Tiago Vasconcelos de Albergaria Pinheiro Goulart de Bettencourt (Coimbra

Coimbra

Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...

 September 16, 1979) is a Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 singer, who was the lead singer of Toranja.
He had a stint on the Portuguese television station TVI Canta Por Mim (Sing For Me) as a celebrity where he sang alongside Dalila Carmo

Dalila Carmo

Dalila Carmo is a Portuguese actress.She trained at The Actors Studio in New York in 1996-1997 with Marcia Haufrecht, who directed her in Vidas Publicadas by Donald Margulies, Teatro da Comuna , A Lição de Ionesco , and Ludlow Fair by Lansford Wilson at The Common Basis Theatre.She was a cast...

. Both were together until the final where he qualified in second position.

Personal life

Tiago Bettencourt was born in Coimbra

Coimbra

Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...

 and moved to Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

. His father was born in São Jorge Island, Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

. His mother is from Coimbra

Coimbra

Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...

He attended with his brother, João, Colégio D. Luísa Sigea, located in Estoril

Estoril

Estoril is a seaside resort and civil parish of the Portuguese municipality of Cascais, Lisboa District. The Estoril coast is close to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. It starts in Carcavelos, 15 kilometres from Lisbon, and stretches as far as Guincho, often known as Costa de Estoril-Sintra or...

.
His mother was a teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

 of Portuguese language

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 in the Salesian School in Estoril.

Tiago Bettencourt & Mantha

In 2006, Toranja

Toranja

Toranja is a Portuguese rock band with a flair for lyrics with a rebellious tone. Their first album "Esquissos" was greeted with some acclaim in Portugal. "Segundo" is the title of their second - and ironically named - album which established Toranja as one of the relevant names of the new...

 announced an indefinite pause. Tiago Bettencourt left Portugal for Canada to record his first solo album, which came out in 2007. This work was recorded in Hotel2Tango

Hotel2Tango

The Hotel2Tango is a 24-track analogue recording studio situated in the Mile End district of Montreal, Quebec. The current facility is the second to bear the name, and was preceded by a similar operation in the same neighborhood until 2007 when the studio changed locations...

 studios in Montreal, the same studio that produced the successful album Funeral

Funeral (album)

Funeral is the debut full-length album by the Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on September 14, 2004 in North America by Merge Records and on February 28, 2005 in Europe by Rough Trade Records...

 by Arcade Fire, by producer Howard Bilerman

Howard Bilerman

Howard Bilerman is a Canadian recording engineer, producer, and Grammy nominated musician. He is a former member of the band Arcade Fire, having recorded & drummed on their debut album, Funeral, as well as records by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, Vic Chesnutt, Basia...

. In 2007 they released their first album "O Jardim" (The Garden). One major success was the song "Canção Simples" (Simple Song). Tiago's backing band known as Mantha is composed of:

• Tiago Bettencourt - singing, pianist and guitarist
• Pedro Gonçalves - composer and bass guitarist
• João Lencastre - drummer