Mafalda Arnauth was nurtured into fado culture from infancy and was singing in fado houses before she finished grade school. By the time she had graduated high school, she was a local fado legend. In 1999, Virgin released her debut , Mafalda Arnauth. It became an overnight sensation with a Golden Globe (Portugal’s Grammys) nomination, a Revelation Prize from Blitz magazine, a European tour and an SRO gig at Lisbon’s prestigious Centro Cultural de Belem. Two years later, sophmore her sophmore album, Esta Voz que me Altravessa (This Voice That Goes Through Me), proved she was as crucial to fado’s future survival as Mariza and Crista Branco.

Her newest albulm, Encantamento , draws an indelible line in the sand between Mafalda and her contemporaries. Sure, she’s of their generation, shares the same fado and pop influences and fronts a traditional fado band (guitarra, classical guitar and double bass) , but Encantamento finally reveals how stylistically unique this new wave fadista really is. The only conclusion to be drawn is that Mafalda Aranauth is a modern pop rock diva with a fadista’s heart and soul. With no apology.

AUDIO: