Sam Alves

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Samuel Martins Alves (born June 3, 1989) is a Brazilian singer, who participated in the blind auditions of the fourth season of The Voice (U.S.), singing "Feeling Good", classic in the voice of Nina Simone. The four coaches (judges) showed they were enjoying it, but none of them pressed the button to choose him.

In December 2013, Sam won the second season of The Voice Brasil (Brazil), and as a prize, he received five hundred thousand reais, a car and a contract with Universal Music Brasil, as well as career management.

Video Sam Alves

Biography

When he was only two days old, Sam was abandoned in a shoebox at the door of a house in Fortaleza, Ceará. With him, a note written with difficulty said that he was born on June 3, 1989 and given porridge at 3:00 pm on that day, when Luiz and Raquel Alves found him. The boy had just turned four when his family decided to go to the United States. The young man grew up and was educated in Massachusetts. His father had become a shepherd and his mother cleaned.

At age 14, his mother, Raquel, started training him to sing in the church, and in 2003, the two returned to Brazil for a missionary job. Sam continued to improve, at the School of Music of Brasilia, and even recorded an independent album of gospel music. Four years later, the two returned to the United States, where their father, Luis, had been left alone. Soon after, the couple separated. Sam stayed with his mother, with whom he went through some financial difficulties so he could follow his dream of singing professionally. He was part of a few choral groups in his city, but he never made it.

Maps Sam Alves

The Voice

The Voice U.S.

In April 2013 Sam participated in the blind auditions of the fourth season of The Voice (U.S.). He sang "Feeling Good", classic in Nina Simone's voice. The four judges, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Usher and Shakira, all seemed to enjoy it, but none of them pressed the button. Shakira, visibly regretful, asked her colleagues to speak in Portuguese: "Eu adorei você. Acho que você é um cantor realmente bom."

The Voice Brasil

Also in 2013, in October, Sam Alves participated in the blind auditions of The Voice Brasil (Brazil), singing "When I Was Your Man" (Bruno Mars) and caused all four coaches (judges) to turn the chair. Lulu Santos praised the performance:

"For me, it was very interesting to see his delivery to his art. You were not doing it for the audience or the camera, I was doing it for you."

Sam chose Cláudia Leitte as his mentor: "I want to sing with her." The music of his audition was made available for digital download on the iTunes Store and was in first place, ahead of the original Bruno Mars version. In the second phase of the show, Sam battled Marcela Bueno by singing the song "A Thousand Years" and won. The performance of the two was praised by the original interpreter of the song, Christina Perri; "This is so beautiful!" she said. In the tira-teima phase, Sam decided to sing in Portuguese. He played the song "Parents and Children" of the band Legião Urbana. He was saved by the public, along with Júlia Tazzi, and soon after saved by coach Claudia. In the next phase he sang "Mirrors" and was saved by Brazilians, with 59% of the votes. In the semifinal, Sam sang "You Exist in Me", song of his mentor Cláudia Leitte. Alves received 20 points of his technique and 84% of the votes of the public and qualified for the final of the program.

The final of the program began with the four participants singing "Não Quero Dinheiro (Só Quero Amar)" from Tim Maia. In his solo presentation, Sam sang "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen). In the duet with mentor Cláudia Leitte, they sang "A Camisa e o Botão". At the end of the program, Sam was announced the winner of the season, with 43% of the popular votes among the more than 29 million votes.