Carminho is a Portuguese fado singer from Lisboa, Portugal, born in 1984. She performs in fado, bossa nova and MPB, and her work centres on a vocal style shaped by the traditional music she hears from childhood.

Early life and first performances

Carminho grows up listening to her parents’ records and hearing fado singers gather in her home. As a teenager, she begins singing at the Taverna do Embuçado. She later completes her graduation before building her recording career.

Recording career

Her debut album, Fado, appears in 2009 and becomes one of the most acclaimed albums of that year. It goes platinum and establishes her as part of a new generation of fado singers. The album’s success opens international opportunities and brings wider attention to her voice.

Her second album, Alma, brings together cover versions and original songs. It includes material associated with Amália, Maria Amélia Proença, Fernanda Maria, Chico Buarque and Vinicius de Moraes, as well as original songs by Diogo Clemente, Mário Pacheco and Vitorino. The album also includes new lyrics for traditional fado tunes, including “Folha”, which she writes herself, and “Impressão Digital”, based on a poem by António Gedeão.

In 2017, she releases Carminho Canta Tom Jobim, an album of Tom Jobim covers.

International work and recognition

After the success of Fado, Carminho performs in European capital cities, at WOMEX in Copenhagen in 2011, and at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, as part of the campaign for fado to be recognised as World Heritage. She also takes part in an album by Pablo Alborán, which becomes highly popular in Portugal and Spain. Fado is later named best album of 2011 by Songlines magazine.