Biography

Docemania is a 21st century children's music update of Doce, a Portuguese girl group that was a pop sensation during the early '80s. Founded in 1979 in Lisbon, Portugal, the original version of Doce was a quartet comprised of vocalists Laura Diogo, Lena Coelho, Fátima Padinha, and Teresa Miguel. Padinha and Miguel previously had been members of the pop quartet Gemini, which represented Portugal at the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest and released a few albums in the late '70s. Like Gemini, Doce set their sights on the annual Eurovision Song Contest. For three years in a row, they competed at the Festival RTP da Canção, the winner of which represents Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1980 Doce finished in second place at the festival with their song "Doce." The following year they performed the song "Ali-Bábá" and finished in fourth place before at last finishing in first place at the festival in 1982 with the song "Bem Bom." They proceeded to compete at that year's Eurovision Song Contest, where they finished in 13th place. Meanwhile, between the years 1980 and 1984, Doce released the albums OK, KO (1980) and É Demais (1981) on Polygram, plus numerous singles. The group dissolved in the mid-'80s, leading to the release of greatest-hits compilations such as Doce 1979-1987 (1986) and Docemania (2003). The latter compilation proved especially popular, reaching the Top Ten of the Portuguese albums chart and triggering a wave of Doce nostalgia. In light of the renewed interest in Doce, Universal Music released the album Docemania (2006). Not to be confused with the 2003 compilation of the same name, Docemania is a children's music album comprised of re-recorded versions of Doce's greatest hits. It was a Top Five hit, as was the follow-up album, 2+2 (2008). ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi