Regina Belle was born in Englewood, New Jersey. Her early musical experience was in gospel music. She also studied trombone, tuba and steel drums and graduated from Dwight Morrow High School. In college at Rutgers University, she studied opera and jazz.
She met the Manhattans and began working as their opening act. She even recorded a duet with them, "Where Did We Go Wrong." her hard work earned her a record deal with Columbia Records.
In 1987, she released her album All By Myself which featured the hit single "Show Me The Way" which reached #2 on the R&B charts. In 1989, Belle released her sophomore album, "Stay With Me". Going gold, the album was packed with several strong and catchy songs. "Baby Come To Me", the album's first single, topped the R&B charts at # 1 and was followed by "What Goes Around" which reached #3. The album featured two additional popular singles, "This Is Love" which reached #7 and "Make It Like It Was" which was another #1 single on the R&B charts and #5 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Belle recorded a duet in 1991 with singing superstar Johnny Mathis, "Better Together" which appeared on his album Better Together: The Duet Album. Continuing her success with duets, Belle teamed up with Peabo Bryson for the song "A Whole New World" from the Aladdin Soundtrack. The song went gold and won the Grammy Award in 1993 for "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Unfortunately, the duet did not catapult Regina into Pop superstardom as Peabo's duet with Celine Dion, "Beauty and the Beast" did.
During the same year, Belle released her third album, "Passion". Going Gold, the album featured the previously mentioned "A Whole New World", "Dream In Colour and "If I Could" which reached #9 on the R&B charts. Both did well on the A/C chart. A fouth single, "The Deeper I Love" was released but it did not chart.
After a five year hiatus without any original content released, Belle put out the album "Believe in Me" in 1998. If was much more of a commercial Urban contemporary album than any of her other albums. Although the album had two hit singles, the lead single being "I've Had Enough" (it was also remixed into a sizable dance music hit), the album didn't met MCA Records sales goal. She was droped by MCA Record in 1999. In 2001, she released the album "This Is Regina!" which featured the sensual hit single, "Ooh Boy". Another single was not lifted from the album. "This Is Regina!" went Gold.
Belle is still active in the music industry and in 2004, released the album, "Lazy Afternoon". In 2005, she had several successful concerts and apprances singing both new songs and older favourites. Regina Belle is not a well known figure by the Caucasion music audiences but should be since she is one of the highest quality Adult Contemporary/Pop singer to arise in recent times.
in 2008, Belle released her first Gospel album, "Love Forever Shines" on Pendulum Records. The album peaked at #115 on the Billboard 200, #15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #3 Top Gospel Albums chart. The albums' single, "God Is Good" became a hit, peaking at #34 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, #36 Hot Adult R&B Airplay and #2 on the Hot Gospel Songs chart. She continues to tour. She also also become a regular on the Gopsel music circuit since then.
Corcovado
Regina Belle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Este amor, uma canção
Pra fazer feliz a quem se ama
Muita calma pra pensar
E ter tempo pra sonhar
Da janela vê-se o Corcovado
Quero a vida sempre assim com você perto de mim
Até o apagar da velha chama
E eu que era triste
Descrente deste mundo
Ao encontrar você eu conheci
O que é felicidade meu amor
O que é felicidade, o que é felicidade
Regina Belle's song "Corcovado" is a love song celebrating the happiness and contentment found in a relationship. The opening lines describe a peaceful setting of a corner and a guitar, with love as the song to make its recipient happy. The following stanza outlines the importance of slowing down to think and dream, while the third and fourth lines beautifully describe the view of the Corcovado and the beauty of the Redemptor statue.
The chorus then declares a desire to always be with the loved one, until the end of the flame, and suggests that the singer's former sadness and disbelief in the world were overcome by meeting this person and discovering what happiness truly is. The repeated question of "What is happiness?" reinforces the idea that the love between the two individuals is the source of happiness.
Overall, Belle's lyrics paint a picture of a simple yet profound love story, set against the backdrop of the beautiful Corcovado landscape.
Line by Line Meaning
Um cantinho e um violão
A simple, peaceful setting with just a guitar is all we need to create a beautiful moment of love.
Este amor, uma canção
Our love is like a song, something that we can cherish forever and share with others.
Pra fazer feliz a quem se ama
The purpose of this love and song is to bring happiness to the one we love.
Muita calma pra pensar
We need peace and stillness to be able to reflect on our thoughts.
E ter tempo pra sonhar
And we also need time to dream and imagine where we want to go.
Da janela vê-se o Corcovado
From the window, we can see the Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro.
O Redentor que lindo
The towering statue of Christ the Redeemer on the Corcovado mountain is a beautiful sight to behold.
Quero a vida sempre assim com você perto de mim
I want to spend my life always with you, close by my side.
Até o apagar da velha chama
Even when the passion and excitement of our love fades over time, I still want to be with you.
E eu que era triste
Once I was unhappy and despondent,
Descrente deste mundo
Lacking belief in the world and its possibilities.
Ao encontrar você eu conheci
But when I met you, I discovered
O que é felicidade meu amor
What true happiness is, my love.
O que é felicidade, o que é felicidade
What is happiness? What is happiness?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Antonio Carlos Jobim
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind