Ludmilla (singer)

Ludmila Oliveira da Silva (born 24 April 1995), known mononymously as Ludmilla, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter who became known with the song "Fala Mal de Mim" (Eng.: ‘talk smack about me’). In September 2020, she became the first Afro-Latin American female musician to reach one billion streams on Spotify.

Early life
Ludmila was born in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro state. Her original stage name, ‘MC Beyoncé’, was inspired by her love of American performer Beyoncé, a name she had to change due to copyright reasons. At the start of her musical journey, Ludmilla was considered an emergent female artist to watch-out for in funk carioca.

2012: MC Beyoncé
Ludmilla began posting videos on YouTube singing, until one day she was asked to sing and rap by a DJ at a party. The performance was well received.

Ludmilla's music career took off after her breakout hit single "Fala Mal de Mim" (released as MC Beyoncé) posted on YouTube went viral. The song was first posted in May 2012 and it has since accumulated more than 17 million views. The official music video was posted in October of the same year and has since accumulated more than 15 million views.

The song was produced by DJ Will 22 and the song's introduction includes a sample of the gospel classic "Oh Happy Day" covered by the St. Francis Choir in the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Since her rise to fame, she has been touring around Brazil and has made numerous appearances on popular television shows. In an interview with SBT's TV show Domingo Legal, Ludmilla revealed that her former stage name was given to her by her friends because she was such a huge Beyoncé fan.

2013: Name change
In 2013, Ludmilla said she was threatened by her manager. The singer recorded a video saying:

Then the singer recorded another video, saying the previous video was a misunderstanding and that she would continue her career. However, the disagreement between her and her manager, Roba Cena, resulted in MC Beyoncé being unable to keep her name as MC Beyoncé because her manager owned the rights to the name. Hours later she recanted and announced on Twitter that she would not quit singing, but she would quit with her manager and start a new career under a new stage name, Ludmilla, her birth name.

However, it is likely the name change was due to potential litigations from the more internationally known singer Beyoncé.

2014–2015: Hoje and first album
In early 2014, Ludmilla resumed her career with new look and signed a contract with Warner Music Brazil to release her first album with the label with pop roots and leaving "MC" out of her stage name. In an interview with Radio BEAT98, she explained that many people in the music business are prejudiced when the artist comes with "MC" in the name, even if the music is good.

The new phase includes a decent Star staff. There are 16 professionals, including band, dancers, DJ, a sound technician, plus two personal stylist and two advisers. With tripled cache and a number reaches thirty concerts a month.

On 14 January 2014, the song Sem Querer was released on iTunes as the first single of her career under her real name. The official music video was released a day later. On June 20, 2014, Ludmilla released the song "Hoje", which was part of the soundtrack of the telenovela Império on Rede Globo, and its respective music video. Ludmilla announced by their social networks to launch the music video of her third single  Te Ensinei Certin  composed of single Jhama. The music video premiered on 10 February 2015, in Multishow channel and soon after on YouTube. The video features the direction of John Woo and Rabu Gonzales. On 1 June 2015, it was released the single Não Quero Mais. The music video directed by Rafael Rocha and Lucas Carneiro Neves and was launched on 13 July 2015. The disc version includes the participation of the singer Belo, but for the single release as a solo version was performed. The song ''24 Horas por Dia' was released on 15 October 2015, in Brazilian radio as the fifth single from the album. The music video was released on 18 December 2015, on YouTube, and was directed by Felipe Sassi.

"Hoje" was also the name of her first studio album, which was released on 26 August 2014. The album also included the singles "Sem Querer", "Te Ensinei Certin", "Não Quero Mais" and "24 Horas por Dia".

2021–present: Lud Sessions, Numanice 2 and Vilã
The live version of the EP Numanice (2020), entitled Numanice (Ao Vivo), was released on 29 January 2021, featuring artists such as Thiaguinho, Bruno Cardoso and the group Vou pro Sereno. On 28 May, the singer released the first edition of the acoustic project Lud Sessions with rapper Xamã. The second part of the Lud Sessions project was released on 14 July and featured singer Gloria Groove. A live version featuring Groove was released on 23 December 2021.

Ludmilla released her fourth studio album titled Numanice 2 on 26 January 2022, the project earned the singer a Latin Grammy for Best Samba/Pagode Album. On 23 March of the same year, the EP Back to Be was released. The third part of the "Lud Session" project was released on 30 June 2022, and featured Brazilian singer Luísa Sonza. On 23 August 2022, Ludmilla released her third live album, Numanice 2: Ao Vivo recorded at Museum of Tomorrow, in Rio de Janeiro.

At the 2023 Rio de Janeiro Carnival, Ludmilla debuted as a samba-enredo interpreter, participating in the Beija-Flor parade alongside veteran Neguinho da Beija-Flor, in addition to commanding his block Fervo da Lud. In the same year, she released the double single "Sou Má" and "Nasci Pra Vencer", tracks that will integrate her fifth studio album Vilã, which will be released on 24 March.

Musical style and voice
Ludmilla's primary musical style is rooted in Brazilian funk carioca. However, throughout her career, she has collaborated with many other artists and explored other global styles, such as pop, R&B, reggaetón, axé, afrobeat, pagode, pagode baiano and trap. Ludmilla is among the few modern popular Brazilian performers to collaborate with Spanish-language artists, notably from the reggaetón genre, including the Puerto Rican-American singer Mariah Angeliq, and Emilia (from Argentina). In 2023, she collaborated with David Guetta, Bebe Rexha and LIT Killah on “I’m Good (Blue)”, an updated version of the Eiffel 65 song “Blue” (originally released in 1998).

Ludmilla's voice is classified as a mezzo-soprano, whose vocal range covers 3.2 octaves. Vocal agility is her singing strength, even with little apparent training, Ludmilla manages to perform melismas of considerable difficulty in fast tempos, demonstrating the potential of her small and delicate singing instrument; his previous aptitude for the mixed register is also not left out. Ludmilla does not demonstrate an exquisite knowledge of reconciling support with breathing, making her high notes in a mixed register become tense and less salubrious, even though she has ease with this region of her voice. The way Ludmilla articulates also makes the air flow less fluid, making her phrasing less clear and precise.

Influences
Ludmilla cites the North American singer Beyoncé as the biggest musical reference for her career. In an interview with the Brazilian Sunday television program Caldeirão do Huck on Rede Globo, the Brazilian said "When I discovered her work, I had a better direction for what I wanted to do. I started buying more CDs, DVDs and everything else. I got a tattoo with the name of her song on her waist. Today, I'm where I am". Ludmilla honored her by choosing her first stage name named MC Beyoncé. In 2019, a re-recording of the song "Halo" was included by Ludmilla on her album Hello Mundo as a tribute to Beyoncé.

Personal life
Ludmilla is bisexual, having already had relationships with both men and women. She had a brief affair with footballer Gabriel Jesus. In October 2018, she began a relationship with dancer Brunna Gonçalves. The couple married on 16 December 2019, in a ceremony held at their residence.

Discography

 * Hoje (2014)
 * A Danada Sou Eu (2016)
 * Hello Mundo (2019)
 * Numanice 2 (2022)
 * Vilã (2023)

Tours

 * Tour Poder da Preta (2015–16)
 * Tour Danada (2017–18)
 * Hello Mundo Tour (2019–20)
 * Numanice Tour (2023)
 * Ludmilla in the House Tour (2024)