Luísa Gerloff Sonza (Brazilian Portuguese:[luˈizɐʒeʁˈlɔfiˈsõzɐ];Italian:[sontsa]; born 18 July 1998[1]) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. She rose to prominence in 2016 after posting cover songs on herYouTube channel. After signing withUniversal Music Group in 2017, she released her debut album,Pandora, in the following year. Her second album,Doce 22, was released in 2021. The year also saw her being featured on a remix ofKaty Perry's "Cry About It Later", along with Bruno Martini. In 2023, she released her third studio album,Escândalo Íntimo, which features a collaboration withDemi Lovato on the song "Penhasco2". Sonza has appeared as an actress on several television shows, and withPabllo Vittar she co-hosts theHBO Max showQueen Stars.
Career
Sonza in 2018
Sonza began singing at aGaucho folklore community centre in her hometown at the age of seven. She was hired as a child singer by music group Sol Maior, staying with them for 10 years. Sonza would appear in a total of up to 24 concerts a month, with approximately 5,000 attending each time. In 2014, she launched acover songYouTube channel, which made her gain online visibility. She became known then as 'Queen of Covers'.[2][3]
Sonza signed withUniversal Music in May 2017, with her firstsingle,Good Vibes, being then released.[4][5] In July, she released her second single,Olhos Castanhos (Brown Eyes), a song she wrote for then-husbandWhindersson Nunes.[6][7] In October the same year, she released her first, self-titled EP with trackNão Preciso de Você Pra Nada (I Don't Need You For Anything) featuring Brazilian singerLuan Santana.[8][9]
In January 2018, Sonza released the songRebolar (To Twerk) from her first EP as a single. The video peaked 1st onYouTube.[10][11] In March,Rebolar (Remix) with 5remix tracks of the song was released as an EP.[12][13]
In June 2018, Sonza made a special guest appearance in an episode of Brazilian TVsitcomDra. Darci (Dr Darci), in which she played Julinha.[14] In July, she releasedDevagarinho (Slowly), which made it toSpotify's Brazil Top 50 chart.[15][16][17]
In October 2018, Sonza was invited bysoap opera writerAguinaldo Silva to recordNunca Foi Sorte (It Was Never by Chance), a song written by Silva, for the soundtrack ofTV Globo's telenovelaO Sétimo Guardião. She also made a special guest appearance in one of the episodes.[18][19][20][21] Later that year, Sonza released the song as a single and music video.[22]
In November 2018, Sonza released the singleBoa menina (Good Girl).[23][24] In February 2019, aforró version of the song was used in a video featuringWhindersson Nunes.[25][26][27] In March 2019, she releasedPior Que Possa Imaginar (Worse Than You Can Imagine).[28][29][30][31] Later that year, Sonza released her first album, Pandora.
In June 2021, Sonza announced a career break after attacks received on social media.[34] Next month, she returned to the networks to announce the release of her second studio album,Doce 22, which was released on 18 July, the day she turned 23. The songs "VIP" and "Melhor Sozinha" were released as singles on the same day. The track "Também Não Sei de Nada", featuringLulu Santos, was made available as a single at the time of the album's release.[35] To promote the album, the artist appeared on the program Prazer, Sonza, aired on Multishow in five episodes from 7 July 2021.[36] In May 2022, it was announced that Sonza had signed a recording contract withSony Music Brazil, valued at US$20 million (about R$100 million at the time), with the aim of investing in an international career.[37]
In a press conference, held on 18 July 2022, Sonza announced the production of her third studio album, to address a more mature and sober version of her life, for the year 2023.[38] On 11 April,Netflix Brazil announced the recording of a documentary series, with Sonza, which will present her trajectory and personal life along with the background of her new project.[39][40] On 9 August, the singer's social networks confirmed the release of her new album, entitledEscândalo Íntimo, for the 29th of the same month.[41]
In August 2016, YouTuberWhindersson Nunes asked Sonza to be his girlfriend.[42] In March 2017, they got engaged.[43] In February 2018, they married in a civil and religious ceremony for 350 guests inAlagoas, Brazil.[44][45]
On 29 April 2020, through a post on Instagram, Whinderson announced his divorce, claiming that Sonza and he had grown apart but remain good friends.
In an interview, Sonza said she is too conscious of her own body to have biological children, and intends to adopt instead.[46]
Views on women's empowerment and toxic masculinity
Mattea Sonza received criticism alleging she had married for money and responded by saying she made as much money as her former husbandWhindersson Nunes did. She once thought being a victim ofmachismo was a woman's fault, but realised no matter what she did, she would be a victim anyway. 'I had two options: either understand a sick social structure, or become sick myself'; 'They're using the structure to talk about women, to place them in an undeserving position, of being less smart, and incomplete without a man—just like they did to my mum, my grandma, my aunt', she said. She holds no hard feelings towardstrolls harassing her online. 'Before deconstructing other people, I have to deconstruct myself'. As to marriage, Sonza states: 'It is not women's duty to do anything, or be anything. It is not our duty to be a mother, or get married. Unless you want to, I'm against women letting go of their dreams to fulfil someone else's dreams.'[49]
In September 2020, after protests byAnitta and Sonza,Oxford Languages decided to reassess the definitions of Portuguese wordspatroa ('owner' or 'boss', in the femininegender),professora ('teacher', in the feminine gender) andmulher solteira ('single woman') appearing inGoogle's definitional search, which until then were related to misogynistic definitions such as 'housewife' (patroa) and 'prostitute' (professora andmulher solteira). BothGoogle and Oxford Languages issued press releases stating that they would either revise the definitions or remove the item if it 'no longer reflected the modern usage of Portuguese language by Brazilian speakers.'[50][51]
Legal dispute
In 2020, Sonza was sued for moral damages and accused of racism by lawyer Isabel Macedo de Jesus.[52][53] The lawsuit concerned an incident on 22 September 2018, when Macedo was celebrating her birthday at a restaurant inFernando de Noronha, where a gastronomy festival attended by Sonza also took place. At one point, Macedo passed by Sonza on her way to the bathroom; according to the case file, Sonza mistook her for a waitress and slapped her arm, ordering her to bring a glass of water "in a harsh tone". Macedo, who is black, asked Sonza to repeat herself and why she believed her to be a waitress. In response, Sonza repeated herself with the same "harsh tone" and dodged the question.[54] In the suit, Macedo requested compensatory damages ofR$10,000 along with a public retraction and "the placement of informative posters about the prohibition of racist practices" inside the restaurant.[55] Sonza denied the charges, calling the allegations "absurd" and telling people not to believe the story.
The case gained renewed attention in September 2022 when presenterDanilo Gentili accused the press and gossip sites of respectively purposely ignoring and defending the event.[56] A month later, on 5 October 2022, Sonza publicly apologized to Macedo and those who felt offended by the case: "The way I addressed Mrs. Isabel translated into an act of reproduction ofstructural racism, which was in no way my intention".[57][58][59] In addition, she said she would accept Macedo's requests and would seek to reach an agreement with her.[60]
