Valeria Oliveira is a 40-year-old Brazilian pop singer and songwriter who has already toured in several cities of Japan, Switzerland and Brazil. She also plays the guitar and works as a music producer.

Selected to the Pixinguinha Project, one of the most important ones supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, Valeria has just finished her upcoming album called *no ar* (*in the airplay* in English) to be released in October.

This year, Valeria attended South by Southwest 2009 Austin, Texas, where she performed at the Copa Bar & Grill and in the Brazilian Night at The Rio. Her energy, subtleties, simple forms of executing the music, sound effect outlines, improvisation, challenging and daring interpretations, all these assets made the two concerts ever so dynamic and surprising.

Her live concert was based on her former studio album *leve so as pedras* (*take only the stones* in English). With music production of Kazuo Yoshida, this album is a mark in her career since most of the tracks are composed by herself. But Valeria Oliveira also featured new versions of old hits such as "A tua presenca morena" written by Caetano Veloso and "O ultimo por-do-sol" by Lenine and Lula Queiroga. The Japanese version of the album includes the bonus track "Quando", written and formerly recorded by Roberto Carlos, which is one of the best moments of the concert due to her innovative performance.

The release tour of the album *leve so as pedras* started in 2007 in the singer’s hometown (Natal) and included Sao Paulo where she peformed twice at Crowne Plaza Theatre. The concert was a success in terms of criticism and audience, and just after it was released in unplugged format in Switzerland.

The concert and the album were widely promoted on radios stations, online TV channels and newspapers – from which we can outline the critique of "Folha de Sao Paulo" written by the journalist Luiz Fernando Vianna. Last year, one of the most influents critics of music in Brazil, Nelson Motta, highlighted this album and Valeria’s talent in his radio program, newsletter and website sintoniafina.com.br.