Pabllo Vittar


Phabullo Rodrigues da Silva, known professionally as Pabllo Vittar, is a Brazilian drag queen, singer and songwriter. Vittar appeared on TV for the first time in 2014, on a Brazilian talent singing show, performing "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston. She became famous in the media in 2015 with the success of his music video "Open Bar", a Portuguese-language version of Major Lazer's song "Lean On" with original lyrics, produced by Bonde do Rolê and Omulu. In less than four months, the video reached one million views on YouTube.
He also released an extended play with the same name, using pop hits' instrumentals with new arrangements and lyrics.
On January 12, 2017, her debut studio album Vai Passar Mal was released – including the singles "Nêga", "Todo Dia", "K.O.", "Corpo Sensual", "Então Vai" and "Indestrutível". In the same month she released "Todo Dia" as the second single of the album, which became notorious in Brazilian Carnival due to its lyrics. The third single "K.O." became an even bigger hit and brought Vittar to nationwide fame and success; as of 2019, the song has over 350 million views on YouTube. The fourth single, "Corpo Sensual", was released on September 6, 2017, to similar success, resulting in over 290 million views on YouTube.
Vittar has been featured in songs by international artists such as Major Lazer's "Sua Cara". The music video was released on July 30, 2017, and reached 10th place on the list of most viewed online videos in the first 24 hours, with 25 million views. The singer also appears on "I Got It", from Charli XCX's fourth mixtape Pop 2. Vittar collaborated again with XCX on "Flash Pose", released on July 25, 2019; the single was later included on Vittar's 111 1 EP. She also got to perform "Flash Pose" at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards.
On August 15, 2018, Pabllo Vittar released her second studio album Não Para Não – including the singles "Problema Seu", "Disk Me", "Seu Crime", "Buzina" and "Não Vou Deitar". Vittar toured in support of the album, in Brazil and internationally. An extended tour called "NPN Pride" saw Vittar performing in various pride parades throughout USA and Canada. The first two singles released had a great success, with "Disk Me" reaching over 71 million views and "Problema Seu" reaching over 97 million views on Youtube. The singles "Seu Crime" and "Buzina" also were successful, though smaller than the other two, with both reaching over 20 million views on Youtube. This album counted, additionally, with the participation of Brazilian singers Dilsinho and Ludmilla in "Trago seu Amor de Volta" and "Vai Embora", respectively.
On October 31, 2019, Pabllo Vittar released the 111 1 EP – including the singles "Parabéns", "Amor de Que" and "Flash Pose". Following the success of the 111 1 EP, "Amor de Que" was seen as a smash hit in the 2020 Brazilian Carnival, with the song reaching over 50 million views in just a month; as of 2020, the song has over 97 million views. The second single of the EP "Parabéns" also enjoyed similar success, with over 94 million views on Youtube as of 2020. The first single of the album "Flash Pose" also had some success, though modest if comparated with the other songs, reaching over 23 million views on Youtube; still, even if the single had a more moderate success, it complied with its original purpose, penetrating the international audience and increasing his international fame.
On March 24, 2020, her third studio album 111 was released – including the singles "Clima Quente", "Tímida" and "Rajadão"; the songs from the 111 1 EP were also included in the album. This was the first album in which Vittar featured so many artists, with five out of the nine tracks counting with participations. Also, this is Vittar's first multilingual album, including songs in Portuguese, English and Spanish; this is, as well, Vittar's first attempt at targeting international fans, having as guests international singers, such as Charli XCX and the Mexican legend Thalía. Furthermore, the album had the participation of the Brazilian singer Ivete Sangalo in the song "Leãozinho".
With the nomination of "Sua Cara" at the 19th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Vittar became the first Grammy-nominated drag queen. She also became the first drag queen to win an EMA award in its 25-year run for Best Brazilian Act.

Biography

Born in São Luís, Phabullo is a dizygotic twin and has an older sister. Phabullo spent part of his childhood and adolescence living in the cities of Santa Ines and Caxias, both in the interior of Maranhão, due to financial difficulties. He never knew his father, who abandoned his mother, a nurse, when she was pregnant with him.
During his childhood, Phabullo experienced bullying because of his delicate gestures and feminine voice. He was physically assaulted with a plate of hot soup thrown over his face. He attended ballet classes during this period.
At the age of 13, Phabullo began doing covers at family parties and school performances and joined a choir at a Catholic church. Soon after, he began songwriting. Later, he decided to become a professional, moving to São Paulo with his sister, where he worked in several places, such as snack bars and beauty salons. Soon after, he moved to Uberlândia with his mother, who had recently married. At the age of 15, he came out to his mother, who had suspected that he was gay; his sister already knew about his sexual orientation. His mother, whom he talks to daily, is supportive of his sexual orientation.
He then began to go out for the night in Maranhão, to make friends, and to participate as one of a selection of singers in a house of shows. He started performing his own songs and impersonating celebrities for a small fee, but it was not a professional job. He was now dressing feminine, but did not identify himself as a drag queen; the first time that he did drag was at age 17 in Uberlândia, to publicize a party of his friend by delivering pamphlets at the door of a nightclub. With time, he started performing in LGBT parades in diverse cities of Maranhão and became known by the state's LGBT community. At age 18, in Minas Gerais, Phabullo started participating in and winning some beauty contests in full drag, before beginning his professional career as a singer while adopting the stage name of "Pabllo Knowles", an homage to singer Beyoncé. His first performance as a drag queen occurred at the Belgrano nightclub, of producers Ian Hayashi and Leocádio Rezende.
Still in Minas Gerais, Phabullo took a university entrance exam by the Federal University of Uberlândia, where he was admitted to the full design course in 2013, but after some periods he dropped out of college due to his schedule of shows, which increased greatly due to the success of his music videos on the internet and his participation in the band of primetime television program Amor & Sexo.
When he attracted attention from entrepreneurs in the entertainment field, Phabullo began his musical career professionally, performing in bars and concert halls in Uberlândia and cities of the region. In this period, Phabullo adopted the stage name of Pabllo Vittar.

Artistry

Musical and vocal style

Vittar is mainly a pop singer, although his music incorporates other genres. His debut studio album Vai Passar Mal mixes pop with elements of electronic music and Brazilian genres such as :pt:tecnomelody|tecnomelody, arrocha, funk carioca, and forró. Music critics noted that his second studio album Não Para Não follows a similar formula, mixing Brazilian and international influences. Speaking about the latter album, Vittar explained: "I lived in Santa Izabel do Pará and listened to cumbia, carimbó, tecnobrega and guitarrada. In Maranhão, I heard axé and :pt:Pagode baiano|Bahia pagode. Pabllo Vittar is all over this album, I cannot go against my origins." His lyrics often explore themes such as love, self-confidence, and partying.
Vittar is a countertenor with 2.3 octaves of vocal extension already exhibited, spanning from flat E in the third octave to G# in the fifth octave. Sérgio Anders, a singing professor at the State University of Minas Gerais, considers Vittar to have "an infantile voice in an adult male". While he views Vittar as a good singer, Anders opines that his technique is not very developed. Shannon Sims of The New York Times described Vittar's voice as a "nasal soprano".

Influences

Vittar grew up listening to artists such as Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, and Tina Turner, whom he imitated as a child before he even considered becoming a drag queen, as well as Gilberto Gil, Ney Matogrosso, Elis Regina, Alcione Nazareth, and Caetano Veloso. He became interested in drag after watching the reality show RuPaul's Drag Race and cited RuPaul as an important inspiration: "All the drag artists in this world have to thank RuPaul for the visibility we have today." Some participants of the show have also influenced Vittar, notably April Carrion and Naomi Smalls. Model Bella Hadid visually influences him, especially his makeup and style. His music and performances are greatly influenced by bands such as Banda Batidão and :pt:Companhia do Calypso|Companhia do Calypso.
Early in his career, he used the stage name Pabllo Knowles as a reference to Beyoncé. Other influences include Rihanna, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, and Britney Spears, as well as his "Sua Cara" collaborators Anitta and Major Lazer. While making his debut album Vai Passar Mal, Vittar explained that he listened to several artists to find inspiration, citing Liniker and Elza Soares as examples. The album was also influenced by Lana Del Rey, Allie X, Rihanna's album Anti, and Beyoncé's album Lemonade.

Public image and impact

Vittar's music is considered as "unofficial anthems for Brazil's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community" and he is widely viewed as a voice for them. Because dangers to LGBT+ people have grown in Brazil, Vittar's openness about being gay has made him an icon to those living in a prejudiced environment. As an openly gay Brazilian drag queen, Vittar has served as a positive representation of homosexuality and gender fluidity. He used his visibility to support LGBT+ individuals in Brazil and in other countries in South America. He said: "They tell me a lot about their daily struggle to go out on the street being gay, being drag. I want to give them strength so they can continue being who they are." Vittar also appeared on A Força do Querer, a popular soap opera about a transgender man. After seeing Vittar perform at the Rock in Rio festival, actor Fabio Assunção wrote in a Facebook post: "You represent the possibility of truth in a sea of hypocrisy. Your public figure is the voice of many suffocated people."
In an interview for Veja magazine, Vittar revealed that he chose a masculine stage name because he wanted to be truthful to the public, since he is not transgender. He only acts as a woman when he's on stage as Pabllo Vittar and has a more typical masculine gender expression in his private life. During the same interview, Vittar said he is "making music for humans." Since his debut, Vittar became the most followed and most streamed drag queen in the world, surpassing RuPaul. In 2020, Vittar was featured in a campaign for Calvin Klein, as part of the designer's pride collection.

Discography

Film

Television

Tours