ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Cynthia Erivo - Actor, performer
Best known for her role in the Broadway revival of "The Color Purple," Cynthia Erivo is a Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning performer.

Why you should listen

Cynthia Erivo made her Broadway debut as Celie in The Color Purple -- a role that earned her Tony, Grammy and Emmy Awards. Erivo has performed for the annual Kennedy Center Honors and been featured on stage in Sister Act as well as A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Most recently, Erivo teamed up with John Legend at the 2017 Grammy Awards to perform the Beach Boys’ song, “God Only Knows.”

The actress stars with Viola Davis in the upcoming Steve McQueen film Widows, and as Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet.

More profile about the speaker
Cynthia Erivo | Speaker | TED.com
Jason Webb - Musical director
Jason Webb is a writer, musical director, arranger, orchestrator, lecturer and a lover of music.

Why you should listen

From conducting orchestras in Broadway pits to writing and arranging music for a presidential inauguration, Jason Michael Webb has dedicated his life to using music to heal, uplift and encourage.

Webb;s early musical training consisted of formal classical study, playing in small churches and listening to pop music. By 21, he had a degree in classical piano, played in the biggest churches in New York City and made his orchestral solo debut with the Queens Symphony Orchestra. He then went on to become Musical Director of the six-time Grammy-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle, for whom he co-wrote and produced four albums for The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, leading to two Stellar Award nominations and a Dove Award win. His arrangement of BTC's "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was featured at the 2013 inauguration of President Barack Obama and simultaneously heard by over one billion people worldwide.

Webb also recently served as musical director of the Tony- and Grammy-winning 2016 Broadway Revival of Oprah Winfrey's "The Color Purple", directed by John Doyle and based on the timeless novel by Alice Walker. Webb is now currently the US Music Supervisor of the tour, as well as Music Director/Arranger for Cynthia Erivo, who won a 2016 Tony Award as Celie in the Broadway Revival.

Mr. Webb’s writing can also be heard on the TV series "Empire", Netflix’s film Juanita, and numerous recording projects and original musicals, including "The First Noel" (produced annually at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, NYC) and the South African musical "Ilathi," which premiered July 2017 at the New York Musical Festival. Webb has conducted live and recording orchestras from New York to LA, including pianist Lang Lang's 2016 love letter to NYC, "New York Rhapsody", which featured performances by Rufus Wainwright, Regina Spektor and Suzanne Vega.

More profile about the speaker
Jason Webb | Speaker | TED.com
TED2017

Cynthia Erivo: "Natural Woman" and "Johnny and Donna"

Cynthia Erivo: "Natural Woman" e "Johnny and Donna"

Filmed:
170,354 views

"Eu amo cantar", diz Cynthia Erivo, "porque é o caminho mais curto para o coração". Ouça enquanto Erivo medita sobre o superpoder que a música tem de nos conectar, entre lindas e comoventes performances de "Johnny & Donna" de Mali Music e "Natural Woman" (Mulher Natural) de Aretha Franklin, acompanhada por Jason Webb no piano.
- Actor, performer
Best known for her role in the Broadway revival of "The Color Purple," Cynthia Erivo is a Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning performer. Full bio - Musical director
Jason Webb is a writer, musical director, arranger, orchestrator, lecturer and a lover of music. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
Johnny met Donna,
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♪ Jonny conheceu a Donna
00:16
(Piano)
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(Piano)
00:18
and they fell in love,
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e eles se apaixonaram
mas não faziam ideia
00:23
but had no idea
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00:27
what love really was.
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do que o amor realmente era.
00:32
So they tried their best
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Deram o melhor que podiam
00:36
to make each other smile.
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para alcançar a felicidade.
00:41
But while learning themselves,
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Mas enquanto ensinavam um ao outro,
00:46
they would have a child.
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teriam um filho.
00:50
But with no time to think
the whole thing through,
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Mas sem tempo de pensar sobre tudo isso,
00:56
little time to prepare,
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com pouco tempo para se preparar,
01:00
it got tough to provide for him
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ficou difícil de proporcionar à ele
01:05
and give him love and care.
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amor e cuidado.
01:10
How, how, how, how, how do I?
When and where?
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Como, como, como eu faço? Quando e onde?
01:15
Are questions they both often ask God.
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São perguntas que eles fazem para Deus.
01:21
Life is full of twist, twist.
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A vida é cheia de volta, volta.
01:23
Life is full of twirl,
twirl, t-twirl, twirl.
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A vida é cheia de giro, giro, giro, giro.
01:26
Yeah, it's the weight of the world,
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Sim, é o peso do mundo
01:29
it flips you upside down
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que te lança de cabeça para baixo
01:31
when you're young, when you're old
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seja você jovem ou velho
01:33
it just spins out of control,
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ele gira fora de controle.
01:37
oh.
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Ó.
01:39
Spins out of control,
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Gira fora de controle,
01:42
so ...
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então...
01:44
hold on
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aguente firme...
01:48
because you'll never know.
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porque nunca se sabe.
01:50
(Piano)
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(Piano)
01:53
Johnny and Donna
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Johnny e Donna
01:58
slowly recognized
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lentamente reconheceram
02:02
that for the baby's future,
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que para o futuro do bebê,
02:07
they planned two different lives.
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eles planejaram duas vidas diferentes.
02:12
Donna wanted a family.
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Donna queria uma família.
02:16
She wanted to do it right,
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Queria fazer a coisa certa,
02:21
make Johnny's house a home.
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fazer da casa de Johnny um lar.
02:26
She wanted to be a wife.
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Queria ser uma esposa.
02:31
Johnny was a dreamer.
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Johnny era um sonhador.
02:36
He had to move around.
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Tinha que se mexer.
02:40
Yeah, he'd be there for his child,
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Sim, ele estaria lá pelo seu filho,
02:45
but wouldn't settle down.
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mas não sossegaria.
02:50
How, how, how, how, how do I?
When and where?
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Como, como, como eu faço? Quando e onde?
02:55
Are questions they both often ask God.
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São perguntas que fazem para Deus,
03:00
Life is full of twist, twist.
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A vida é cheia de volta, volta.
03:03
Life is full of twirl,
twirl, t-twirl, twirl.
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3428
A vida é cheia de giro, giro, giro, giro.
03:06
Yeah, it's the weight of the world.
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Sim, é o peso do mundo.
03:08
It's whirlwinds and girlfriends,
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São tornados e namoradas,
03:11
toys and boyfriend, friends
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brinquedos, namorado, amigos e franceses,
03:13
and Frenchmen,
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03:14
war, peace, impeachment, gentlemen,
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guerra, paz, impeachment, cavalheiros,
03:17
ladies, Sunday, shady mistakes,
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senhoras, domingo, erros sombrios,
03:21
and peach rings,
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e gomas de pêssego,
03:23
blacks and bleach stains.
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negros e manchas de desinfetante.
03:27
Don't forget wasps and bee stings, oh.
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Não se esqueça das vespas
e picadas de abelha, ó.
03:33
Whether you're Johnny or Donna,
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Seja você Johnny ou Donna,
03:38
or neither of the two,
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ou nenhum deles,
03:43
just try to make the best
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só faça o seu melhor
03:49
of what's given to you.
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do que lhe foi dado.
03:51
Ha, ha, ha, ha.
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Ah, ah, ah, ah.
03:56
Ha, ha, ha, ha.
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Ah, ah, ah, ah.
04:02
Ha, ha, ha, ha.
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Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪
04:10
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
04:12
Thank you.
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Obrigada.
04:13
(Applause)
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(Aplausos) (Vivas)
04:24
I don't know if you can tell,
but I love music.
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Não sei se conseguem reparar,
mas eu amo música
04:27
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
04:28
I love to sing.
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Eu amo cantar.
04:29
And it's because I feel like
it's the fast-track route to the heart.
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Porque sinto que a música é o caminho
mais rápido para o coração.
04:34
I feel like when I sing,
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Eu sinto que quando canto,
04:36
I get to connect with each one of you.
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consigo me conectar com cada um de vocês.
04:39
And it's not because of the tune,
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E não é pela melodia,
04:41
it's not because of the lyrics,
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não é por causa da letra,
04:42
it's not because of the tempo
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não é por causa do tempo
04:44
or the pitch.
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ou da altura.
04:46
It's because, somehow,
we all understand music.
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É porque, de certa forma, todos
nós entendemos música.
04:51
It's a universal language.
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É uma língua universal.
04:53
Imagine: one language
that we can all understand.
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Imaginem: uma língua que todos
podemos compreender.
04:56
We might not all speak it
as fluently as each other,
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Talvez não falemos todos fluentemente,
05:00
but we can definitely understand it.
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mas com certeza podemos entendê-la.
05:03
And so, I speak it,
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E então, eu falo,
05:05
and my job as the singer
or the storyteller
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e meu trabalho como cantora ou narradora
05:08
is to fill in the blanks with technicolor.
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é preencher os espaços
em branco com tecnicolor.
05:12
I get to tell your secrets.
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Eu consigo contar os seus segredos.
Consigo explicar como outra
pessoa está se sentindo
05:15
I get to explain
how someone else is feeling
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05:18
so that whoever else is listening
can finally understand.
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para que, enfim, a outra pessoa
que está ouvindo consiga entender.
05:22
I think that with music,
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Acho que com música, temos
um pouco de superpoder.
05:24
we have a bit of a superpower.
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05:27
We get to explain,
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Nós explicamos,
05:29
we get to express, we get to move,
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nos expressamos, nos movemos
05:31
we get to ostracize,
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nós banimos,
05:33
we get to accompany.
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acompanhamos.
05:34
We get to do all these different things
simply by using a tune.
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Fazemos todas essas coisas diferentes
apenas usando uma melodia.
05:40
And that's the way
I think we can change things.
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Acho que esse é o jeito
que podemos mudar as coisas.
05:44
That's the tool I've been given
to help to change things.
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Foi a ferramenta que me foi
dada para ajudar a mudar.
05:48
And think, if we all understand
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E se todos entendermos
05:50
that we have a little bit
of tune in our hearts --
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que temos um pouco de melodia
em nossos corações...
05:54
a little bit of lyrical prowess,
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um pouco de destreza poética,
05:58
shall we say,
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digamos,
06:00
we get to move things forward
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conseguiremos levar as coisas em frente,
06:02
because we can explain using a language
that we can all understand.
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porque usamos uma língua
que todos entendem.
06:06
It's undeniable.
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É inegável.
06:10
I have another song here.
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Tenho outra canção.
06:12
And we all know it very, very well.
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E todos a conhecem muito, muito bem.
06:14
And I wonder --
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Será que...
06:16
I'm going to test you all.
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vou testar vocês...
06:18
Let's see if you can join me.
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e ver se vocês conseguem me acompanhar.
06:20
This is the test to see
if you understand this.
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É um teste para ver se vocês entendem.
06:23
(Singing) Lookin' out
on the morning rain --
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♪ Olhando a chuva matinal lá fora ♪
06:26
(Audience sings next note)
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(Plateia canta junto)
06:28
You see?
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Estão vendo?
06:29
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
06:30
We all understand it.
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Todos nós compreendemos.
06:31
We all know something.
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Todos nós sabemos algo.
06:32
We all are connected
by a piece of music somewhere.
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Estamos conectados por uma peça
de música em algum lugar.
06:37
We might not all be connected
by the same thing,
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Talvez nem todos pela mesma causa.
06:39
but music is the one thing I believe --
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Mas música é algo em que acredito...
06:43
storytelling in the music
is something that connects us all.
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a narrativa na música conecta todos.
06:48
Doesn't matter where we're from.
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Não importa de onde viemos.
06:51
So maybe,
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Então talvez,
06:53
maybe it's one of the things
we can use to move us forward
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essa seja uma dessas coisas
que usamos para seguir em frente
06:56
into that future of ours.
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para nosso futuro.
06:58
Just maybe.
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Talvez.
07:01
I hope you enjoy this next one.
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Espero que gostem da próxima.
07:04
(Pianist plays "Natural Woman")
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(Piano "Natural Woman")
07:07
Lookin' out on the morning rain,
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♪ Olhando a chuva matinal lá fora,
07:13
I used to feel so uninspired.
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me sentia muito sem inspiração.
07:19
And when I knew I had to face another day,
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E ter que enfrentar mais um dia,
07:25
Lord, it made feel so tired.
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Senhor, me deixava tão cansada.
07:32
Before the day I met you,
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Um dia antes de te conhecer,
07:35
life was so unkind,
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a vida era cruel,
07:37
but you're the reason
for my piece of mind.
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mas você é a razão
da minha paz de espírito.
07:42
'Cause you make me feel,
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Porque você me faz sentir,
07:45
you make me feel,
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você me faz sentir,
07:48
you make me feel like a natural woman.
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você me faz sentir
como uma mulher natural.
07:57
When my soul was in the lost and found,
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Quando minha alma
estava nos achados e perdidos,
08:04
you came along to claim it.
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você apareceu para reclamá-la.
08:10
I didn't know just what was wrong with me,
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Eu não sabia o que estava errado comigo,
08:16
'til your kiss helped me name it.
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até que seu beijo me ajudou a descobrir.
08:22
Now I'm no longer doubtful
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Agora já não sou incerta
08:25
of what I'm living for,
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da minha existência,
08:28
and if I make you happy,
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e se te faço feliz,
08:30
I don't need to do more.
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não preciso fazer mais nada.
08:33
'Cause you make me feel,
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Porque você me faz sentir,
08:36
you make me feel,
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você me faz sentir,
08:39
you make me feel like a natural woman.
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você me faz sentir
como uma mulher natural.
08:48
Oh, baby what you done to me --
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Ó, querido, o que você fez por mim...
Você me faz sentir tão bem por dentro.
08:55
You make me feel so good inside.
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09:01
And I just wanna be
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E só quero estar
09:06
close to you,
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perto de você,
09:08
you make me feel so alive.
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você me faz sentir tão viva.
09:10
'Cause you make me feel,
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Porque você me faz sentir,
09:14
you make me feel,
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você me faz sentir,
09:17
you make me feel like a natural woman.
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você me faz sentir
como uma mulher natural.
09:23
You make me feel,
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Você me faz sentir,
09:26
you make me feel,
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você me faz sentir,
09:29
you make me feel like a natural woman.
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você me faz sentir
como uma mulher natural.
09:37
Oh --
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Ó... ♪
09:42
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
09:53
Jason Webb.
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Jason Webb.
09:56
Thank you very much.
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Muito obrigada.
Translated by Camilla Nobre
Reviewed by Joao Vital Parente Correia

