Beto

Best known for his telenovela theme songs, Beto is a Portuguese romantic pop singer who made his Top Ten hit solo album debut with Olhar em Frente in 2003. Born Albertino João Santos Pereira on December 28, 1966, in Peniche, Portugal, he moved to Torres Vedras in the hopes of making it as a music professional when he was 17 years old. He was chosen to represent Portugal at the Festival da OTI in Costa Rica in 1998. His big break came at the turn of the century, when he collaborated with pop singer Rita Guerra on the duets album Desencontros (2000), which spawned the hit single "Brincando com o Fogo." A few years later, Beto made his solo album debut with Olhar em Frente (2003), which features the telenovela theme songs "Memórias Esquecidas" (from Coração Malandro), "Dois Corações Unidos" (from Nunca Digas Adeus), and "Tudo por Amor" (from Tudo por Amor). Olhar em Frente was a Top Ten hit on the Portuguese albums chart in large part due to these telenovela theme songs. As a testament to its enduring popularity, Olhar em Frente charted off and on for years. While the follow-up album Influências (2005) was a Top Five hit, the successive albums Porto de Abrigo (2006) and Por Minha Conta e Risco (2008) marked a sharp downturn in Beto's commercial success. With his popularity in decline, Farol Musica issued the compilation album O Melhor de Beto (2009). Shortly after the release of Cumplicidade a Duas Vozes (2010), a Top 20 hit duets album of cover material with Ménito, Beto was found dead on May 23, 2010, in his hotel room in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. Released in the immediate aftermath of his death, the double-disc compilation album Grandes Êxitos (2010) was a Top Ten hit. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi