Bossa-nova loosely translated means "trendy charm." The bossa-nova style of music dates back to the late 1950s in the upscale beach areas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The music is born from the samba, but still very different from it, as the bossa-nova has a great amount of inspiration from jazz. Bossa-nova refers to the dance as well as the music, but the music ultimately became more popular for listening to than dancing to.

Many people prefer to listen to bossa-nova sounds rather than dance to them. Some people even contend that North America tried to turn the South American music into a dance craze. There was a short fad of bossa-nova dancing from about 1960 to 1965 in the United States and some groups do still dance it today. The bossa-nova features swaying movements and has some samba and rumba steps. A signature of the bossa-nova is the stillness of the body except for the soft swaying of the hips while the knees are bent.

The bossa-nova allows the dancers to add their own steps to fit in with the beat. Even waltz or fox-trot steps can be used with the bossa-nova dance if they are short, smooth slides. The flexibility of the bossa-nova makes it an easy dance for beginners to learn.

While samba began as working class music, bossa-nova was associated with the wealthy. The song "The Girl from Ipanema" remains as the best-known bossa-nova song in the world. Most classic bossa-nova songs are about the themes of beaches, women and love and "The Girl from Ipanema" is about a beautiful woman on a beach. Bossa-nova music began in Brazil's Ipanema Beach and Copacabana areas.

Bossa-nova music does include samba-like drum beats, although samba usually has more percussion. Bossa-nova music is often played on a classical guitar and sometimes the piano. In the late 1960s bossa-nova music became more political in content, giving it more samba-like qualities.