Blaya

Karla Regina Francelino Rodrigues known by her stage name Blaya, is a Portuguese-Brazilian singer, songwriter and dancer born in Fortaleza (Brazil) on May 27, 1987.

Blaya began her musical activity in 2001. In 2008, she joined Buraka Som Sistema, a partnership that would last until 2016, since the group has been on a prolonged hiatus since then. With Buraka Som Sistema, Blaya performed at festivals such as Coachella, I Love Techno, The Mayan, Haunted Mansion, Bowerry Ballroom, Sudoeste, Open’er and Rock in Rio Lisboa, where she also performed solo in 2018.

In 2013, she released her first solo EP, Blaya, which features six original tracks and two remixes. The EP was released as a free download through the extinct Optimus Discos/NOS Discos website. To promote the EP, Blaya released a music video for one of her tracks, “Superfresh”. The music video features Agir, DJ Cruzfader and V Unik.

Once Buraka Som Sistema went on hiatus, Blaya launched a YouTube channel, titled Late Night Blaya, where she spoke candidly about sex and offered sexual tips.

In March 2018, Blaya released the single “Faz Gostoso”, which he sings with an accent typical of Southeast Brazil. “Faz Gostoso” became one of the most successful Portuguese-language songs of the 2010s in Portugal, spending five weeks at number one on the Portuguese Singles Chart. The music video for “Faz Gostoso” was published on YouTube on March 15, 2018 and, by mid-October of the same year, it had already accumulated more than 24 million views on that site. Madonna recorded a version of “Faz Gostoso” with Anitta and included it on her album Madame X, released in 2019.

On July 28, 2018, Blaya released a book of erotic stories aimed at a female audience, called Mulheres, Sexo e Manias.

In September 2018, the Portuguese-Brazilian singer simultaneously released the singles “Má Vida” and “Vem na Vibe”, as well as the respective music videos. “Má Vida” is sung with both a Brazilian accent and a Portuguese accent, whereas in “Vem na Vibe” Blaya sings exclusively with a Portuguese accent. In the same month, the Portuguese telenovela Valor da Vida premiered, whose theme song is sung by Blaya. The song, titled “Tudo Passou”, incorporates musical elements and part of the lyrics from the international hit “Lambada”, by the band Kaoma. The music video was recorded in Guimarães (Portugal), one of the locations in Valor da Vida.

In early October 2018, it was announced that Blaya was among the five artists nominated for the Best Portuguese Act award, at the 2018 edition of the MTV Europe Music Awards, which took place on November 4 of the same year. The prize was eventually awarded to Diogo Piçarra.

On November 30, 2018, Blaya released his second EP, Eu Avisei, which includes four tracks: “Eu Avisei” (featuring Deejay Telio and production by No Maka (who also produced the hit “Faz Gostoso”), “Dilema”, “Primeira Batida” and “Sabes”. The music video for “Eu Avisei” premiered the day before and reached the top of YouTube’s most viral videos the very next day. On December 18 In 2018, the music video for “Primeira Batida” was released, which incorporates Portuguese sign language in its choreography.

On May 27, 2019, her birthday, Blaya released her first studio album, Blaya Con Dios, which includes 15 songs, including the hits “Faz Gostoso”, “Vem na Vibe” and “Eu Avisei”. The singer claims that she chose this date as a gift for herself and for all the people who like her music.

Before the release of the album, the singer gave an interview, and when asked about what fans could expect from this release, she gave the following statement: “I am a person who has many influences, from Afro, funk from Brazil and rap So, all my albums will always have these influences. As this was my first solo album, I wanted to focus a little more on my Brazilian accent and show people a little more of this side of me. This work is basically a mix of all my influences. It’s not something completely different, but it’s also the fact that I’m already gathering a lot of influences and putting them all on one album.”

On May 27, 2022, Blaya released his third EP, Jungle Disco, which includes four songs: “Colchão” (with production by Filipe Survival), “Malvada” (with participation and production by Danni Gato), “Dança Like Nobody” (with the participation and production of Kevu)”, “Deixa Pra Lá” (with the participation and production of Moullinex). On April 28, 2022, the music video for “Colchão” was premiered, which already has more 500,000 views on YouTube On May 20, 2022, “Deixa Pra Lá”, the project’s second music video, premiered.