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Cynthia Erivo - Actor, performer
Best known for her role in the Broadway revival of "The Color Purple," Cynthia Erivo is a Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning performer.

Why you should listen

Cynthia Erivo made her Broadway debut as Celie in The Color Purple -- a role that earned her Tony, Grammy and Emmy Awards. Erivo has performed for the annual Kennedy Center Honors and been featured on stage in Sister Act as well as A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Most recently, Erivo teamed up with John Legend at the 2017 Grammy Awards to perform the Beach Boys’ song, “God Only Knows.”

The actress stars with Viola Davis in the upcoming Steve McQueen film Widows, and as Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet.

More profile about the speaker
Cynthia Erivo | Speaker | TED.com
Jason Webb - Musical director
Jason Webb is a writer, musical director, arranger, orchestrator, lecturer and a lover of music.

Why you should listen

From conducting orchestras in Broadway pits to writing and arranging music for a presidential inauguration, Jason Michael Webb has dedicated his life to using music to heal, uplift and encourage.

Webb;s early musical training consisted of formal classical study, playing in small churches and listening to pop music. By 21, he had a degree in classical piano, played in the biggest churches in New York City and made his orchestral solo debut with the Queens Symphony Orchestra. He then went on to become Musical Director of the six-time Grammy-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle, for whom he co-wrote and produced four albums for The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, leading to two Stellar Award nominations and a Dove Award win. His arrangement of BTC's "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was featured at the 2013 inauguration of President Barack Obama and simultaneously heard by over one billion people worldwide.

Webb also recently served as musical director of the Tony- and Grammy-winning 2016 Broadway Revival of Oprah Winfrey's "The Color Purple", directed by John Doyle and based on the timeless novel by Alice Walker. Webb is now currently the US Music Supervisor of the tour, as well as Music Director/Arranger for Cynthia Erivo, who won a 2016 Tony Award as Celie in the Broadway Revival.

Mr. Webb’s writing can also be heard on the TV series "Empire", Netflix’s film Juanita, and numerous recording projects and original musicals, including "The First Noel" (produced annually at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, NYC) and the South African musical "Ilathi," which premiered July 2017 at the New York Musical Festival. Webb has conducted live and recording orchestras from New York to LA, including pianist Lang Lang's 2016 love letter to NYC, "New York Rhapsody", which featured performances by Rufus Wainwright, Regina Spektor and Suzanne Vega.

More profile about the speaker
Jason Webb | Speaker | TED.com