat Bahian rhythms and axé, the album received gold and platinum certification. The following year she released, Beat Beleza, which also achieved platinum status.

In 2000 she released the album Festa, whose title track was another success. The single was very popular, and the album got platinum certification. “Festa” was her biggest single up to that point and the video received huge airplay. “Festa” was the most popular song of 2001 in Brazil. Its music video featured 20 cameo appearances by Brazilian celebrities. In 2002, she released the album Se Eu Não te Amasse Tanto Assim (If I Didn’t Love You So Much), titled after her big hit that reached the first position in the singles chart. The album, which features a duet with American singer Brian McKnight, didn’t sell as much as her previous albums, but was still a hit. Following Se Eu Não te Amasse Tanto Assim, she released Clube Carnavalesco Innocentes Em Progresso in 2003. It was the lowest-selling solo album of her career but it still managed to receive gold certification.

MTV Ao Vivo Ivete Sangalo MTV Live: Ivete Sangalo (2004), was a live album that included her biggest hits, a few of which were released on previous live albums, and some Banda Eva hits. The album garnered huge sales, most of them due to the single “Sorte Grande”, which was renamed “Poeira” by the public and became a big hit at parties, on the radio and also at soccer stadiums (where it was used to cheer on the teams). The song received heavy airplay in Brazil and was also included in the soundtrack of the Fifa 2005 videogame. The album was certified diamond and was the second best-selling album of 2004 in Brazil. The DVD, which included the concert held at the Fonte Nova stadium, was certified 3x Diamond, sold over 600,000 copies, and is the best-selling musical DVD in Brazil of all time (and the best-selling musical DVD in the world in the second half of 2005).

In 2005, Sangalo was called by Billboard: Brazil’s Queen of Song, due to the release of her first live DVD “MTV Ao Vivo” released at that time, the album made references to Carmen Miranda in one of its tracks, Miranda lived in the United States during the first half of the 20th century and epitomized Latin sensuality through her numerous Hollywood films. Asked if she intends to repeat Miranda’s success, Sangalo said, “It would be too pretentious for me to even dream about that parallel. But I would like to follow [in] the steps of Tom Jobim and Caetano Veloso. They are Brazilian artists who are respected all around the world. For me, that will be more difficult to achieve, because I want to be known for the kind of music I sing-[which] doesn’t fit the Brazilian standards foreign audiences are used to. I want people to [respect] my musical style.”

Her 2005 album, As Supernovas, received triple platinum certification shortly after its release. The album was less upbeat than her previous ones and included some songs with a 1970s touch, with the big influence of Brazilian singer Ed Motta. She also included the hit “Soy Loco por ti America”, a Gilberto Gil song. Sangalo’s cover would become the theme song of TV Globo’s soap opera América, and thanks to the tie-in, the song became very popular. “Quando a Chuva Passar” was notable for being nominated at the Latin Grammy Awards, an uncommon feature for a non-Spanish-speaking singer. As Supernovas also received diamond certification which consolidated her as the biggest female solo singer in Brazil.