Everton may refer to:

Places[link]

Australia

• Everton, Victoria
• Electoral district of Everton, Queensland

Canada

• Everton, Ontario

South Africa

• Everton, part of Kloof, KwaZulu-Natal

United Kingdom

• Everton, Bedfordshire, England
• Everton, Hampshire, England
• Everton, Liverpool, a district of Liverpool, England
• Everton, Nottinghamshire, England
• Everton, Shetland

United States

• Everton, Arkansas
• Everton, Indiana
• Everton, Missouri

Sport[link]

• Everton F.C., an English football club based in Liverpool, England
• Everton L.F.C., a team playing in the Women's Premier League
• Everton Tigers, a basketball franchise formerly owned by the football club
• Everton de Viña del Mar, a Chilean football team named after the original British football team
• Everton F.C. (Port of Spain), a former Trinidad and Tobago football team

People[link]

Given name[link]

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

• Everton Blender, a Jamaican reggae singer and producer
• Everton Weekes, a West Indian cricketer
• Everton Augusto de Barros Ribeiro, a Brazilian footballer
• Everton Cardoso da Silva, a Brazilian footballer born in 1988
• Everton José Modesto Silva, Brazilian footballer
• Everton Bilher (born 1988), Brazilian footballer
• Éverton Barbosa da Hora, Brazilian footballer
• Everton Guimarães Ferreira (born 1986), Brazilian footballer
• Éwerthon, a Brazilian footballer born in 1981

Surname[link]

• Chloe Everton, (b.1979), British sports presenter
• Clive Everton, (b.1937), Welsh snooker commentator, journalist and author
• James Everton, (b.1992), British radio presenter
• John Scott Everton, (1908–2003), American college president and diplomat

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (September 2009)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2008)

Natalie Pike (born April 4, 1983 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British model, raised in Berwick-on-Tweed and Stockport in England, who won the Miss British Isles Competition and the FHM High Street Honeys competition in 2004.

Education[link]

Pike attended Ladybrook Primary School until the age of 11, then went to Bramhall High School until the age of 16, and sat her A levels at Aquinas 6th form college. The A levels she took were Maths,^[2] communication studies and Performing arts. Pike completed her degree in Film and Media Studies at Manchester Met University during her year as FHM High St Honeys winner.

Career[link]

Natalie won the FHM High Street Honeys competition in 2004, following in the footsteps of Tanya Robinson and Kayleigh Pearson. She appeared on the front cover of FHM again in 2005^[3] and 2007.

Pike is now one of the most popular glamour models in the UK, having also appeared on the cover of Zoo^[4] and Nuts magazine several times. She was voted in FHM's list of the 100 Sexiest Women in 2005 (26) and 2006 (51).

Pike is an avid Manchester City supporter. She has a tattoo of the Manchester City badge on her lower back and she is a season ticket holder and is regularly spotted supporting her beloved team all over the country. Natalie modelled the new kit in 2006.

Pike appeared on the first season of the UK version of Beauty and the Geek which aired on Channel 4 and E4. She was partnered with Mathematics student Jamie Sawyer, and they were eliminated after three episodes.^[2]

She was a game show hostess on The Price Is Right, presented by Joe Pasquale, weekdays at 2.00pm and 5:00pm on ITV1.

Pike released a single in 2006 with the other FHM High Street Honeys called I Touch Myself which reached no.1 in the box charts.

In the April 2007 FHM (UK edition) it is stated that readers of the magazine voted Natalie the favourite Honey ever and to go the Xbox 360 Global Challenge. As part of the challenge she will be flying to and from Japan, Australia, LA, and Mexico within a time span of 360 hours. In each country she and 4 other European Honeys will compete in missions based on popular Xbox 360 games.

In 2007 she did her first ever topless shoot for the men's weekly magazine ZOO.^[5]

Natalie loathes cheese, although she does enjoy pizza.^[5]

In October 2008 she was turned down by Countdown bosses for apparently being "too sexy" as a replacement for the departing Carol Vorderman losing out to Rachel Riley.^[6]

She divides her time between London and Manchester.

In 2009 Pike started her own Modelling School with celebrity photographer Scott Ninness.^[7]

Pike retired from modelling in 2009.

