Sandy

Sandy Leah Lima (, born 28 January 1983), known mononymously as Sandy, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and actress.

She has one younger brother, Junior Lima (born Durval de Lima Junior in April 1984).

Sandy and Junior started singing and playing musical instruments at an early age.

Born and raised in Campinas, Sandy began her career in 1989, when she formed with her brother, musician Junior Lima, the vocal duo Sandy & Junior.

Sandy & Junior performed as a duo for the first time in 1989 in Brazil.

They rose to fame in the early 1990s as child stars and reached the height of their success during teenage, as albums Era Uma Vez... Ao Vivo (1998), As Quatro Estações (1999), Quatro Estações: O Show (2000) and Sandy & Junior (2001) sold more than a million units, with the second and third being among the best-selling albums of all time in Brazil.

The duo were credited with leading a wave of teen pop artists during the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the press labelling Sandy the Brazilian "Princess of Pop".

In 1990 they recorded their first album, Aniversário do Tatu, which sold 300,000 copies in Brazil.

They first gained notoriety by being the children of Xororó from popular sertanejo duo Chitãozinho & Xororó.

Sandy & Junior began by singing children's songs and sertanejo/country-influenced tracks (their first single, "Maria Chiquinha", is a classic sertanejo song).

Once they reached adolescence, they changed their style to pop-influenced songs, mainly ballads and upbeat songs.

Earlier, they had appeared in Renato Aragão movie O Noviço Rebelde, in 1997.

As a duo, Sandy and Junior released 12 studio albums and four live albums, selling over 20 million albums worldwide.

They became a pop phenomenon in Brazil with the release of the albums Era Uma Vez - Ao Vivo (1998), As Quatro Estações (1999), Quatro Estações - O Show (2000) and Sandy & Junior (2001), which sold more than 9 million copies together, receiving multiple diamond certificates.

Época magazine compared their success to Beatlemania.

As an actress, she had leading roles in the television series Sandy & Junior (1999–2002) and As Brasileiras (2012), telenovela Estrela-Guia (2001), and films Acquária (2003) and Quando Eu Era Vivo (2014).

Sandy has been featured as a judge on two seasons of the reality competition television series Superstar.

Throughout her career, Sandy sold over 20 million albums and has earned numerous awards and accolades, including six Multishow Brazilian Music Award, three Melhores do Ano (Rede Globo awards), and one Latin Grammy Award nomination.

They also had a self-titled weekly television series between 1999 and 2002 on Rede Globo and released the movie Acquaria in 2003; Sandy also starred in the soap opera Estrela-Guia (Globo) in 2001.

Of the important moments in their career, several stand out: a show in João Pessoa (2001) to over 1.2 million people, Rock in Rio III, and a concert in Maracanã Stadium (which gave rise to a CD and DVD).

Aiming for an international career, they released the album Internacional (titled Sandy & Junior in Europe and Latin America) in 2002.

To promote the album, they traveled to countries such as Germany, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Chile, Puerto Rico and Spain.

Billboard magazine praised the album, stating that "Everything is pleasant, beautifully done, and totally mainstream. [...] The strength here, though, is Sandy's sweet, bell-like voice—one that shows surprising range and strength belied by its dulcimer quality."

The album sold 1.2 million copies worldwide and was preceded by its lead single "Love Never Fails" (also recorded in Portuguese, Spanish and French language.) The album Sandy & Junior (2006) was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the category Best Contemporary Pop Album.

The duo disbanded in 2007 and released their Acústico MTV in September that year.

In addition to their success in the music industry, the sibling's name became a strong brand, with more than 300 licensed products which made R$300 million a year.

After the duo's disbandment in December 2007, Sandy spent the next two years concentrating efforts on producing her debut solo album.

She also dedicated herself to her personal life.

On April 17, 2007, Sandy & Junior announced that an MTV Unplugged album to be recorded in May 2007 would be their final work together, through a video posted on their website addressed to their fans and in a press conference, stating also that their career as a duo would be over at the end of 2007.

Their MTV Unplugged (in Portuguese Acústico MTV) was certified triple platinum in Brazil.

In 2008, Sandy married musician Lucas Lima and graduated from Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas with a degree in languages and literature.

In 2010, she released her debut solo album, Manuscrito, which was preceded by lead single "Pés Cansados" and certified platinum by Pro-Música Brasil (PMB).

Her first concert tour as a solo artist was recorded in August 2011 and gave rise to her first video/live album, Manuscrito Ao Vivo, released in November that year.

Sandy's second studio album, Sim (2013) produced three singles and reached number nine in Brazil.

She was considered one of the 100 most influential Brazilian personalities of 2013 by the Brazilian edition of Forbes magazine.

Sandy was born to Noely Pereira and singer Durval de Lima, better known for his stage name, Xororó.

Her first name was inspired by Olivia Newton-John's character in the film Grease.

Her parents started dating the day they watched the movie.

In 2016, she released her second live album, Meu Canto, which was preceded by lead single "Me Espera" and reached the top of PMB's DVD chart.

In 2018, she released her third studio album, a collaborations project titled Nós, Voz, Eles.