"The French public welcomed me from the beginning, three and a half years ago, with my first EP 'Baia'. I can only thank you. And I feel honored and lucky because it's a mix of hard work and the luck of an audience in France that receives music in Portuguese and kibundo, from Angola," said Pongo, in an interview with Agência Lusa.
The artist who has made known a new face of kuduro to the world, performed in Gentilly, on the outskirts of Paris, in a concert as part of the Festi'Val de Marne.
Pongo started its European tour in Brussels, in September, having already passed through France, Portugal, Spain and counting on more dates in France and Portugal.
This is a return that the artist qualifies as "great", especially with the audience already up and participating fully.
"It's been great, a lot of work. I'm very happy for the result and to be back on stage after this phase we went through, despite having done some concerts during the pandemic, it doesn't compare to returning to the stage with people standing, all together," she indicated.
At the Pongo concert in Gentilly, with the necessary precautions and upon presentation of the health pass, people of all ages gathered to sing in unison and dance themes such as "Chora", "Baia", "Quem Manda no Mic" and even her latest single "Bruxos".
It was also the moment to present to the public the next single, "Começar", which will be part of the album that will come out in February 2022, published by Universal França.
"I signed with Universal France my album, which we are working on, and of which 'Bruxos' is a part. Having the band in France and the production structure, during the pandemic, what I did was recordings for the album and we were communicating, working and doing some promotions", she explained, adding that the new work will be "a mixture of rhythms and feelings".
For Pongo, the pandemic came at the height of her promotion of her work "Uwa", at a time when she was touring more than 60 dates across Europe.
Without the possibility of concerts, the project "lost direction" and stopping was frustrating for the Portuguese-Angolan singer, who with the single "Bruxos", released in the summer of this year, wanted to reverse this cycle.
"I put my foot down and said: enough. People at home are already quite depressed and so am I and I think we need energy and not more music to think about yesterday. That's how we chose 'Bruxos' and that's how we all woke up together," she explained.
Among the postponed dates, there was also her return to Angola as an artist. Pongo now hopes to be able to return to her roots in 2022, and there is already a lot of interest and contacts for concerts in Angola.
"I hope for next year to be able to set foot in my homeland. It would be a blessing I want and need," she concluded.
Born in Angola, Pongo moved to Portugal as a child. Her music career began at age 15, when she voiced the song "Kalemba (Wegue Wegue)" by Buraka Som Sistema, ending up pursuing a solo career a few years later.
Her first work, "Baia", was edited in 2018 and the publication NME placed her on the list of 100 new artists for 2020, and the BBC Radio 6 Music station, included themes from Pongo in its 'playlist'. In France, Pongo was invited by the couple Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron to liven up the Music Day at the Élysée Palace in 2019.
