Biography

A child of two cultures

Fado singer Daisy Correia (Amsterdam, 1986) grew up bilingual with a Portuguese mother and a Dutch father. At 18 she was captivated by fado — Portugal’s best-known music — which she gives her own distinctive sound.

Talent among the greats in the Netherlands and Portugal

Daisy was already on stage at thirteen. She first sang ballads, later pop and soft rock. At a very young age she performed at major festivals, standing out alongside established names such as Bløf and Trijntje Oosterhuis. After discovering fado she has been admired in Dutch theatres with her own programmes.

Daisy regularly appears on Portuguese television, in talk shows and as a singer. A highlight was a live performance at Dia dos Avós in the Pavilhão Atlântico (now Altice Arena) in Lisbon, singing for twelve thousand people. She has also shone on television alongside other fadistas such as Ana Moura and Mafalda Arnauth in Geneva, Montreux, Luxembourg, Porto, Lisbon, Paris and Cologne.

Albums

2005: It ain’t easy — Daisy’s first pop album with covers and original repertoire. She came second in a SKY Radio contest with the song Wednesdaymorning.

2006–2007: EP Monday Blue with new repertoire as the basis for a CD. With Monday Blue she was tipped by Radio 3FM as Serious Talent.

2008: Daisy feels it is time to leave pop-rock behind and decides that fado is her world.

2009: She records her fado debut album in Portugal: Este meu fado (This is my fado). She works with major Portuguese names such as Tiago Machado, José Luis Gordo and Mário Rainho.

2013: Fado do Norte (Fado from the North). Daisy collaborated with greats of the fado world including Mafalda Arnauth and Amélia Muge from Portugal, and in the Netherlands with Fernando Lameirinhas and Stef Bos — with whom she recorded a duet.

2016: Uma casa Portuguesa (homage to Amália Rodrigues). Inspired by this theatre programme, Daisy’s fans urged her to record the music. It was captured live in the presence of many fans.

Theatre and fado

Fado Blue (2008/2009): Fernando Lameirinhas invited Daisy on this tour, where she appeared alongside jazz singer Deborah J. Carter.

Saudade do Futuro (2009–2010): Fernando invited her again, this time with Cape Verdean singer Dina Medina as guest.

Then it was time to stand on her own feet.

Este meu fado (2010–2011): her first album and first own theatre programme of the same name, introducing audiences to her own fado.

Minha viagem pelo fado (2011–2012): Daisy travelled through various parts of Portugal in search of fado and traditional folk music.

Daisy Correia canta José Afonso (2012–2013): José Afonso (Zeca), the “Bob Dylan” of Portugal, inspired her to tour his long road to freedom during 64 years of dictatorship.

Meu abraço (2013–2015): Daisy embraced other musical styles within her fado. Her second album Fado do Norte guided this programme.

Caminho (2013–2015): Fernando Lameirinhas celebrated his fiftieth anniversary on tour with a programme that featured Daisy alongside other well-known artists.

Uma casa Portuguesa (2015–2017): homage to Amália Rodrigues — a story never before told in the Netherlands about the life of the queen of fado.

Balans in mijn fado (2017–2018): Daisy wrote and composed more of her own work; fados are sung in both Portuguese and Dutch.

10 Anos de fado (2018–2019): in this anniversary tour Daisy looked back on ten years as a fado singer, choosing from her extensive repertoire. She closed the tour at a sold-out Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with guests Fernando Lameirinhas, Jan Dulles and Jan Akkerman.

Voice teacher

2002: At sixteen Daisy was accepted at the AVLM (Academy for Light Music, founded by John de Mol senior), where she learned what it means to stand on stage as an artist.

2013: Daisy graduated as a voice teacher from the conservatoire. She has her own singing studio “Cantus” in Alkmaar and teaches music at Regius College in Schagen.

Sabbatical

2019: Daisy is hired as a music teacher at a secondary school in Schagen for three days a week and must follow a two-year music-teacher training one day a week in The Hague, plus one day of placement. She also still gives private singing lessons one day a week.

2020: From 1 January 2020 Daisy Correia takes a sabbatical from performances to reflect on her future as a singer.