What’s the song I keep hearing in Olympic coverage?
 

It’s a smooth bossa nova/acid jazz kind of song with a pronounced beat and female vocals that go "oooooh, ah-ee-oh". It's definitely a well-known song that I had heard plenty of times before the Olympics. I’ve heard both as general music in the games reporting and as music that gymnasts have done routines to.

Anyone know what it is?

Anyone?

It's "Mas Que Nada" by Sergio Mendes. Thanks everyone for your help.

No problem.

Anytime.

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Aside from the fact that that's a samba, not a bossa, and, well, acid jazz??? we should have gotten this from "oooooh, ah-ee-oh" . . . maybe. I don't know. At any rate, this is the first I'm seeing of your thread.

And good tune. <thumbs up>






(Actually, re "acid jazz," it does have a slight soul-jazz touch to it a la Ramsey Lewis, say, so I guess that was the idea there.)

I was hoping more that guesses would stem from the fact that it was played a lot during the Olympics—and there really are only a handful of songs that were.

It doesn't have the sound I associate with samba, but I see now that Wikipedia lists it as samba/samba rock so my bad. Though, on the other hand, Wikipedia also lists the Sergio Mendes album it's on as being Bossa Nova. Honestly, despite having a mother who grew up in Brazil, I'm not very knowledgeable of Brazilian musical styles. If you can help clarify the differences between Samba and Bossa Nova (and Tropicalia for that matter), I'd appreciate it.

Some of the versions of it that they played during the Olympics were more electronic in style and had an acid jazz tinge, which is why I mentioned acid jazz.

It is indeed. I'm glad I figured out what it was.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

You owe us one.

No problem.