[3] His biggest national and international hit "Ai Se Eu Te Pego" reached number one in most European and Latin American charts.

"[7][8] In 2008, he left Grupo Tradição, and his final album with the band, Micareta Sertaneja 2, was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Brazilian music category.

[11][7][9][12] The release of the live album Michel Teló – Ao Vivo earned him a gold disc and featured the single “Fugidinha,” which reached number one in the Brazilian Hot 100 charts.

In 2011, Telo released "Ai Se Eu Te Pego," which became popular when Brazilian soccer player Neymar danced to the song in a viral YouTube video.

On October 29, 2011, Brazilian left-back André Santos danced to “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” after scoring the 2–2 equalizer in Arsenal's 5–3 victory over London rivals Chelsea.

Other players who have publicly celebrated to this song include: Adrian Mierzejewski, Marco Reus, Lewis Holtby, Alexandre Pato, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Robinho, Lucas, Maxi Rodríguez, Sebastián Coates, Marquinhos, Ricardo Laborde, Felipe Melo, Emmanuel Eboué, and Farid El Alagui.

[20] He won Song of the Year for “Ai Se Eu Te Pego.” [21] In 2015, his compilation Bem Sertanejo was nominated for the 16th Latin Grammy Awards in the Best Sertaneja Music Album category.