Paradisio

Paradisio is a Belgian eurodance group formed in 1994 by Patrick Samoy and Luc Rigaux. The project involved many collaborators over the years, including Peter Gillis, Miguel Wiels, Sandra De Gregorio, Maria Isabel Garcia Asensio, Marc Paelinck, Esperanza, Dirk Paelinck and Maria Del Rio. Several female vocalists have succeeded each other, notably Maria Isabella Garcia, Sandra de Gregorio, Marie-Belle Perez, Shelby Diaz, Irina Sanchez and Raquel Rodriguez Rodgers.

The group achieved international success in 1996 with the single Bailando, the summer anthem in Belgium, sold over 5 million copies worldwide. The track reached number one on the charts in Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, earning a platinum disc in Norway and Sweden and exceeding 550,000 sales in France.

Other hits followed, such as Vamos A La Discoteca, Bandolero, Luz De La Luna, La Samba Del Diablo and El Ritmo Caliente. The first eponymous album, ‘Paradisio’, was released in 1997 and generated five singles between 1996 and 1998.

After the departure of vocalist Marisa (Maria Isabel Garcia Asensio) due to problems with the record label, the group went through several vocalist changes without regaining the same success, leading to an initial disbandment in 2003. A comeback took place in the summer of 2009 with vocalist Shelby Diaz and a remix of Bailando titled ‘Bailando me dices adiós’.

In 2018, Shelby Diaz left the group and was replaced by Irina Sanchez, then, after the latter’s departure in March 2019, by Raquel Rodriguez Rodgers in April 2020. A “Greatest Hits” album was released in August 2016 to celebrate the group’s 20th anniversary.