Press Release, April 24, 2006 SERGIO MENDES AND THE BLACK EYED PEAS SHOOT VIDEO FOR “MAS QUE NADA”

DATE:  APRIL 24, 2006
FROM:  TODD BRODGINSKI/ALEXANDRA GREENBERG/MITCH SCHNEDIER
 

 
SERGIO MENDES and THE BLACK EYED PEAS were in Atlanta last week to shoot a video for “Mas Que Nada,” the next single from Sergio’s critically acclaimed TIMELESS album (Concord Records/Starbucks Hear Music) that has already sold over 100,000 copies in its first two months of release.  For the video, Sergio and the Peas–will.i.am, Fergie, apl.de.ap and Taboo–created a vibrant now-and-then scenario, with Sergio’s son portraying him as a young man.

Look for SERGIO and the Black Eyed Peas to perform “Mas Que Nada”–compellingly reworked from Sergio’s groundbreaking 1966 hit–on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” Tuesday, May 9.

SERGIO has also confirmed a 40th anniversary celebration of his pivotal album Brasil ’66, to be held June 25 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.  Special guests featured on TIMELESS including John Legend, India.arie, Q-Tip, Marcelo D2 and the Maogani Quartet will join Sergio at this special concert, as will his dear friend and mentor Herb Alpert along with his wife Lani Hall, who sang on Brasil ’66.  “This historic event will be a celebration of all these years of great songs that have brought me so many memories and so much joy,” says SERGIO.  “It’s going to be a romantic and sensual night at the Bowl.”

When Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 released “Mas Que Nada” in 1966, it became a worldwide smash. It was the first Latin-pop crossover hit and the only time a song sung in Portuguese hit the top of the Billboard charts. TIMELESS was produced by the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am and features many special guests–each a Sergio fan–including the Peas, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Erykah Badu, India.arie, Jill Scott and Q-Tip, and is available now at Starbucks locations and at traditional retail outlets.  In a live review of Sergio’s performance with the Black Eyed Peas at a Los Angeles benefit show earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times noted that “‘Mas Que Nada’…with its festive spirit and pure melding of its two musical cultures, was the real denouement for this joyous occasion” (2/8/06).   To hear an interview with SERGIO and will.i.am that aired last week on NPR’s “Morning Edition” program, log onto http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5354925.

Meanwhile, Nike has chosen “Mas Que Nada” for a series of commercials running in conjunction with soccer’s World Cup.  The new version of the song is seamlessly weaved in a series of clips with Brazil’s soccer team, including such stars as Ronaldhino, Ronaldo, Adriano, Robinho and Roberto Carlos, as they prepare for a match.  The commercial is part of Nike’s “Jogo Bonito (Play Beautiful)” campaign, and can be seen at www.nikefootball.com.

For more on TIMELESS–described by Interview magazine as “…a glorious excursion that’s timeless, indeed–and funky as all get out” (March ’06)–check out www.sergiomendestimeless.com.