With her subtle vocal inflections and deft phrasing, Simone is one of the great Brazilian female pop vocalists. Switching from basketball to singing in the early 1970s, she found success with her 1973 debut album Simone and later interpreted songs by Milton Nascimento and Chico Buarque. Her biggest hit, 1979's "Começar de Novo," was the theme song to the feminist-oriented telenovela Malu Mulher; the album the song appeared on, Pedaços, was Simone's first gold record and also included politically minded songs such as "Tô Voltando." In the '90s and 2000s, she balanced her music's MPB roots with romantic fare that earned her international success. Her later career highlights include 1996's Martinho da Vila tribute Café Com Leite and 2001's pop foray Seda Pura. Simone continued to tour well into the 2000s, with 2005's Simone ao Vivo and 2007's Amigo é Casa documenting her performances.