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At Age 22, Marília Mendonça Becomes Brazil's Most Popular Artist

12/19/2017 - 11h13

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AMANDA NOGUEIRA
FROM SÃO PAULO

Marília Mendonça, the 22-year-old singer and composer, described herself by saying that "Marília Mendonça is the face of Brazil. She is 'brega' music, 'sertanejo', romantic, and she tells it like it is", referring to different genres of popular Brazilian music.

After nearly three years in the music industry, Marília Mendonça has become the most popular artist on YouTube in Brazil, as her channel has accumulated over 3.6 billion views ever since she released her first video in 2013. She currently gets an average of 7.1 million views every 48 hours.

The singer behind hits like "Infiel" ("Unfaithful") and "Eu sei de Cor" ("I know it by heart") is at the top of the feminejo movement, a musical scene consisting of women who managed to rise to prominence by talking about women's empowerment in the historically male-dominated world of Sertanejo music (a facet of Brazilian country music).

The "Feminejo" scene is the latest chapter in a series of attempts that the industry has made to reinvent itself. Partying, relationships, cheating and love are among the topics that the lyrics address, except from the standpoint of women.

Ms. Mendonça has 3.8 million followers on Facebook, 7.3 million on Instagram and 1 million on Twitter. She performs roughly 25 times per month and rents out a private jet which she practically uses on a daily basis.

Without ever having set foot there, she came up with an idea to spend lots of time in the North and the Northeast of Brazil. "My impression was that fans there were very loyal. That they were the kind of girls who would pass on buying a pair of sandals, or going to the salon, in order to go to a show and have fun."

After really taking off in the Northeast, she successfully managed to extend her reach to different parts of the country.

The formula she uses for her performances is tried and true in the sertanejo scene: it consists of a live band (guitar, percussion, drums, etc.), visual effects and constant interactions with the audience.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

Read the article in the original language

Mastrangelo Reino/Folhapress
At age 22, Marília Mendonça becomes Brazil's most popular artist
At age 22, Marília Mendonça becomes Brazil's most popular artist

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