Is there a standard Brazilian accent?

I saw a few textbooks differentiating between "Paulista" and "Rio" accents. I have also heard that the TV news prefer the Paulista accent, which has influenced its status. Is that so? Here are a few more questions for those who know and are willing to answer them.

1)Which accent is considered more standard?
2) Which is more understandable in Portugal?
2) Is the Rio accent respected in Sao Paulo, and vice versa?
4) Which do you personally find superior?

Does this singer have a specific accent, or do Brazilian accents become less pronounced when sang, as it happens with English?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrrmxFKl_a0

No, there is no standard. But you see the Rio accent influencing many accents throughout Brasil. I would say that a mix between Carioca and Paulista accent would be a more standard accent. But there is no such thing.

Also, some singers when they sing samba or bossa nova, which is Rio born, they push more the carioca accent to sound more native and "original" to its origins

To expand on Ren's comments, which are mostly correct, the accents you'll hear on Brazilian newscasts are toned down carioca, paulista or mineiro accents, and even some regional accents, also heavily toned down. The most artificial aspect of TV news accent is the cadence though, which I think originated in Globo's newcasts, but it's now pervasive acroos all networks. It's so artifical it's even mocked in comedy shows.

The accents that are close to the standard:

1. sul-fluminense (southern part of the Rio state, excluding the city of Rio)
2. capixaba (Espírito Santo state)
3. candango (Brasília, DF)
4. caiçara (from Santos SP to Paraty RJ)
5. mineiro da zona da mata (Juíz de Fora MG).


That's why people from Brasília, Vitória, Ubatuba, Paraty, Juíz de Fora
have an accent that is pretty neutral, and close to the one used in Globo Tv national news.

examples:

Ana Paula Padrão (newscaster from Brasília)
Ana Carolina (singer from Juíz de Fora)


Paulistano and Carioca accents are one of the most marked accents, unlike the 5 accents above.

So, if you want to learn neutral Brazilian Portuguese, go to Brasília (the capital) or Vitória, and avoid cities of SP and RJ (on the other hand the part between Santos SP and Paraty RJ/Volta Redonda RJ is just fine).

Loyola, there is no such thing as a neutral accent, in linguistic terms. This only exists in the mines of people who speak with these "neutral" accents, sometimes thinking they have "no" accent.
Fátima Bernardes (carioca) and William Bonner (paulista, from Ribeirao Preto) use, respectively, a toned down version of carioca accent, and an artificial accent that cannot be placed. That doesn't mean it's neutral.

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