FMM: Love his music

For today's Friday Magic Madness, I'll pay tribute to Sergio Mendes.

It's been almost a month since he went up the great concert hall in the sky, but realised that I haven't written about that moment yet. 

The wonderful thing about singers - including Sergio - is that they leave behind beautiful music and memories that will live on after they're gone. And with his prolific work, there'll be a lot of songs to remind us of what a musical genius he was.

I've featured his songs many times before, and here's another one for today.

As he goes up in heaven, the lyrics of "Love City" resonates even more. 

"it's the only place he feels at home."

FMM: Take Note

Sergio Mendes has been popping up on YouTube of late. Which is good because I'm a fan.

What's nice about it is the fact that I'm rediscovering a lot of their songs. One of the songs that played was a catch ditty that deserves to be today's Friday Magic Madness song.

"One Note Samba" shouldn't be confused with the Basia version. This one is more uplifting, more perky, and is a mood-lifter. Bonus is the fact that there are parts of the song that have been sampled by Sesame Street songs.

This song is def going on repeat!

FMM: Heading out

For today's Friday Magic Madness, we have a triple feature!

It's just one song, but it was done by 2 different singers. Each rendition was so catchy and infectious that both versions deserve an FMM spot today.

The song is "Going out of my head," It's a song that was originally sung by Little Anthony and the Imperials in 1964.

But the version I'm more familiar with was the one from Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66. Credit it to their Brazilian roots, but their rendition has this samba vibe to it.

But wait, there's more! There's a version of this song from the country's one and only superstar - Ms. Nora Aunor!

Her version has its own charm and flavour, and is equally infectious.

Gosh! This song will be playing in my head for a long, long time.

FMM: Because football reminds me of Brazil

Everyone's talking about football, particularly the World Cup.

Whenever I hear the word "football," the first thing that comes to mind is Pele. After all, he's one of the most iconic football players in the world.

Whenever I hear the name "Pele," of course I remember Brazil.

Whenever I hear the country "Brazil," another thing I remember is my favorite musician, Sergio Mendes.

And that led me to today's choice of Friday Magic Madness song. It's a 60s classic from Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66.



That figures, right?