The musical stars shone bright in Los Angeles for this year s Grammy awards, but just as with the summertime constellations over Rio de Janeiro, one star stood out from among the rest. Brazilian singer and songwriter Caetano Veloso said he was elated that his album, Livro , received the Grammy award for best World Music Album, according to Brazilian radio and TV reports Thursday. The award caps a milestone year in Veloso s stunning career which included a highly successful 16-city North American concert tour, hot on the heels of the US release of his recording and a critically acclaimed book. Veloso, who s stature as Brazil s top musical ambassador is now beyond question, said he did not expect to hear such good news as the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards show was being televised from Los Angeles to his Ipanema condo, scant blocks off the world-famous beach.
Brazilian music continues to make an unprecedented surge in popularity.
A Brazilian artist has won the Grammy for World Music Album for the 3rd straight year. In 1999, Rio de Janeiro native Milton Nascimento received the music award for his album, Nascimento and in 1998, Gilberto Gil s Quanta Live took top honors.