We can’t talk about fado without talking about feeling, soul, saudade. Amalia Rodrigues remains the great reference, the voice which, under the dictatorship of Salazar, carried the genre and the chords of the Portuguese guitar to the four corners of the world. … world. Then they came Dulce Pontes, Mariza and Carminho —who just collaborated on Rosalía’s last album—, and other fadistas who continued to push fado beyond borders. And the history of fado does not end there. On the contrary: with each new generation of women, gender gains additional strength; It no longer lives only in fado houses, nor is it necessary to wear a shawl to sing it. Today it is reinvented, merged and exported, although it continues to penetrate the soul with the same force as always.
ABC wanted to meet three of the new voices of fado, even though all three have been singing since they were children. Are Sara Correia, Bia Caboz and Teresinha Landeirowhich stand out in Portugal for their own personalities and styles, ranging from the most traditional matrix to the most unexpected fusions.
Sara Correia He comes from a family of Fadists. At three years old, he was already frequenting fado houses, at 9 he went on stage for the first time, at 13 he won the big fado evening and since then, he hasn’t stopped. “Fado does not change, it will always remain the same; What changes are the times and the people, and we have to adapt,” he admits. During the launch of his single “Avisem que eu cheguei”, he boarded public transport in Lisbon to surprise passengers with his voice.
The Madeiran also speaks of adaptation Bia Caboz (29 years old), fado singer who wants to demonstrate that fado can also be heard in clubs. Her surprising a cappella version of Amália’s legendary song, “Estranha Forma de Vida,” performed at the Nómada electronic music festival, went viral on social media. “I knew it was something risky, but I also felt that I could make history,” he confessed, happy to have achieved his goal “of bringing fado to people who don’t know what fado is or who don’t expect to hear fado.” He considers himself a fadista whenever he uses the melody specific to the genre, but he is not afraid to fuse it with samba, rap or electro. “Fado has the same capacity for transmission as other styles, and if it does not do so more, it is because Portugal is a very small country, and the world of fado is an even smaller place“, he laments.
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From top to bottom: Teresinha Landeiro, Sara Correira and Bia Caboz
If fado blends in with other styles, it also reinvents itself through writing. Teresinha Landeiro (29 years old) started composing her own lyrics at the age of 13 because it was said that “she was too young to understand the fados she sang”. Now his songs are also heard on the radio and he defends that a melody more than a hundred years old can be used with current lyrics, which are about Instagram, to attract a younger audience. “It’s nice when they listen to you at a concert and then say: I follow you on Spotify”he comments.
New fadistas challenge fado vests and houses by bringing Portuguese soul to clubs and contemporary lyrics in Portugal
Although everyone sings and performs fado in their own way, all three agree on something: how they feel when they sing fado. “It’s something that can’t be explained,” says Sara Correia. “I only know that when I sing fado, I am happier and it also helps me to cope better with my sorrows.” For Bia Cabozthe fact that what fado transmits is so inexplicable is precisely “the magic of music”, with which Teresinha agrees: “Even when the audience doesn’t understand what I’m singing, because they don’t speak Portuguese, it’s nice to see how excited they are.
In 2026, each of them will continue to defend fado in their own way. Bia Caboz will release her new album Espiral in January, which includes rap and fusions with electronic music. Teresinha Landeiro is preparing a tour in Scandinavian countries and Sara Correia will present her new album at the Altis Arena in Lisbon on March 7.
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