Joelma

Joelma da Silva Mendes, best known only as Joelma (born June 22, 1974) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, and dancer.

Joelma Mendes da Silva was born in the city of Almeirim, Pará, on June 22, 1974, daughter seamstress Maria de Nazaré da Silva Mendes and gold miner José Benahum Mendes, being the fifth of the couple's seven children.

Joelma claims to have been the victim of domestic violence in childhood; Her father was an alcoholic, and brutally assaulted his wife and children, and later, he would abandon them when Joelma was only eight years old.

Because of this, she and her siblings were forced to be raised only by their mother and had no contact with their father for about 35 years.

Years after her father's abandonment, two of her brothers were murdered.

Her interest in music happened during the end of her childhood to the beginning of her youth, when she sang in the musical choir of an evangelical church, where his mother worked as a choral conductor.

As a teenager, Joelma began to participate and win talent shows at a local festival performing dubbing by artists such as Sula Miranda and Xuxa.

At the age of 19, he made his local debut performing for the first time at the Art and Culture Fair of Almeirim (Fearca).

The event was recorded in videotape and given by a friend of Joelma, to the then producer and instrumentalist of the band Fazendo Arte, Nide Braga.

Nide was looking for a singer who had a good performance on the stage and, after seeing the performance of the young woman in the images, ended up inviting her to participate in a test to join the band.

Initially, Joelma refused the invitation, since she did not pretend to become a singer, aiming to join the profession of lawyer, but he came to accept it.

With that, Joelma moved to Belém.

In the middle of 1993, Joelma participated in the fair of art and culture of her native land, where she was well known throughout the region and was invited to perform in Belém.

From there, Joelma received the invitation to sing in Fazendo Arte, where the singer was part of the group along with nine other members, sang in the band for six years until she decided to record her first solo album.

Joelma is the one who made and built the choreography of Banda Calypso, while still participating in the band.

She is known for her soft voice, high-heeled boots, move hair, and the ability to sing and dance at the same time.

She has won countless awards for her performance as a vocalist for the band Calypso, and has been considered by four times one of the sexiest women in the world by VIP magazine.

The band totaled 21 official albums, having sold more than 20 million copies in Brazil and abroad.

The singer since the age of 19, Joelma began her career in 1994, and in 1998 she met and married the musician and producer, Ximbinha, forming with him the Banda Calypso in June 1999.

Together, achieved fame and success, and became sales record holders in albums in Brazil, launching thirteen studio albums, ten live albums and eight video albums which generated singles successes.

In 1994, after being approved, it signs with Gravasom and they release the debut album of the group, the self-titled Fazendo Arte.

In 1996, the second and last album the group is available, the titled band Banda Fazendo Arte II, issued by the newly formed label Atração Fonográfica.

In the band, with the exception of vocalist, Joelma also acted as choreographer, dancer, stylist and backing vocal.

In 1998, she left the group and founded the band Eu, whose band name refers to Joelma herself, for "being ashamed" of her name at the beginning, ending the band's activities in the same year to pursue a career as an artist ground.

In 1998 also, at a luncheon in the singer's home Kim Marques in Belém, Joelma met musician and music producer Ximbinha.

Thus, Joelma invited him to produce her debut album as a solo artist.

At the time, her stage name was signed as Joelma Lins.

During the recordings, they started dating, and after completion of the workproduction, chose to discard it and founded a new band, which is the Banda Calypso, founded in June 1999.

She was found four times - in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 respectively - one of the 100 most women sexy world of all time by the magazine VIP.

Joelma has an estimated net worth of more than R $300 million, and has been elected several times by Forbes as of 2011 as one of the best paid singers of the year in the country.

In 2015, Joelma and Ximbinha announced the end of marriage and the band, giving birth to the recording of their first album only in the same year.

On April 29, 2016, her released debut album as solo artist, the homonym Joelma, released through Universal Music, debuted in second place on the Pro-Música Brazil album chart Brazil (PMB) and the Billboard Brazil Albums Chart.

From that album, the first single "Não Teve Amor", along with the tracks "Ai Coração" and "Debaixo do Mesmo Céu".

On April 28, 2017, Joelma released the first DVD and live album, Avante.

The project generated singles like "Amor Novo", with features Brazilian singer Ivete Sangalo, and "Chora Não Coração".

Joelma is world renowned for her performance and vocal irreverence.

Throughout her career, she sold about 22 million albums, becoming one of the most sold artists in the history of the Brazilian music industry.

She and singer Ivete Sangalo are the only Latin American artists to receive a fivefold diamond record album certification.

In her career, she won several important awards including Melhores do Ano, Multishow Brazilian Music Award, Troféu Imprensa, as well as compete three times a Latin Grammy.

Joelma is also internationally known, performing in countries such as Portugal, United States, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Angola, England, Sweden, Cape Verde, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and French Guiana.