Mas que nada

"Mas que nada" is a Brazilian song written by Jorge Ben (now known as Jorge Ben Jor). It was first recorded in 1962 by Zé Maria, a Carioca bossa nova musician and bandleader, on the album *Tudo Azul - Bossa E Balanço*, with Zé Maria singing lead vocals. The following year, Jorge Ben released his own version on his debut album *Samba Esquema Novo*, which also came out as a single. In the years that followed, other prominent Brazilian artists covered the song, including Tamba Trio in 1963 and Luis Carlos Vinhas in 1964. The Brazilian edition of *Rolling Stone* ranked it the fifth-greatest Brazilian song, and it was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013.

The melody and vocalizations that Jorge Ben used in "Mas que nada" first appeared in a 1958 track called "Nanã Imborô" by Brazilian artist José Prates, on his album *Tam... Tam... Tam...!*. These motifs were later highlighted in Sérgio Mendes’ 1966 arrangement.

Sérgio Mendes covered the song with his band Brasil '66 on their debut album *Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66* (1966). In the United States, the single reached number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Easy Listening chart; in Canada, it reached number 54. Outside Brazil, this 1966 version is more widely known than Jorge Ben’s original and is often considered the definitive rendition. Mendes re-recorded the song in 1989 on his album *Arara*.

In 1998, Sérgio Mendes’ version was used in Nike’s "Airport '98" television commercial, broadcast ahead of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The ad’s success led Tamba Trio to re-release their version as a single, but the track featured in the commercial was Mendes’s. Although the Tamba Trio and Sérgio Mendes versions have different arrangements—the former features a prominent saxophone solo—the track is often mistaken for the other. Directed by John Woo, the multimillion-dollar ambush marketing campaign featured Brazil national football team players Ronaldo, Romário, and Roberto Carlos playing an impromptu game in an airport terminal. The commercial was widely acclaimed as one of the greatest sports advertisements, reintroducing the song to a new generation and cementing it as a global anthem for Brazilian football. This renewed attention paved the way for Mendes to re-record the song in 2006 with the Black Eyed Peas.

That 2006 version, featuring additional vocals by Mendes’