Brazilian Megastar Luisa Sonza to Make Miami Stop on First-Ever U.S. Tour

Two hours. That's all it took for Brazilian artist Luisa Sonza to sell out her debut Escândalo Intimo U.S. Tour — a feat, she tells New Times, she never would have imagined.

"I didn't realize people in the U.S. loved my music so much," she says, sipping on espresso over our Zoom chat. It's 9:30 a.m. in Los Angeles, where she's mere hours away from another one of her electric performances. "It was amazing. I never would have thought this. But I'm so happy, because it means that everyone loves the music. There's nowhere else to really go after that."

As her two-night stand in Miami at the Ground in Club Space on June 14-15 draws near, Sonza is reflecting on the life trajectory that brought her to this point in her career.

Born in 1998 in Tuparendi, a small hamlet in the state of Rio Grande do Sul near the Argentine border, Sonza barely foresaw outgrowing the town, much less the South American continent. When we ask what moment brought her to pursue a career in music, though, she says it never really felt like a choice.

"I started out singing in a wedding band and playing at events when I was really young, about 7 years old," Sonza shares. "And I had always loved it. It was almost like a no-brainer that I would keep doing music later in life. I did have to have a moment where I made the decision, but it felt so natural that music was going to be my life."

Sonza's repertoire has long surpassed wedding playlists, but it still stays true to her roots. The Brazilian songstress straddles genres from alt-pop to bossa nova to the signature hip-shaking funk the Latin American nation is best known for. Those sounds are well represented on her latest album, 2023's Escândalo Intimo,  a record that ranges from club-thumping beats to raw confessionals like "¿Onde é que deu errado?" ("Where Did It Go Wrong?") and "Não sou demais" ("I'm Not Too Much"). Not surprisingly, Escândalo Intimo immediately lured a worldwide audience, debuting at no. 2 on Spotify's list of most-listened-to albums globally.

Apart from her catalogue, listeners may best know Sonza as a featured artist on songs like Emilia's "Bunda," KayBlack's "Sagrado profano," Mariah Angeliq's "Anaconda," and fellow Brazilian sensation Anitta's "Combatchy." Her 2023 duet with Demi Lovato, "Penhasco 2," earned Sonza the distinction of being the first Brazilian artist to debut a song with 2 million streams.

She's also the only Brazilian woman to receive the Billboard Women in Music Global Force Award, a testimony to her international reach — and to the fact that she's one of the few Latin women in the industry to break more than just geographical barriers.

"I think the most important thing [I hope people take from my music] is to remember to be true to yourself no matter what," Sonza tells New Times. "That's a big part of what I do. And even after the tour, I hope I continue to show that in my next projects."

For now, the artist who has amassed more than 13 million monthly listeners and topped 5 billion streams on Spotify is ready to meet a slightly smaller audience in Miami. Small sample sizes are what they are, but the value of coming face to face with your fans isn't lost on Sonza, who's no stranger to the Magic City and appreciates that a big Brazilian community is ready and waiting for her here.

"I am so ready to meet my Brazilian family in Miami," she says. "I know there's a big crowd out there, but just in general, I am so excited to see my Latino fans and all of my fans who love my music. It's going to be so much fun, and I love that Miami has a little bit of everyone from everywhere in the city."

When asked what surprises may be in store for the South Florida show, however, she's tight-lipped. That said, she promises that no show of hers is a carbon copy of the last.

"I think it goes back to my wedding singer background, but I was taught to always make every event a little bit different," she explains. "I think it's better this way, too. You never know what you're going to get."

Luisa Sonza. 7 p.m. Saturday, June 14, and Sunday, June 15, at the Ground Miami, 34 NE 11th St., #2, Miami; 786-357-6456; thegroundmiami.com. General admission tickets are offered for resale at $25 to $50 via ticketmaster.com.