Believe it or not, not all stories about Madonna‘s impact on pop culture have been told. She is among mainstream pop music’s most influential artists, and many who came after her have her influence – especially female pop artists. But it’s not just mainstream pop that bears the Madonna touch – she has inspired and reached even smaller pop scenes in Brazil’s music peripheries, too.
In a recent passage through Brazil for the closing leg of her Celebration tour, Madonna shared the stage with Pabllo Vittar in a free concert attended by more than one million in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. The connection between these two artists lies in their support and presence in the LGBTQ scene, but Madonna might have impacted Vittar’s career in more ways. If it hadn’t been for Madonna’s influence in the brega pop scene from the Brazilian State of Pará, Vittar may not have become the artist she is today.
Vittar grew up as a fan of brega pop bands from the Brazilian state of Pará, such as the former, very popular Banda Calypso and Companhia do Calypso. These bands incorporated aesthetic and performance elements inspired by international pop stars, among whom Madonna is one of the most direct (and even literal, sometimes) sources of inspiration.
Brega pop is a variant of brega music, a wide genre born in the Amazonic State of Pará in the 1960s. Brega was originally a romantic genre with rock ‘n’ roll-inspired instrumentals. But in the 1990s, the genre encompassed new elements that gave it a bigger commercial twist. The main differences from the original brega to brega pop were: “considerable acceleration of the pitch (rhythm); greater ease, boldness and swing in the execution of the bass; the substitution of the clave for other percussive instruments of greater expression and swing; and the most notable of all: the insertion of more guitars (some created by the guitarist Chimbinha and producers Dedê and Hélio Silva) under musical influences from the Caribbean, French Guianas, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, and surrounding areas, adding much more swing, therefore, [making it] much more sensual and joyful to dance to,” writes Paraense band member, Junior Neves. The genre is also known as “brega calypso” as baptized by Banda Calypso, one of its pioneers, and to this day its overall biggest representative.
More than just making Pará’s brega music sound catchier and more pleasing to the ears, these bands wanted to give a full show. Choreographies (both solo and in pairs, in ballroom style), outfits, jargon, theatrical performances—many elements were explored to provide a more entertaining spectacle.
With such a purpose in mind, and given that international music has always informed brega music (of which covers and remixes are a major part), it’s no wonder why many brega pop bands sought inspiration from Madonna. Before joining Banda Calypso, Joelma Mendes paid homage to the pop star by releasing a song called “Madonna”: “This is my chance (…) / Success calls me / Perhaps one day me and Madonna will have the same amount of fame”. But it wasn’t just Madonna’s fame that Mendes and other brega pop artists wanted: adding to the genre’s inherent creativity, they learned from Madonna to turn their music and performances into full entertainment products.
There are a few ways this happened.
Madonna’s Music / Brega Pop
One of Banda Calypso’s earliest hits, “Como uma virgem” (which translates to “Like a Virgin”), is an obvious reference to Madonna’s 1984 hit song. Although less sassy and more dramatic than its inspiration, the chorus is a direct reference to Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly’s lyrics: “Como uma virgem, tocada pela primeira vez” (“Like a virgin, touched for the very first time”). Brega pop bands don’t shy away from addressing the sexual aspect of relationships in their lyrics, even if they do it subtly and romantically. Since most brega pop bands are led by women, Madonna’s subversive approach to sex appeals to their women-centric approach.
Pará’s music makers and fans also love the composition of Madonna’s songs. Brega music often relies on versions of international pop hits, and with Madonna, it was no different, although many of these songs never got official releases. See this TikTok video, for example: Aqui a rainha emocionou! #madonna 👑 | TikTok.
Madonna’s Performance Style / Brega Pop Style
An obvious reference to Madonna’s The Girlie Show is found in the first live concert recorded on DVD of Companhia do Calypso, Ao Vivo em Recife (2004).
In the Madonna-inspired concert, the singer and her dancers appear in 1970s disco-inspired wigs dancing to “Express Yourself”, followed by “Deeper and Deeper”, when an actor simulates an invasion of the stage to dance with Madonna. Companhia do Calypso features a similar performance in introducing the song “Nas ondas do rádio”.
Madonna’s Fashion / Brega Fashion
On the cover of Gaby Amarantos’ first album, Treme (2012), the brega singer appears with laser beams shooting from her breasts in a conspicuous reference to Madonna’s conical bra worn on the Blonde Ambition tour. The iconic outfit designed by Jean Paul Gartier went down in history for encouraging “generations of female pop performers in Madonna’s wake to channel their sexuality through the outfits they choose to wear without shame, and on their own terms,” writes Vogue editor Liam Hess — such as Amarantos did in Treme. [PopMatters reached out to Amarantos’ team to confirm the inspiration behind Treme’s art cover, but they did not reply.] These are just a few examples of how Madonna influenced Brazilian brega pop bands and new generation mainstream pop acts like Pabllo Vittar by ripple effect.
Many local brega producers consider brega pop artists to have made room for brega music in radio stations, either in Pará or even on a national level, writes Nevas. It’s an interesting parallel with Madonna, who also opened doors for new artistic expression in pop culture (at least by elevating them, such as she did with ballroom culture). It makes sense that brega pop absorbed so much of Madonna’s style and attitude. It’s a testimony to the wide appeal and accessibility of Madonna’s body of work and her prowess to transcend cultural barriers, to the point that she even influenced scenes that remain underappreciated and unexplored even in their own countries.
Works Cited
Barros, Lydia.”O tecnobrega no contexto do novo paradigma de legitimação musical“. Editora Appris. 2015.
Hess, Liam. “The story behind Madonna’s iconic Jean Paul Gartier cone bra“. Vogue. 18 April 2020.
Neves, Junior. “Do Brega Pop ao Calypso do Pará“. Portal Bregapop. 2005.