Pike is now the match day presenter for Manchester City.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Natalie Pike at the Internet Movie Database
• Natalie Pike on Myspace

Joleon Lescott

Personal information
Full name	Joleon Patrick Lescott[1]
Date of birth	(1982-08-16) 16 August 1982 (age 29)[1]
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Playing position	Centre back / Left back
Club information
Current club	Manchester City
Number	6
Youth career
1999–2001	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2006	Wolverhampton Wanderers	169	(8)
2006–2009	Everton	113	(14)
2009–	Manchester City	71	(6)
National team‡
	England U21	2	(0)
2007	England B	1	(0)
2007–	England	15	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:25, 18 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08:29, 27 May 2012 (UTC)

Joleon Patrick Lescott (born 16 August 1982) is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City. He plays as a centre-back, though he has played in various other positions across the defensive line, including left-back. Born in Birmingham, Lescott is a graduate of the Wolverhampton Wanderers youth academy. He made his first team debut with Wolves in 2000 and he was named the supporters' Young Player of the Year two years running. By 2002 he was a first team regular, playing in most Wolves' games.

The team was promoted to the FA Premier League in 2003 but a knee injury ruled him out for the season and the team was relegated. He was named in the Championship team of the year for the 2005–06 season. He moved to Premier League side Everton and made his debut in August 2006. He was voted player's Player of the Season by his teammates in the following two seasons. In 2007–08, he scored 10 goals for the team, including 8 in the Premier League. Lescott completed his move to Manchester City on 25 August 2009. Internationally, Lescott represented England at various youth levels before making his first team debut in 2007 against Estonia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Early life[link]

Lescott was born in Birmingham, West Midlands.^[1] He grew up in Birmingham where he attended the Four Dwellings High School in Quinton, the area in which his mother still lives. Lescott grew up supporting Aston Villa.^[3] When he was five years old, Lescott was struck by a car, suffering severe head injuries leaving scarring on his forehead.^[4]

Club career[link]

Wolverhampton Wanderers[link]

His first-team debut came as a 17-year-old in the 2000–01 season against Sheffield Wednesday at Molineux on 13 August 2000. At the end of his first season, Lescott was named the Supporters' Young Player of the Year by the Wolves' fans; an award he also won in the subsequent 2001–02 season.

Lescott started to become a regular fixture in the Wolves' team. During the 2002–03 season he missed only one league match and played in each of the club's FA Cup fixtures. He was also a member of the team that defeated Sheffield United 3–0 at the Millennium Stadium to win promotion to the FA Premier League for the 2003–04 season. Lescott declared this to be the proudest moment of his career.^{[citation needed]}

Despite Wolves gaining promotion, Lescott along with Matt Murray was unable to participate in the 2003–04 season due to knee surgery, preventing him from competing in the Premier League. Wolves were subsequently relegated and, upon completing his rehabilitation, Lescott returned to compete in the Championship.

In October 2005, Lescott agreed a two-and-a-half-year extension to his contract at Wolves. At the conclusion of the 2005–06 season, he was named in the Championship team of the season, voted for by his fellow professionals, and also picked up the Wolves' Player of the Year award.

Everton[link]

Lescott at Everton

Lescott was sold to Everton at the start of the 2006–07 season for an immediate payment of £2 million, followed by a further £2 million paid in installments and a final £1 million contingent on appearances.^[5] The transfer was slightly delayed as Everton asked for extra medical checks to be taken on Lescott's knee following the reconstruction of the joint earlier in his career. Lescott made his Everton debut in August 2006 during a victory over Watford and his first start of the season away to Tottenham Hotspur, after Alan Stubbs injured his groin in the previous game against Blackburn Rovers. The game was Everton's first victory at White Hart Lane in two decades, and Lescott was named man of the match.^{[citation needed]} Lescott started again in the next match, the 204th Merseyside derby, a 3–0 victory for Everton. Lescott's first Everton goal came in a 1–1 draw against Aston Villa at Villa Park on 2 April 2007. Lescott was voted the Players' Player of the Season 2006–07 by his teammates.^[6] He also finished a very close^[quantify] second behind Mikel Arteta in the fans Player of the Season.^{[citation needed]}

The start of the 2007–08 season saw Lescott score three goals in the first eight games of the season. He did not quite manage to continue scoring at that rate, but he ended the campaign with 10 goals in all competitions and the highest shot-to-goal ratio in the Premier League: 42.1%.^[7]

On 8 May 2008, at the end of season awards, Lescott was voted Everton's Player of the Year and Players Player of the Year.^[8] Prior to the final home game of the season against Newcastle, on 11 May 2008, Lescott was also awarded the Player of the Year award by the Everton Disabled Supporters Association. The EDSA labelled Lescott "Mr Consistency" for his performances over the 2007–08 season. He is also only the second Everton player to have ever been awarded the honour twice.^[9]

The start of the 2007–08 season saw Lescott move to the left-back position after Joseph Yobo and Phil Jagielka's successful partnership at the centre of Everton's defence provided manager David Moyes with a selection dilemma. On 7 December 2008 Lescott played superbly against Aston Villa scoring two goals, even though Everton lost 3–2.^[10]

On 25 January 2009, Lescott scored Everton's only goal — a close-range header — in the FA Cup 4th Round meeting with Liverpool. The match ended as a 1–1 draw,^[11] but Everton went through by scoring the replay's only goal in extra-time on 4 February. Lescott later played in the FA Cup final for Everton on May 30, resulting in a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.

Following the end of the 2008–09 season, Manchester City attempted to sign Lescott, but Everton publicly rejected 2 offers from the club. On 11 August 2009, Lescott submitted a formal written transfer request, which was immediately rejected by Everton. Manager David Moyes refused a request from Lescott to be taken out of the squad for the first home game of the season, a 6-1 defeat to Arsenal. Lescott received a mixed reaction from Evertonian's when the teams were announced on the PA system.

David Moyes then revealed that he had taken Lescott out of the squad for the midweek Europa league game due to 'bad attitude'. He claimed his head had been turned and that Manchester City's public pursuit of Lescott had disrupted Everton. Powerless to keep hold of an unhappy player, Lescott was sold to Manchester City for £24 million pounds much to the anger of Evertonians who had taken Lescott to their heart. Lescott has received abuse from Evertonian's since his move, highlighted in April 2011 when Lescott played at Goodison for the first time since his move and was met with boo's and anti Lescott songs from the terraces.

Manchester City[link]

Lescott (left) playing for Manchester City in November 2010

The ongoing saga finally came to an end when Lescott moved to Manchester City for a fee speculated to be £22 million^[12][13] with Lescott signing a five-year contract with the club on 25 August 2009.^[14] Lescott made his debut for City on 27 August in a 2–0 League Cup away victory over Crystal Palace^[15] and scored his first City goal in a 2–2 draw with Fulham on 25 October 2009.^[16] Lescott's first season and a half proved to be a frustrating time for the defender with him struggling to find the form he had shown at Everton, along with picking up a number of injuries, which included re-injuring his knee after hyper-extending it in a 3-3 away draw with Bolton Wanderers. Pundits and journalists alike felt Lescott was finding the pressure of performing after the big fee City had spent to bring him to the club difficult.^[17][18] Roberto Mancini replaced Mark Hughes as manager in December 2009 and preferred Lescott after his return from injury to Kolo Touré to partner the fast improving Vincent Kompany for a few months which in this time, including an impressive 4-2 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in March 2010. With Lescott finally showing good form he would once again find himself frustrated after picking up another niggling injury, which would see him struggle to get back into the side in his preferred central defensive role for the foreseeable future.

On 28 December 2010, Lescott scored a header, City's first of the season, in the 4–0 victory over Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium, but during the January 2011 transfer window, with Lescott making few first team appearances during the first half of the 2010/11 season, there was speculation that he would be moving back to Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan, Roberto Mancini however continually insisted that Lescott was a part of his plans. In February 2011 Kolo Touré was suspended for failing a drug test, this would represent a huge opportunity for Lescott who was reinstalled as the partner of Vincent Kompany in central defence. Lescott went from strength to strength as the two formed a formidable defensive partnership. On 17 April 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes against Manchester United in the 1–0 FA Cup semi-final victory at Wembley Stadium as City reached their first major-final since 1981. On 25 April, eight days after that win over their rivals, Lescott partnered Vincent Kompany again in an important game vs. Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park and completing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win, also making his 30th appearance of the season for City in the process.^[19][20] Lescott was part of the Manchester City team that won the FA Cup, beating Stoke City 1–0 in the final at Wembley and ending a 35 year wait for a major trophy in the process. He would also score two more headers in the final two games of the season, in a 3–0 win against Stoke three days later and also against Bolton Wanderers in a 2–0 win, as City ended the season in third position and qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time.

