Kaoma – French – Brazilian band, most famous for the international hit “Lambada” (1989).
The band Kaoma was established in France in 1989. It consists of artists from several Latin American countries. The band’s leader, producer, and keyboardist was Jean-Claude Bonaventure.
The leading vocalist of the band was a Brazilian singer Loalwa Braz. You could call Kaoma a one-hit band. Even though they recorded three studio albums, the world knows them for the international hit single “Lambada”.
In 1989, the band signed a contract with a recording company Columbia Records and recorded the single “Lambada” in July. As it turned out, Kaoma plagiarized the song from the Bolivian band Los Kjarkas. The original song was called “Llorando se fue” (Left in Tears). Later, Los Kjarkas sued Kaoma and received a hefty sum of money. However, this incident didn’t affect the impressive popularity of the song. It was truly overwhelming.
“Lambada” earned platinum certificates in France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, and Sweden. It also received gold certification in Canada, Switzerland, and the UK. It conquered the charts in more than 10 countries, including France, Austria, and the UK. The song reached the 46th spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
