Sertanejo Act Maiara & Maraisa Wins Duo of the Year at Brazil’s Multishow Music Awards

RIO DE JANEIRO — Sertanejo act Maiara & Maraisa won the award for duo of the year on the 29th edition of Brazil’s Multishow Music Awards, held on Tuesday (Oct. 18) and aired by Multishow TV Channel.

“It’s an honor to win this prize. We hope to be there next year to win this prize again,” the duo teased, while remotely accepting the prize via a live transmission.

The win was welcome news for the sertanejo community, after a wave of online criticism about too little representation at the awards show for the genre — considered to be the most popular in Brazil, and the country’s equivalent to American country music. In September, days after Multishow officially released the nominees, fans and acts complained that sertanejo was absent from most of the categories. (Of the ten popular categories, determined by audience vote, established sertanejo artists have only been nominated in two categories, duo of the year and artist of the year.)

During a show in early September, Zé Neto (from the duo Zé Neto & Cristiano) said that “many [award shows] out there” haven’t included sertanejo names, including for best song and best singer.

“But you know what’s the biggest award for us? It’s coming here and seeing the house crowded. The rest is marketing,” said Zé Neto, who, in May this year, criticized the megastar Anitta and a Brazilian tax incentive law aimed at propping up the country’s culture scene.

“We always try to be as diverse as possible,” Helena Daibert, head of marketing at Multishow who’s worked with the channel’s awards for 15 years, tells Billboard. She says that, since 2019, a board of over 600 music specialists from all over Brazil — called “the academy” — has been responsible for the nominations.

Until 2019, the audience chose the awards’ nominees, but tended to drift towards their own fan favorites. “We created the academy as an effort to make the diversity of Brazil’s music scenery better represented in the awards,” she says.

While Daibert highlights the importance of the longstanding relationship between the sertanejo scene and Multishow, she also recognizes the challenge inherent to every music awards show: “It is impossible to please everyone.”

Still, in addition to the winners Maiara & Maraisa, there were other sertanejo acts nominated for duo of the year at this year’s awards: Diego & Victor Hugo (who performed in the awards show), Henrique & Juliano, Jorge & Mateus, and Matheus & Kauan. The latter three duos didn’t attend the ceremony.

Non-sertanejo acts in the running for duo of the Year included Tasha & Tracie (hip-hip), YOÙN (pop/hip-hop) and ANAVITÓRIA (pop/MPB).

“When we think of musical duos, we used to think of a sertanejo duo,” said R&B singer Majur, who announced the category’s winner. “Beyond sertanejo duos, there are pop, funk, reggae, samba… duos of many genres we like to listen to,” said rap singer Vitão, who also presented the nominees.

Sertanejo singer Ana Castela, who participated in the event, won revelation of the year. Born in Central-Western Brazil, Castela has been a prominent name in “agronejo,” a sertanejo subgenre that blends Brazilian funk and electronic beats while extolling the lifestyle of the agro-livestock universe.

Nominated for artist of the year, sertanejo star Gusttavo Lima was booed by part of the audience when his name was announced. Lima, however, didn’t attend the ceremony. The artist, considered to be the most popular sertanejo act right now, has been embroiled in a controversy over publicly funded shows across Brazil which prosecutors are probing for possible improprieties.

Megastar Anitta wasn’t present either, but stood out with wins in three categories: artist of the year; song of the year (for the hit “Envolver”); and clip of the year (for the music video of “Boys Don’t Cry”).

Samba act Seu Jorge, who suffered through an episode of racism during his show in Southern Brazil last Friday (Oct. 14), was cheered by the audience when, along with pagode singer Alexandre Pires, he won show of the year.

This year’s edition also paid tribute to late singer Elza Soares with a live performance of Black female artists Linn da Quebrada and Larissa Luz. Soares, who died at 91 in January, was considered “the singer of the millennium” by the BBC in 1999.

Check out the full winners list below:

Revelation of the year

Ana Castela

Bala Desejo

Jovem Dionísio

Mari Fernandez

Nattanzinho

Rachel Reis

Tasha & Tracie

Urias

Duo of the year

ANAVITÓRIA

Diego e Victor Hugo

Henrique e Juliano

Jorge e Mateus

Maiara e Maraisa

Matheus & Kauan

Tasha & Tracie

YOÙN

Group of the year

Jovem Dionisio

Afrocidade

Bala Desejo

Black Pantera

Gilsons

Grupo Menos é Mais

Lagum

Raça Negra

Album of the year

Lady Leste by Gloria Groove

LUME by Felipe Ret

Numanice #2 by Ludmilla

Pirata, y Jão

Pra Gente Acordar, by Gilsons

QVVJFA?, by Baco Exu do Blues

Sobre Viver, by Criolo

Versions of Me, by Anitta

Voice of the year

Anitta

Gloria Groove

Iza

Jão

Liniker

Ludmilla

Luísa Sonza

Marisa Monte

Show of the year

Alexandre Pires e Seu Jorge

Caetano Veloso

Djonga

Emicida

Jão

Ludmilla

Marisa Monte

Thiaguinho

Song of the year

“Acorda Pedrinho,” do Jovem Dionísio

“Desenrola Bate Joga de Ladin” (feat. DJ Biel do Furduncinho), by L7nnon, Os Hawaianos e DJ Bel da CDD

“Envolver,” da Anitta

“Fé,” by Iza

“Maldivas,” by Ludmilla

“Malvadão 3,” by Xamã, Gustah and Neo Beats

“VAMPiro,” by Matuê, WIU and Teto

“Vermelho,” da Gloria Groove

Hit of the year

“Acorda Pedrinho,” by Jovem Dionísio

“Dançarina,” by Pedro Sampaio

“Desenrola Bate Joga de Ladin,” by L7nnon, Os Hawaianos, and DJ Bel da CDD

“Envolver,” by Anitta

“Idiota,” by Jão

“Maldivas,” by Ludmilla

“Malvadão 3,” by Xamã

“Vermelho,” by Gloria Groove

Artist of the year

Anitta

Gloria Groove

Gusttavo Lima

Jão

João Gomes

L7nnon

Ludmilla

Luisa Sonza

Clip of the year

“A Queda,” by Gloria Groove

“Vermelho,” by Gloria Groove

“Acorda Pedrinho,” by Jovem Dionísio

“Boys Don’t Cry,” by Anitta

“Envolver,” by Anitta

“Cachorrinhas,” by Luisa Sonza

“Fé,” by Iza 

“Idiota,” by Jão

Instrumentalist of the year

Amaro Freitas

Castilhol

Hamilton de Holanda

Jonathan Ferr

Kiko Dinucci

Mateus Asato

Pretinho da Serrinha

Silvanny Sivuca

Music producer of the year

Eduardo Pepato

Pablo Bispo

Papatinho

Prateado

Pupilo

Rafinha RSQ

Ruxell no Beat

VHOOR

Album cover of the year

IZA, Fé

Urias, Fúria

Gloria Groove, Lady Leste

Filipe Ret, LUME

Marisa Monte, Portas

Baco Exu do Blues, QVVJFA?

Karol Conká, Urucum

Anitta, Version Of Me