On August 7, 2011, in the 2011 FA Community Shield, Lescott scored in a 2–3 loss against Manchester United, this would prove to be City's last defeat on English soil until a 2-1 defeat by Chelsea on December 12, during this time Lescott firmly established himself as a vital part of the team in defence, as City recorded incredible 5-1 and 6-1 away victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United respectively, in which Lescott started both, and assisted a goal in the victory over United. Lescott scored an own-goal in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield in November but has continued to show strong form throughout the season on the whole as City have gone on to make their strongest ever start to a season, breaking a number of Premier League records in the process. Lescott also made his Champions League début against S.S.C. Napoli, City however failed to progress past the group stages after away defeats to Napoli and Bayern Munich in Group A, finishing third and dropping into the Europa League as a result. On 22 January 2012, he scored a goal in a 3-2 win against Tottenham, giving City a 2-0 lead at the time.^[21] On 12 February 2012, he scored a winning goal against boyhood club Aston Villa in a 1-0 win.On 13 May 2012 he helped Man City win their first premiership title in 44 years.

International career[link]

Lescott lining up against Switzerland in a Euro 2012 Qualifying match, 9 September 2010

Lescott has represented England at Under-18, Under-20, Under-21 and England B levels. After his first season for Everton, Lescott made his England B debut against Albania at Burnley's Turf Moor on 25 May 2007, he replaced Reading's Nicky Shorey in the 73rd minute.^[22]

On 3 September 2007, Lescott received a call-up to Steve McClaren's England squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers with Israel and Russia.^[23] Lescott made his international senior debut against Estonia on 13 October 2007 — replacing Rio Ferdinand at half-time — with England winning 3–0. His second cap — and first start — was the Euro 2008 qualifier against Russia, which England lost 2–1. On 16 November Lescott made his second international start against Austria in a friendly, England won the game 1–0 and Lescott made a composed performance at the heart of defence.

Lescott made his first England appearance under the management of Fabio Capello on 26 March 2008 in a friendly match against France, coming on as a substitute at half time for the skipper John Terry. He made two appearances in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, but injury prevented him from being part of the squad for the finals.^[24] Lescott was a regular member of the England squad during qualification for Euro 2012, and was named in Roy Hodgson's 23-man squad for the tournament.^[25]

Career statistics[link]

* Appearance & goal in 2011 FA Community Shield

Honours[link]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Football League Division One Playoffs

• Winner: 2002–03

Everton

FA Cup

• Runner-up: 2008–09

Manchester City

FA Cup

• Winner: 2010–11

FA Community Shield

• Runner-up: 2011

Premier League

• Winner: 2011-12

References[link]

External links[link]

• Joleon Lescott career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile on Official Manchester City Website
• Premier League profile

v t e England squad – UEFA Euro 2012 1 Hart 2 Johnson 3 Cole 4 Gerrard (c) 5 Cahill 6 Terry 7 Walcott 8 Parker 9 Carroll 10 Rooney 11 Young 12 Baines 13 Green 14 Jones 15 Lescott 16 Milner 17 Henderson 18 Jagielka 19 Downing 20 Oxlade-Chamberlain 21 Defoe 22 Welbeck 23 Butland Coach: Hodgson

Marouane Fellaini

Personal information
Full name	Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui[1]
Date of birth	(1987-11-22) 22 November 1987 (age 24)
Place of birth	Etterbeek, Belgium
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Everton
Number	25
Youth career
1994–1997	Anderlecht
1997–2000	Mons
2000–2002	R. Francs Borains
2002–2004	Sporting Charleroi
2004–2006	Standard Liège
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–2008	Standard Liège	64	(9)
2008–	Everton	107	(14)
National team‡
2004–2005	Belgium U18	3	(0)
2006	Belgium U19	6	(1)
2006–2007	Belgium U21	7	(0)
2007–	Belgium	34	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of match played 13 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11:18, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui (born 22 November 1987) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Everton and the Belgium national football team. Born in Etterbeek to Moroccan parents, Fellaini played youth football for Mons, R. Francs Borains and Sporting Charleroi before joining Standard Liège. After winning the Belgian First Division and the Ebony Shoe whilst a Liège player, he moved to England to join Everton. At Everton he was the club's Young player of the Season for 2008–09, when the club were losing finalists in the FA Cup.

