Have you ever listened to a song and said: “OMG, I need to show this artist to everyone”? We’ve all had that feeling at some point. Every day new musicians are introduced to the market. It can be tough to stand out among the millions of other artists that are out there, even more so if you are part of the LGBTQ+ community or from a very particular market, such as the Brazilian one.

LGBTQ+ Brazilian artists have been trying to make their art known worldwide; however, only a few have succeeded. Some of the successful examples are Pabllo Vittar and Anitta, two huge names in the Brazilian music industry who opened the doors for more artists to showcase their work.

The global community is increasingly embracing Brazilian artists and their songs, with Brazilian funk being a style incorporated into many artists’ music. Rihanna, Beyoncé, Karol G and The Weeknd are some names that have been influenced and introduced the style into their works.

Below are five Brazilian LGBTQ+ artists that you should check out and include on your playlist!

Ludmilla

Ludmila Oliveira da Silva, who became famous as Ludmilla, or just Lud, is a bisexual singer-songwriter, originally from Rio de Janeiro, whose songs vary from Brazilian funk to Samba. In 2020, she became the first Afro-Latin American to reach the mark of 1 billion streams on Spotify, having 14 million monthly listeners on the platform, and having performed at some huge festivals like Rock in Rio and Coachella. Even though she became famous for her Brazilian funk songs, Lud’ side project called Numanice, which brings tropical vibes and samba beats to the stage, became a huge success in Brazil. In 2019, the artist got married to her dancer, Brunna Gonçalves, in a ceremony held at their house.

Gloria Groove

Daniel Garcia Felicione Napoleão, famous as Gloria Groove, is a singer, songwriter, actor, voice actor, rapper and drag queen. They identify as non-binary and since 2016, have become one of the most important names in the Brazilian music industry. Over the years, Daniel engaged in many projects, being the voice of Aladdin in the Brazilian version of Disney’s live action adaptation. As Gloria Groove, they have accumulated over 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and have performed at the main Brazilian festivals, such as Rock in Rio and Lollapalooza. Also, this year, Gloria performed in Dublin at Mother’s Pride Block Party during their European tour called Alô Alô Euro Tour, visiting France, Germany, Belgium and others. This artist is such a phenomenon that their work has even reached non-LGBTQ+ audiences, and they use their influence to teach more people about LGBTQ+ issues.

Jão

João Vitor Romania Balbino, known professionally as Jão. He started his career by singing popular song covers and posting videos on YouTube. In 2018, he released his first album Lobos, which was a huge success and since then, Jão has achieved more success every year. He is currently finishing his SuperTour, which is based on his latest album SUPER. For the first time, he brought his concert to stadiums, starting at the Allianz Parque Stadium in São Paulo. He is openly bisexual and sings about it in his songs. Also, he is in a relationship with Pedro Tófani.

Liniker

Liniker de Barros Ferreira Campos is more famously known as just Liniker. This artist is a singer-songwriter and former bandleader of the Brazilian soul and Black music band Liniker e os Caramelows. Being a trans woman, the singer uses her music to talk about the discrimination that she faced in a country with high records of violence against trans people. She has a powerful and low-pitched voice with a slightly raspy, soul character, but also is versatile with a recurrent falsetto and easily recognisable timbre – having sometimes been compared with the Brazilian legend Tim Maia. She represents an audience that rarely sees itself in Brazilian music. In 2022, she made history as the first trans artist to receive a Latin Grammy.

Thiago Pantaleão

Thiago Caitano Romeiro Pantaleão is best known as Thiago Pantaleão. He started his career in 2020, releasing three songs and getting the attention of Brazilian singers such as IZA and Liniker. In 2021, he released the song ‘Te deixo crazy’ featuring Danny Bond, which reached 3 million streams on YouTube and Spotify combined. Since then, Thiago has continued his success, releasing his new album NOVA ERA this year. The singer identifies as bisexual and has been in an open relationship with one of his dancers Miran since 2023.

Here are some of the Brazilian LGBTQ+ artists that you should include on your playlist. I bet you will find many more along the way – enjoy and have fun finding out more about Brazilian music!