Born Tiago Vasconcelos Goulart Pinheiro de Albergaria e Bettencourt on September 16, 1979, in Coimbra, Portugal, Bettencourt initially rose to fame as a member of the rock band Toranja. Comprised of Ricardo Frutuoso (guitar), Dodi (bass), and Rato (drums) in addition to Bettencourt (vocals, guitar, piano), Toranja made their full-length album debut with Esquissos (2003), which spawned the hit single "Carta." The band released one more album, Segundo (2005), and scored another hit single, "Laços," before dissolving in 2006. Bettencourt subsequently embarked on a solo career and traveled to Montreal, Canada, to work with acclaimed producer Howard Bilerman, most notably credited with producing the Arcade Fire's debut album, Funeral (2004). In association with Universal Music, Bettencourt made his solo album debut with O Jardim (2007). Featuring the hit single "Canção Simples," the album is billed to Tiago Bettencourt & Mantha, a band comprised of Pedro Gonçalves (bass) and João Lencastre (drums), in addition to Bettencourt. While O Jardim was moderately successful from a commercial standpoint, reaching the Top 30 of the Portuguese albums chart, Bettencourt's second album with Mantha, Em Fuga (2010), was a chart-topping blockbuster success. Featuring new bandmembers Tiago Maia (bass) and Benny Lackner (piano), in addition to Bettencourt and Lencastre, Em Fuga spawned the singles "Só Mais uma Volta" and "Chocámos Tu e Eu." ~ Jason Birchmeier