Odair José

Odair José de Araújo (born 16 August 1948) is Brazilian singer and composer, mainly of a pop-romantic style.

He came into prominence in the Brazilian music scene in the 1970s. With a career spanning 50 years and 80 million records sold, he has released more than 40 albums, including originals, live albums, collections, and Spanish versions of his music. "Uma Vida Só" in particular became popularly known for its refrain, "stop taking the pill", which was censured by the Brazilian military dictatorship at the time, for the supposed understanding that the song had made "propaganda" against the distribution of such pills for birth control. A song that had strong public support as well was "Deixa Essa Vergonha De Lado", where Odair José gave his total support to domestic workers, which had not been legalized by the 1970s. After releasing various albums, he composed and recorded O Filho de José e Maria in 1977. Despite all of the controversy surrounding the project,

Despite the lack of appreciation of the album at the time and the scandals surrounding the album, it was rediscovered and seen as a great innovation in music at the time. In 2017, journalist Mauro Ferreira referred to the album as the "first rock opera album in the Brazilian pop universe". In 1979, Odair had the song "Até parece um sonho" included in the soundtrack for the Rede Globo telenovela Cabocla.

Having returned to media since the end of the 1990s, Odair José has continued to record songs on delicate subjects such as sex, drugs, and prostitution, as well as protest against problems in Brazil.

In 2019, Odair José released Hibernar na Casa das Moças Ouvindo Rádio with the record label Monstro Discos, which was named one of the 25 best Brazilian albums of the first semester of 2019 by the São Paulo Art Critics Association.

In 2021, he composed 6 songs with Arnaldo Antunes for the soundtrack for the film Meu Álbum de Amores.

In 2025, he was awarded with the Ordem do Mérito Cultural. That same year, he won the category for Best Romantic Artist at the 2025 Brazilian Music Awards.

Personal life

Odair José was married to singer and composer Diana, whom he met at the end of the 1960s when they were both starting off their careers. The marriage officially occurred in 1973, but it lasted only a short time and ended in a troubled manner, occupying the pages of newspapers in 1974 and 1975 due to violent fights between them.

In 1976, their daughter, Clarice Iório de Araújo, was born. They divorced and would separate definitively in 1981; later interviewed by a blog, he claimed that, according to lawyer Paulo Lins e Silva, they were the 4th couple to divorce in Brazil. (Saravá Discos) 2016 - Gatos e Ratos (Independente) 2019 - Hibernar Na Casa Das Moças Ouvindo Rádio (Monstro Discos)

2024 - Seres Humanos (e a Inteligência Artificial) (Monstro Discos)