Natusha

Nathalie Dias Rodrigues de Graça (born 10 March 1966), known by her stage name Natusha, is a French-Portuguese-Venezuelan former singer and journalist. During the 1990s she was associated with the fusion of Caribbean rhythms known as tecnomerengue and Latin pop, and recorded a number of releases that earned her the nickname "the Queen of the Lambada".^[1]

Her music career spanned from 1990 to 1997. She subsequently reverted to her birth name, Nathalie Dias Rodrigues, and works as a radio presenter and journalist. She is the director of the local newspaper A Voz de Loulé based in Quarteira, in the Faro District of Portugal.^[1]

Natusha was born on 10 March 1966 in Issy-les-Moulineaux, a suburb of Paris, as the only child of Portuguese parents. Her father served as a diplomat in France, and she lived in the country until the age of 15. As a result of her upbringing, she became fluent in English, Portuguese, Italian, French and Spanish. She began performing as a child, leading her own band at age ten, and trained in piano and vocal music.^[1]

She lived in Portugal for two years before moving with her family to Brazil, where she settled in Rio de Janeiro at age 17 and was introduced to bossa nova and other Brazilian genres.^[1]

While performing at a hotel in Brazil, a recording of her voice was passed to a contact of the Peruvian music producer Luis Alva Lescano, based in Venezuela, and was eventually heard by an executive at the Venezuelan record label Discomoda. The label invited her to Venezuela and released two ballads, "Así" and "Imaginariamente", in 45 RPM format under the name "Nathalie & Su Grupo Bragas Rojas". The release received little promotion and the project was unsuccessful; she and her parents subsequently moved to Puerto Ordaz.^[1]

Alva later reconnected with her for a Venezuelan lambada project he was developing under the name "Kondor Band", and renamed the project "Natusha & Kondor Band". The first album was independently produced and distributed in Venezuela by EMI-Rodven, the local affiliate of EMI Latin.^[1]

Natusha made her television debut on the long-running Venezuelan variety programme Sábado Sensacional, and quickly gained popularity. She subsequently worked with the keyboardist and producer Jesús Enrique González on five albums certified gold and platinum, including Natusha 94, Natusha Remix 1, Natusha Remix 2 and Natusha Sol y Luna. Her repertoire included original songs by González as well as Spanish-language adaptations of "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, "Che Che Colé" by Willie Colón, and the bolero "Sin Fe" by Bobby Capó.^[1]

In 1992 she recorded the duet "Una pena tengo yo" with the Venezuelan singer Roberto Antonio, and appeared as a guest performer with the Venezuelan orchestra Billo's Caracas Boys. She also performed at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile.^[1] Her career declined in the mid-1990s as the Venezuelan music industry transitioned from vinyl LPs to CDs and as the popularity of tecnomerengue overtook the lambada genre.

Natusha retired from music in 1997 and moved into business. She is married to a Portuguese man and has two daughters. She currently resides in Quarteira, Portugal, with brief earlier residence in Madrid, Spain.^[1]

• Frente a frente (1992; Colombia)
• Las súper bailables de… (1993; Peru)
• Latin Classics (1999)
• Grandes éxitos (2005)
• Solo lo mejor (2006)

• "La nueva rumba lambada (Rumba lambada Remix)"
• "Una pena tengo yo" (with Roberto Antonio)
• "Mosaico 55" (with Billo's Caracas Boys)
• "Échale una mano a Venezuela" (with various artists)