Céu preview

Céu
HotHouse, Chciago
Thursday, April 19, 2007

We’ll probably never fully come to grips with the fact Starbucks is now part of the music industry, but we can at least applaud them to trying to introduce the U.S. to Maria do Céu Whitaker Pocas.

You can call her Céu for short, though. Céu’s self-titled debut was originally released in 2005 on the Sao Paulo-based Urban Jungle, and the singer-songwriter quickly found success in places like Holland, Italy, and Canada, where she even held onto a number 32 slot on the pop charts. Céu was also nominated for a Best New Artist Latin Grammy in 2006, but it took, er, Starbucks to give the Brazilain songstress some American exposure. The coffee chain decided it wanted to feature Céu in its Starbucks Hear Music Debut series, which as previously released discs from Antigone Rising, Sonya Kitchell, and Low Stars.

Céu, however, will be the first intertnation artist featured in the Starbucks (Céu was co-released Stateside with Six Degrees) series. Produced by Beto Villares, Céu might grab at a lot of different styles – electronica, hip-hop, soul, jazz, R&B, Brazilian music – but it never sounds confusing or aimless. More than we can say for Starbucks’ drink menu.

Thursday is Céu’s Chicago debut.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here to listen to samples of *Céu*.

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly