Prior to Kaoma's 1989 release of the song, several covers of "Llorando se fue" had been released as dance tracks: Their song was written in a sad and slow Afro-Bolivian Saya rhythm. Īccording to Gonzalo, Los Kjarkas had based "Llorando Se Fue" on a small, nostalgic Andean melody. The song's lyrics and music had been lawfully registered in 1985 by the founding members of Los Kjarkas – Gonzalo and Ulises Hermosa – in Germany's Music and Authors Society (GEMA), and the unauthorized copy by Kaoma led to a successful 1990 lawsuit by Los Kjarkas against Kaoma's producer Jean-Claude Bonaventure. The lyrics and music of Kaoma's "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)" were an unauthorized translation of the song " Llorando se fue", originally composed, performed and recorded by the Bolivian Andean folk group Los Kjarkas in 1981. However, the Kaoma group did not credit the original song of Los Kjarkas, turning their version into plagiarism and ending with a lawsuit that would be won by the original authors of the song, the Bolivian group. Overall, "Lambada" sold 5 million copies worldwide in 1989 alone according to the New York Times. The song in Portuguese was a mix cover of the 1986 hit "Chorando Se Foi" by Márcia Ferreira (with lyrics translated to Portuguese) and the Cuarteto Continental hit "Llorando Se Fue" (the first upbeat version of the song introducing the accordion), released in 1984 through the Peruvian record label INFOPESA and produced by Alberto Maravi both songs were adapted from the 1981 Bolivian song " Llorando se fue" by Los Kjarkas.Īt the time of release, "Lambada" was regarded as the most successful European single in the history of CBS Records, with sales of 1.8 million copies in France and more than 4 million across Europe. The video, filmed on Cocos beach in the city of Trancoso, in the state of Bahia, Brazil featured the Brazilian child duo Chico & Roberta. It featured guest vocals by Brazilian vocalist Loalwa Braz, and was released as the first single from Kaoma's debut album Worldbeat.
In 1991, Kaoma released the album Tribal-Pursuit which provided the singles " Danca tago-mago" and "Moço do dende". At the 1990 Lo Nuestro Awards, Kaoma won two awards for Pop Group of the Year and New Pop Artist of the Year.
Īlso in 1989, Kaoma released their first album Worldbeat which achieved worldwide success, becoming - along with Beto Barbosa - one of the legends of Brazilian lambada. "Lambada" fared better in Europe, reaching number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. " Dançando Lambada" and " Mélodie d'amour" were the next two singles and were also hits, although they failed to earn the same success as "Lambada", which itself peaked at number 46 in the US Billboard Hot 100. Given Kaoma's clear act of plagiarism and release of their single without Los Kjarkas' permission, Los Kjarkas successfully sued. In 1989, they had a major chart-topping international hit with their dance music single " Lambada", a direct cover of the 1986 dance hit " Chorando Se Foi" by Brazilian singer-songwriter Márcia Ferreira, which itself was a legally authorized Portuguese-translated rendition of the original slow ballad " Llorando se fue" (1981) by Bolivian group Los Kjarkas.