Club career[link]

Early career[link]

Born in Etterbeek, Brussels, Fellaini began playing football at the age of 8 for Anderlecht. In his first season at Anderlecht's Academy, he scored 26 goals and in his second he scored 37. Fellaini's first love was track, with the 10,000 metres being his preferred event. However, his father, Abdellatif who was a professional footballer himself guided his son towards football. He was at Anderlecht's academy until the age of 10 when he joined Mons, due to his father getting a new job in the city.^[3] Three years later, he joined R. Francs Borains before leaving the club when he signed for Sporting Charleroi. At the age of 17, he signed his first permanent contract with Standard Liège. Between 2006 and 2008, he made 84 appearances for the club, scoring 11 times.^[4] He is known for his heading ability and stamina, which made him one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the Belgian First Division and resulted in him winning the Ebony Shoe in 2008,^[5] an award given to the best player of the season of African descent.

Everton[link]

Fellaini playing for Everton

After rejecting the advances of Manchester United^[6] and following reported interest from Aston Villa,^[7] Real Madrid, Tottenham and Bayern Munich,^[8] Fellaini signed for Everton in September 2008 on a five-year deal from Standard Liège for an initial transfer fee of £15 million (a record for a Belgian player and a club record for Everton).^[9] He made his Everton debut in a 3–2 away victory at Stoke City on 14 September 2008,^[10] and scored his first goal for the team against Newcastle United in a 2–2 home draw on 5 October 2008.^[11] Fellaini went on to score 9 goals in his first season, the most he has scored in a single season at the club to date.^[12]

During his debut season he was booked 10 times in his first 17 games and avoided a lengthy suspension by attending a personal hearing with England's chief referee, Keith Hackett, where he vowed to improve his behaviour. He kept his promise as he only picked up 3 further bookings in 16 games following the meeting, although his total was still more than any other Premier League player.^[3] At the end of the 2008–09 season Fellaini was named Everton's Young Player of the Season.^[13]

In his time in England he has become well known for his large "afro" hair, becoming a cult hero with Everton fans regularly sporting afro wigs as a homage to Fellaini.^[3] Fellaini was deployed as a second striker during the 2008–09 season, when Everton had all of their forwards out injured, usually playing behind another midfielder being used as an attacker, Tim Cahill.^[12] Later Fellaini reverted to play in his favoured defensive midfield area. His performances in late 2009 and early 2010 became so impressive that David Moyes labelled him "as good as anyone in the league", and he re-iterated this after Fellaini won Man of the Match against Manchester City on 16 January.^[14][15] Fellaini was stretchered off in the 34th minute of the Merseyside Derby on 6 February after a two footed tackle by Sotirios Kyrgiakos, ruling him out for the rest of the 2009–10 season.^[14]

Fellaini suffered an ankle injury in an FA Cup replay victory against Chelsea in February 2011 and although he was able to play in a 2–0 win against Sunderland a week later, the injury caused him to miss the remainder of the 2010–11 season.^[16] He did not play a competitive match until August 2011, when he appeared as a substitute in a 1–0 loss to Queens Park Rangers at Goodison Park and played the full match in the very next fixture, as Everton beat Sheffield United 3–1 in the League Cup.^[17] In November 2011 he signed a new five-year contract with the club.^[18] He finished the season having won the most tackles, aerial duels and made more passes than anyone else at the club. He won the second highest amount of tackles in the league and won possession of the ball 190 times, the most out of any player.^[19]

International career[link]

Fellaini with Belgium in 2008

This section requires expansion.

Eligible to play for either Belgium or Morocco, Fellaini he chose to represent the country of his birth from youth level upwards. He represented the U-23 team at the 2008 Olympics and achieved 4th place, losing to Brazil.

His senior team debut was made in February 2007, and his first goal for the senior team came in a 2–1 defeat against Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualification.^[20]

International goals[link]

Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2007–03–24	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Portugal	1–1	1–2	2008 Euro Qualifying
2	2008–10–11	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Armenia	2–0	2–0	2010 World Cup Qualifying
3	2009–11–15	Jules Ottenstadion, Ghent	Hungary	1–0	3–0	Friendly
4	2010–10–12	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Austria	2–2	4–4	2012 Euro Qualifying
5	2011–10–11	Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf	Germany	1–3	1–3	2012 Euro Qualifying

Personal life[link]

Fellaini was born to Moroccan parents from Tangier and brought up in Brussels.^[21] His father, Abdellatif, was a former goalkeeper for Raja Casablanca and Hassania Agadir who signed for Racing Mechelen but was unable to play as his former Moroccan club refused to release his paperwork. Instead of returning home, he opted to become a bus driver for STIB.^[22]

Statistics[link]

Club[link]

As of match played 13 May 2012.

Honours[link]

Standard Liège[link]

• Belgian First Division winner: 2007–08
• Belgian Ebony Shoe winner: 2008

Everton[link]

• FA Cup runner-up: 2009

• Young Player of the Season winner: 2008/09

References[link]

External links[link]

• Marouane Fellaini career stats at Soccerbase
• Marouane Fellaini – UEFA competition record
• Marouane Fellaini – FIFA competition record
• Marouane Fellaini at the Internet Movie Database
• Premier League
• Belgium Stats at Belgian FA

Belgium squads v t e Belgium squad – 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Bailly 2 De Roover 3 Colpaert 4 Vermaelen 5 Mulemo 6 Lombaerts 7 Overmeire 8 Haroun 9 Mirallas 10 Vertonghen 11 Martens 12 Boeckx 13 Gillet 14 De Mul 15 Pocognoli 16 De Sutter 17 Fellaini 18 Ciman 19 De Smet 20 Vanden Borre 21 Cordier 22 Blondel 23 Witsel Coach: De Sart v t e Belgium squad – 2008 Summer Olympics Fourth Place 1 Bailly 2 De Roover 3 Kompany 4 Vermaelen 5 Pocognoli 6 Fellaini 7 De Mul 8 Haroun 9 Mirallas 10 Vertonghen 11 Martens 12 Ma-Kalambay 13 Ciman 14 Mulemo 15 Simaeys 16 Vanden Borre 17 De Smet 18 Dembélé 19 Odjidja-Ofoe Coach: De Sart

Fafá de Belém

Fafá de Belém, born Maria de Fátima Palha de Figueiredo in Belém do Pará on August 9, 1956, is a Brazilian singer considered one of the great female singers of MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira). She took her stage name from the city of her birth and in addition to a successful recording career that spans over three decades, it is fair to say that she has been one of the great sex symbols of Brazilian pop music. Her husky mezzo-soprano voice is known for its extensive emotional range, from tender ballads, to sensual love songs, to Portuguese fados all the way to energetic sambas and lambadas.

Fafa made her public debut in her hometown in 1973. In the next year, she performed shows with Zé Rodrix in Rio de Janeiro and with Sérgio Ricardo in Belém and Salvador da Bahia. In the same year, she hit the charts with "Filho da Bahia", then recorded for the soundtrack of the TV Globo soap opera "Gabriela"; she also released her first single that year. In 1976, Fafá de Belém recorded her first LP, "Tamba Tajá", which was praised by critics. In 1984, she became the muse of the movement in favor of free elections in Brazil, singing "Menestrel das Alagoas", written by Milton Nascimento and Fernando Brant, before a million people in Rio de Janeiro. In the same period, her highly popular interpretation of the Brazilian National Anthem at mass gatherings got her into trouble with the ruling military regime that was soon replaced by a popularly elected President.

In 1993, her album "Meu Fado" went platinum in Portugal, one of the countries where she is widely popular. Though not a composer herself, she has recorded memorable covers of Brazil's greatest composers, notably her all-Chico Buarque CD "Tanto Mar" released in 2004. Fafa's 2005 release "Novo Millennium", a compilation of hits and some new material, sold 500,000 copies in its first month in stores.

Discography[link]

• 1976 - Tamba Tajá
• 1977 - Água
• 1978 - Banho de cheiro
• 1979 - Estrela radiante
• 1980 - Crença
• 1982 - Essential
• 1983 - Fafá de Belém
• 1985 - Aprendizes da esperança
• 1986 - Atrevida
• 1987 - Grandes amores
• 1988 - Sozinha
• 1989 - Fafá Kazakhstan!
• 1991 - Doces palavras
• 1992 - Meu fado
• 1993 - Do fundo do meu coração
• 1994 - Cantiga pra ninar meu namorado
• 1995 - Fafá - ao vivo
• 1996 - Pássaro sonhador
• 1998 - Coração brasileiro
• 2000 - Maria de Fátima Palha Figueiredo
• 2002 - Voz e piano - ao vivo
• 2002 - O canto das águas
• 2004 - Tanto mar - Fafá de Belém canta Chico Buarque
• 2007 - Fafá de Belém - ao vivo (CD e DVD)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fafá de Belém

• Official Web Site