Fernanda Brandão

Fernanda Brandão Gonçalves da Silva (born 3 May 1983) is a Brazilian singer and dancer based in Munich, Germany. She became famous under her stage name Laava, then with Latin pop trio.

Early life

Brandão was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and grew up in Rio de Janeiro. By the age of four, she had danced at the Rio Carnival and sung to samba folklore hits. She came from an artistic family, with her mother having produced some successful Brazilian pop songs, and her aunt and uncle being well-known singers in Brazil, with her dance-pop song Wherever You Are (I Feel Love), which was released through Edel Records in Germany and Robbins Entertainment in America. The track was written especially for her by Hamburg songwriters Pop Master, Sliteye and Newsky, who along with Dr. E., had created successful productions with The Underdog Project, Dune vs Trubblemaker, Rumble Rokkaz, Funky Divas, ScapeBabyz, Nana and Kenny Blake. Various techno and Eurodance versions of the song were released including one by Yugoslavian-German electronic dance music producer DJ Pulsedriver, remixer for Vengaboys, Lasgo, Ian Van Dahl, Sinéad O'Connor and Kim Wilde, and one by Stuttgart's DJ Chopstick, who has produced and remixed for Madonna, Britney Spears, LL Cool J, Deep Dish and Sister Sledge. The video for the song was directed by Swedish director, Patric Ullaeus.

Music collaborations

From 2004 to 2010, Brandão was a member of the Latin pop group, Hot Banditoz, known for its summer-Latino sound. The group also included Bolivian (La Paz) singer, Gabriela Gottschalk (former member of the Super Moonies), German singer and actor Silva Gonzalez, and from 2008, Chilean (Valparaíso) singer and songwriter, José Valdes. Their debut single Veo, Veo, released on Polydor in 2004, became a number 3 hit in Germany, achieving gold status, and was one of five songs to stay in the German charts for more than eight weeks, during that year. This was followed by several more singles including Shake Your Balla which reached position 5 in the Media Control Charts, and two studio albums Mini Disco in 2004 and Bodyshaker in 2007, which both reached the top 50 in Germany, and a compilation album Best of Holiday Club Hits, also in 2007, all for Universal Music. The group were successful in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. She also appeared in the German edition of the French television game show Fort Boyard.

In the summer of 2011, Brandão was invited to appear on an Austrian season of the German music casting television series Popstars, titled "Mission Österreich" (2011), as a celebrity juror, alongside German choreographer Detlef Soost, on Puls 4.

German developments

In July 2011, Brandão appeared as the cover star of the German edition of men's magazine FHM, having been voted in a survey of 150,000 of its readers as "Sexiest Woman in the World 2011".

Personal life Brandão currently lives in Lapland, and is engaged to Roman Weber, an adventurer and survival expert, since 2021, whom she first met in 2020. She had her first child with him in April 2022, a daughter named Aurora (though needed an emergency cesarean section as she suffered severe pre-eclampsia), and a second in 2024, a son (where she decided to give birth to back in Germany to avoid the complications from the first birth).

Discography

Solo singles 2002: Laava Wherever You Are (I Feel Love), Club Tools/Edel Records, Germany 2003: Laava Wherever You Are (I Feel Love), Robbins Entertainment, US 2010: Fernanda Brandao Vs. Taan Newjam Gigolo, Urbasian Music/Dragonman Entertainment, Germany

Group singles 2004: Hot Banditoz Veo, Veo, Polydor, Germany 2004: Hot Banditoz Chucu Chucu (El Tren), Polydor, Germany 2005: Hot Banditoz Shake Your Balla (1,2,3 Alarma), Polydor, Germany 2006: Hot Banditoz La Cucaracha Dance, Universal, Germany 2006: Hot Banditoz I Want It That Way, Polydor, Germany 2007: Hot Banditoz Que Si, Que No, Polydor, Germany

Group albums 2004: Hot Banditoz Mini Disco, Universal, Germany 2005: Hot Banditoz Mini Disco, Tancevalnij Raj, Russia 2007: Hot Banditoz Bodyshaker, Universal, Germany 2007: Hot Banditoz Best of Holiday Club Hits, Universal, Germany