Jorge Vercilo celebrates his first decade in music
After a lot of struggle, singer/songwriter that resembles Djavan has two songs on the radio
Rodrigo Faour
25/04/2001
After ten years on the road, singing and playing guitar, Jorge Vercilo finally has a reason to celebrate. He had released two albums on Continental that were poorly promoted, so he became his own agent and producer, made a third, independent album (Leve 
) and promoted it himself around Brazil. As a result, his songs started being aired and attracted the major labels. EMI hired him and re-issued the CD, taking advantage of the hit Final Feliz .
On MPB stations, the song - recorded with Djavan, his main influence -is on heavy rotation. It is gong to be covered by pagode group Só Pra Contrariar on their upcoming disc, Acústico, and Caetano Veloso will participate in it. The singer claims that the reason for his success is the sincerity. "I have been struggling for years, but I was lucky to be able to do my thing without market pressures", he explains.
Regardless of being compared to Djavan all the time, both for the voice and songwriting skills, he says that he's also influence by Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento. "I got turned on to music because of Djavan. Since I made my professional debut, he has always treated me with attention. He has told me two things that I've never forgotten. The first: 'If you want to make it, you'll have to struggle a lot, because fame is divine, but we have to deserve it more than other people.' The second: 'Keep writing more songs, because you're constantly learning and it is very good'. These two pieces of advice were very important to me", he says.
Songs with gay appeal
For all good reasons, when he had gathered songs to make a record, last year, he showed everything to Djavan, who got interested in Final Feliz and accepted Vercilo's invitation to perform on the track. The verses "Chega de fingir/ Eu não tenho nada a esconder (...) Pode me abraçar sem medo/ Pode encostar sua mão na minha" - ("No more pretending/I've got nothing to hide (...) You can hold me fearless/You can put your hand on mine") suggest different interpretations, for instance, that it is a homosexual love song (after all, it is sung by two men).
"I wrote it thinking of two people who are afraid to admit to a certain feeling. I have homosexual friends who had perceived the song that way, but the lyrics weren't written with that intention", Jorge explains. "But the same album features a song named Avesso, which clearly is about gay love; it's a tribute to my late friend Ricardo Camilo. Eventually, Avesso became a hit before Final Feliz and some of my friends thought that Final was Avesso's "part two". But I think it is wonderful that homosexuals can connect to my music. Even though I am a heterosexual, I think it is cool to talk about these subjects, because humans should gather different experiences", Jorge says.
In spite of the frequent comparisons to his idol Djavan, Vercilo remembers that Djavan himself was compared to other artists early in his career. "When he emerged, many people who did not know his music very well would compare him to Gilberto Gil. I should find my own path little by little", he says. He claims that, when the audience gets to know him better, comparisons will stop.
) and promoted it himself around Brazil. As a result, his songs started being aired and attracted the major labels. EMI hired him and re-issued the CD, taking advantage of the hit Final Feliz .
On MPB stations, the song - recorded with Djavan, his main influence -is on heavy rotation. It is gong to be covered by pagode group Só Pra Contrariar on their upcoming disc, Acústico, and Caetano Veloso will participate in it. The singer claims that the reason for his success is the sincerity. "I have been struggling for years, but I was lucky to be able to do my thing without market pressures", he explains.
Regardless of being compared to Djavan all the time, both for the voice and songwriting skills, he says that he's also influence by Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento. "I got turned on to music because of Djavan. Since I made my professional debut, he has always treated me with attention. He has told me two things that I've never forgotten. The first: 'If you want to make it, you'll have to struggle a lot, because fame is divine, but we have to deserve it more than other people.' The second: 'Keep writing more songs, because you're constantly learning and it is very good'. These two pieces of advice were very important to me", he says.
Songs with gay appeal
For all good reasons, when he had gathered songs to make a record, last year, he showed everything to Djavan, who got interested in Final Feliz and accepted Vercilo's invitation to perform on the track. The verses "Chega de fingir/ Eu não tenho nada a esconder (...) Pode me abraçar sem medo/ Pode encostar sua mão na minha" - ("No more pretending/I've got nothing to hide (...) You can hold me fearless/You can put your hand on mine") suggest different interpretations, for instance, that it is a homosexual love song (after all, it is sung by two men).
"I wrote it thinking of two people who are afraid to admit to a certain feeling. I have homosexual friends who had perceived the song that way, but the lyrics weren't written with that intention", Jorge explains. "But the same album features a song named Avesso, which clearly is about gay love; it's a tribute to my late friend Ricardo Camilo. Eventually, Avesso became a hit before Final Feliz and some of my friends thought that Final was Avesso's "part two". But I think it is wonderful that homosexuals can connect to my music. Even though I am a heterosexual, I think it is cool to talk about these subjects, because humans should gather different experiences", Jorge says.
In spite of the frequent comparisons to his idol Djavan, Vercilo remembers that Djavan himself was compared to other artists early in his career. "When he emerged, many people who did not know his music very well would compare him to Gilberto Gil. I should find my own path little by little", he says. He claims that, when the audience gets to know him better, comparisons will stop.