EZ Special is a Portuguese musical group formed in 2000, in Santa Maria da Feira.
EZ Special took two years to compose, record and present Partizan Pop, their first album. They presented it to the press on the 22nd and 23rd of March 2002, at parties held, respectively, at the Via Rápida nightclub (Porto) and at the Cine Teatro António Lamoso, in Santa Maria da Feira.
These were atypical events publicized in the media, especially if we consider the fact that Partizan Pop was just a CD-Single, and that the band had not released any other album to date. The performance, on stage with EZ Special, by Saul Davies, guitarist and violinist of the British band James, contributed greatly to the enormous media coverage of these two concerts.
The month of May of that year would be occupied by performances at academic parties across the country.
Meanwhile, the band was preparing the release of their debut album. He maintained the services of Quico Serrano, the prestigious Portuguese musician and producer responsible for Partizan Pop. He also secured, however, the services of Saul Davies in the production of this feature-length film. Saul Davies had previously produced albums by James, in partnership with Brian Eno, who in turn is known for his work on the works of acclaimed artists such as U2 and David Bowie.
In August, EZ Special would balance studio work with life on the road and on stage. They traveled to Vila Viçosa, to perform at the Mondego Summer Festival, to Carviçais for another edition of the Transmontano Carviçais Rock Festival and performed at the Paredes de Coura Festival, where they were one of the few bands in the festival’s history to perform on the main stage without still have released an album.
During this period, the video clips Lights Out and Trouble Shooting, songs included in Partizan Pop, were shown on television. On September 17, 2002, EZ Special released Daisy, the single from their album. And, that same day, in collaboration with Semanário Blitz, they offered this CD-Single to the 20 thousand readers of Jornal BLITZ. In March 2003, Universal released EZ Special’s debut album, titled In n’Out. This album would take them to the national best-selling album charts for several weeks.
Daisy became the soundtrack for TMN’s I9 campaign, and sold more than 250 thousand compilations, constituting the paradigm of success in Portuguese lands.
In 2004, EZ Special began publishing the compilation album Manifesto, which included the title song from their first album, which had been removed from it. The song In n’Out was released in March 2004, and was the song that TMN chose to sound for the entry of the 3rd generation of mobile phones in Portugal, in the I9 3G campaign. It was at the end of 2004 that EZ Special began recording Leitmotiv, the band’s second album.
“My Explanation”, the launch single, saw its entry onto the radio early due to its appearance in the TMN I9 3G campaign, and had a brilliant entry into the charts. Published in January 2005, by March it had reached the Top 3 of the most played songs in Portugal. The song’s video clip, recorded in New York by director Rui de Brito, and with the participation of model Diana Pereira, quickly rose in the voting lists created by MTV Portugal viewers. Among radio listeners, the song was received with surprising votes, reaching first place on several of the main national radio stations.
EZ Special’s tour intensified after the release of Leitmotiv, on February 28, 2005, which entered the national sales charts. Since the edition of Partizan Pop, in 2002, EZ Special reached, in April 2005, the mark of around 200 shows performed.
At the end of 2006, the band’s lead singer, Ricardo Azevedo, left to pursue a solo project. Orlando Pona, former lead singer of Feed, a band that marked the national funk scene in the 90s, is replacing him.
At the beginning of 2007, the launch of a new album was announced, in Portuguese, with the new line-up. This album, entitled “Alguém Como Tu”, was released on April 9, 2007 and had as its first sample the single “Sei Que Sabes Que Sim”, which quickly became another hit for the band, immediately entering the top charts. of national airplay. The video clip for this song features the protagonists of Adelaide de Sousa and Ricardo Pereira.
The album “Alguém Como Tu” includes, in its special launch edition, the offer of a DVD containing an acoustic show by the band, recorded in Porto, as well as other extras. Other themes from this album are included in the soundtrack of soap operas, such as “Tu e Eu” and “Morangos Com Açúcar” (TVI).
On Gato Fedorento’s “Diz Que É Uma Espécie de Magazine” program, EZ Special performed a cover of Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time”, adapted into Portuguese as “Oh! Bebé Mais Uma Vez”.
At the album presentation party, held on May 23, 2007, at Buddha LX, EZ Special performed in collaboration with stylist Pedro Mourão, in which Merche Romero, Pimpinha Jardim, Olga Diegues, Miriam Santos and Maya participated.
The theme “Sei Que Sabes Que Sim”, included in the soundtrack of the soap opera “Ilha dos Amores” (TVI), quickly became one of the most played songs on the radio, having reached, in the first week of August 2007, the 2nd position of the songs most played on Portuguese radio stations, in a list compiling all national and foreign hits. This song was, for several weeks, No. 1 in downloads on the iTunes store.
The theme “Se Em Ti Eu Não Mando” is included in the soundtrack of the soap opera “Tu e Eu”, also on TVI.
“Menina Bonita (Deixas Saudade)” is the second single taken from the album “Alguém Como Tu” and is one of the songs from the soap opera “Morangos Com Açúcar” (TVI), and is also one of the five most played songs on national radio stations. The video clip for “Menina Bonita” featured model and presenter Isabel Figueira as its protagonist. This song was one of only two performed live, at the Operação Triunfo RTP) gala dedicated to the hits of the year 2007, as well as at the TVI Gala, broadcast from the Estoril Casino on December 12, 2007.
The EZ Special tour, with several dates across the country, is supported by RFM. On August 3, 2007, EZ Special performed with Keane at Parque da Cidade do Porto, in a concert in which the band crossed the walkway in front of the stage to thank the more than 15,000 spectators for the fantastic reception.
At the end of the third quarter of 2007, the themes “Chama Por Mim” and “Alguém Como Tu, Mulher” were included in the soundtrack of the soap opera “Deixa-me Amar” (TVI).
In December 2007, EZ Special composed and edited the song “O Natal Somos Nós” whose theme, as the title indicates, is the Christmas season. The band also decided to perform a series of special Christmas shows, in Lisbon (16 December) and in Gaia (21 December). The proceeds from the Lisbon show were entirely allocated to solidarity.
EZ Special were the headliners at the New Year’s Eve parties in Faro, in a great show on December 31, 2007.
In January 2008, the single “Chama Por Mim” was released, which reached 5th place among the most played Portuguese songs on national radio. During 2008, “Alguém Como Tu” was the 4th single to be taken from the album of the same name and already had a more discreet passage on national radio stations. During this year, the band went on a major tour, with dozens of shows in Portugal and recorded the album that would be released the following year.
In February 2009, “Lua (Não Há Outra Assim)” and “Segredos” (the latter is a duet with Paulo Gonzo) were presented, two songs from EZ Special’s fourth album, entitled “Presente”, released on May 11th. 2009. The album “Presente” had a very significant promotional campaign, with presence in various media and prominently on general television news programs.
