Charlotte in red’s journey with Fábia Maia started in Portimão (PT) in 2019, where our co-founder Patrizia was attending a conference organised by Shesaid.so, a global community of women and gender minorities in the music industry. Fábia was one of the artists showcased at this conference, and Patrizia fell in love with her talent, her powerful presence on stage and her personality.

Fábia Maia knew early on that she wanted to be an artist… and grandmother Dilória, who insisted on her grand-daughter attending a musical school would play an instrumental role in Fábia’s life and future career.

Charlotte’s Journey with Fábia Maia

In the 2000s, Fábia discovered Avril Lavigne who became her idol. As a matter of fact her bedroom was plastered with photos and posters of Avril, who gave the Portuguese artist the courage to ask her mother for a black electric guitar as a Christmas gift. Today, she credits her musical career to the Canadian artist.

Fábia’s greatest heartbreak, led her to do covers of well-known Portuguese Hip Hop artists. Her then partner had told her: "One day these songs that you don't appreciate will make perfect sense for your life". With hindsight, this is exactly what happened! Feeling homesick and heartbroken, Fábia found herself covering Allen Halloween, Jack, Bezegol and Regula to fill the void. This gave her the opportunity to meet many Rap music idols. She even appeared on Jimmy P's album "Essência", in the song "Má vida".

Fabia produced her first EP "Melodia-me" with the participation of Slow j and Jimmy P. It was her first step towards that inner self she was seeking. Later she recorded her singles "Vibe Certa", "Barcelona-Paris" and "My Baby". It was an experience, to understand what the path would be, she confesses. She often portrays that period of time as a bit bleak. A feeling that many doors were closing after having been deceived by unfulfilled promises that had been made to her.

The most memorable moment was when she felt she was not good enough, when she felt her music would never be recognized. Hitting rock bottom gave her the strength to pick herself up and devote all her energy to fulfill her greatest desire: making music. Fábia decided to dedicate herself full time to work on her music, without excuses.

Side Talk with Fábia Maia

Career Highlights

Fábia acclaimed the most promising artist in Portugal as soon as she released her famous covers of Portuguese rappers. She managed to infuse melody in these songs and perform them as if they were hers. She gained prominence and performed with these well-known rappers, especially Jack, Regula and Jimmy P, all over the country. Her first EP "Melodia-me" was released with the participation of artists such as Slow J and Jimmy P.

Being cherished by the hip hop scene for her covers at a time when rap had not yet become a mainstream genre landed her a partnership with Universal Music Group for a music distribution deal.

After the release of several singles including "a vibe certa", she was highlighted at the National Film Festival, because the video for this track introduced something new in the Portuguese music scene: the notion of freedom at all levels. Fábia went on to win a place in the compilation of "New Portuguese Talents" by FNAC 2019 and toured the country promoting this new way of being.

As a result of her hard work and, above all, of her commitment to independence and her true self, Fábia Maia has been selected as one of the composers for the 2021 Portugal Song Festival, where she qualified for the finals on February 20.