# Kaoma

Kaoma was a French-Brazilian band formed around 1989 by French producers Jean Georgakarakos and Olivier Lorsac to promote the song "Lambada". Loalwa Braz was hired to sing lead vocals, other musicians were Chyco Dru (bass), Jacky Arconte (guitar), Jean-Claude Bonaventure (keyboard), Michel Abihssira (drums and percussion) and Fania (backing vocals). Dru is from Martinique, Arconte from Guadeloupe, and Braz from Brazil.

## Career

In 1989, they had a major chart-topping international hit with their dance music single "Lambada", a direct cover of the 1986 dance hit "Chorando Se Foi" by Brazilian singer-songwriter Márcia Ferreira, which itself was a legally authorized Portuguese-translated rendition of the original slow ballad "Llorando se fue" (1981) by Bolivian group Los Kjarkas. Given Kaoma's clear act of plagiarism and release of their single without Los Kjarkas' permission, Los Kjarkas successfully sued. "Dançando Lambada" and "Mélodie d'amour" were the next two singles and were also hits, although they failed to earn the same success as "Lambada", which itself peaked at number 46 in the US Billboard Hot 100. "Lambada" fared better in Europe, reaching number 4 in the UK Singles Chart.
Also in 1989, Kaoma released their first album Worldbeat which achieved worldwide success, becoming - along with Beto Barbosa - one of the legends of Brazilian lambada. At the 1990 Lo Nuestro Awards, Kaoma won two awards for Pop Group of the Year and New Pop Artist of the Year.
In 1991, Kaoma released the album Tribal-Pursuit which provided the singles "Danca tago-mago" and "Moço do dende".
On January 19, 2017, Braz was found dead in her car. Police arrested three suspects for the murder; several motives were suspected, such as a botched robbery or a revenge killing.

## Discography
### Albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | BRA | AUS | AUT | GER | NLD | NOR | SWE | SWI | US | US Latin | Certifications |
| Worldbeat | Released: 16 December 1989 Label: Columbia Formats: CD | 1 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 12 | 11 | 41 | 6 | 40 | 1 | ABPD: Platinum MC: Gold |
| Tribal-Pursuit | Released: 1991 Label: Sony Music Formats: CD | — | — | — | — | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| A La Media Noche | Released: 10 November 1998 Label: Atoll Music Formats: CD | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |

### Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | AUS | AUT | CAN | GER | IRL | NLD | NZ | SWI | UK | US | Certifications | Album |
| "Lambada" | 1989 | 5 | 1 | 78 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 46 | ARIA: Gold BPI: Gold BVMI: 2× Platinum IFPI SWE: Platinum IFPI SWI: Gold MC: Gold NVPI: Platinum RIAJ: Platinum | Worldbeat |
| "Dançando Lambada" | 1989 | — | 17 | — | 18 | 11 | 5 | — | 6 | 62 | — | | Worldbeat |
| "Lambamor" | 1990 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Worldbeat |
| "Mélodie d'amour" | 1990 | — | — | — | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | | Worldbeat |
| "Jambé Finète (Grillé)" (Remix) | 1990 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Worldbeat |
| "Dança Tago-Mago" | 1991 | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | — | — | — | — | | Tribal Pursuit |
| "Mamãe Afrika" | 1991 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Tribal Pursuit |
| "Moço do Dende" | 1992 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Tribal Pursuit |
| "A la Media Noche" (Remix) | 1998 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | A La Media Noche |
| "Banto" | 1999 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | A La Media Noche |
| "Lambada 3000" | 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |