(Retrospective) On Jão's birthday, remember the singer's supersonic career

Exactly 29 years ago, on November 3, 1994, in Américo Brasiliense, a municipality with just 41 thousand inhabitants in the interior of São Paulo, João Vitor Romania Balbino was born. But it would be as Jão, a nickname given by his sister during his childhood, that he would become nationally known, and would become one of the most popular pop singers in Brazil today. On the country boy's birthday, find out more about his career, from covers on the internet to one of the biggest artists in the country in less than a decade.

_{Already at the “Super” photoshoot (Photo: reproduction/Instagram/@jao)}

Youth and passion for music

Since he was little, Jão has been connected with music. Son of a musical and party-loving family, his first influences came from the artists his parents consumed, such as Cazuza – one of his biggest idols, by the way –, Marisa Monte and country singers, a genre widely consumed at the time in the municipality.

Very close in age, Jão was 4 years old and Isabela, his sister, was 5, the two followed the soap operas and memorized the soundtracks, then “performed” to the neighbors on the block. In an interview with PodDelas in 2022, the artist joked that this was his first tour. At the religious school where he studied, Jão took advantage of the celebrations of various saints' days to sing in the theater, not limiting himself to Catholic songs, but singing everything he heard at the time, such as Lady Gaga and country music.

With the absence of pop references in Américo Brasiliense, João considered giving up his career in the last year of high school, even abandoning music completely for a period, during which he dedicated himself to pre-university courses.

At the age of 17, the country boy moved to the capital of São Paulo to study, and it was while studying Advertising at USP that he reconnected with his musical side, performing small shows and events for the students themselves. USP also took him to meet a good part of its team, such as his partners and personal friends Pedro Tófani and Renan Augusto, respectively his artistic director and manager, with whom he founded the production company UFO

Early career

In 2016, Jão began publishing covers on his YouTube channel. His talent caught the attention of producers Pedro Dash and Marcelinho, who have worked with artists such as Emicida, Anitta and Manu Gavassi. With this, the São Paulo native signed his first professional contract with Head Media, a Universal Music Group label. Jão's debut single was released in the same year, titled “Dança Pra Mim”, featuring Pedrowl.

_{Listen to “Dança Pra Mim” (Reproduction/Spotify)}

“First Acoustic” and “Lobos” Era

In 2017, Jão simultaneously released the singles “Álcool” and “Ressaca”. In the same year, the artist began to participate in feats and remixes with important national artists, such as Maiara and Maraísa and Buchecha. In January 2018, he released a His biggest hits, which made him gain greater visibility nationally, was the single “Imaturo”. The song reached first place on Spotify's Viral Brasil playlist and received a diamond certificate.

In June of the same year, the artist released his debut EP, titled “Primeiro Acústico”. In August, the track “Vou Morrer Sozinho”, the first single from the album “Lobos”, debuted. Today the song has more than 70 million plays on Spotify.

_{Listen to the album “Lobos” (Reproduction/Spotify)}

In December 2018, Jão released his first album, “Lobos”, which features the hits “Me Beija Com Raiva”, “Imaturo” and, of course, “Vou Morrer Sozinho”. The project launched a series of four albums inspired by the 4 elements, representing the earth element. Currently, the album has more than 290 million plays on Spotify. The “Lobos” tour toured the country between September 2018 and June 2019, passing through all regions.

The Falling “Anti-Hero” Was Actually on the Rise

In October 2019, Jão released his second studio album, titled “Anti-Herói”, the representative of the air element, with the hits “Enquanto Me Beija” and “Essa Eu Fiz Pro Nosso Amor”. In total, the album, which has just 10 tracks, has more than 205 million plays on Spotify. The album's tour began in September and lasted until February 2020, when it had to be interrupted due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, the singer released the audiovisual of the tour on YouTube and as a live album on other audio platforms, titled “Anti-Herói Tour (Ao Vivo)”.

_{Watch the audiovisual “Anti-Herói Tour (Live)” (Reproduction/YouTube/Jão)}

The sea of ​​”Pirate” and the consecration of the pop star

On October 13, 2021, still during the pandemic, Jão announced through an open letter that his third album would be called “Pirata” and that it would talk about freedom. The project, which represents the water element, was launched on the 19th of the same month and was truly a water divider in the rising pop star's career. Era’s first single was “Coringa”, released even before the album. The track's music video is a continuation of the visual for “Imaturo”, the singer's biggest hit to date, but it would be a somewhat discredited song that would become the smash hit of João Vitor's career.

_{Listen to the album “Pirata” (Reproduction/Spotify)}

After “Não Te Amo” was chosen as the second single from “Pirata”, the song “Idiota” became an organic hit, becoming a trend on TikTok and growing exponentially on audio platforms. There was no way, “Idiota” became the third and biggest single not only of Era, but of Jão’s entire career.

The music video, released on February 9, 2022, was full of references to nostalgic and striking couples from cinema and real life, such as Jack and Rose (“Titanic”), Spider-Man and Mary Jane (“Spider-Man”), Ayrton Senna and Xuxa, Patrick and Kat (“The Ten Things I Hate About You”), “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands” and Ennis and Jack (“Brokeback Mountain”). The visual currently has more than 43 million views on YouTube. “Idiota” is Jão’s most listened to track on Spotify, with more than 114 million plays. On TikTok, the original audio of the track has already been used more than 120 thousand times. In total, the album has more than 326 million plays on Spotify, being the artist's biggest ever.

_{Watch the music video for “Idiota” (Reproduction/YouTube/Jão)}

In March 2022, Jão started the “Pirata” tour in Rio de Janeiro. Touring the entire country with more than 60 sold-out shows, the tour generated revenue of around R$36 million and became one of the most profitable in Brazil. Era's success earned him two Latin Grammy nominations as one of the highlights. Jão also took the Pirate Tour shows to Lollapalooza 2022 and Rock In Rio. With a mega structure and tribute to Cazuza, the star's show at Lolla was voted by G1 readers as the best of the festival.

Ending the “Pirata” Era once and for all, in March 2023, Jão released the single “Pilantra”, a long-awaited partnership with singer Anitta. With a cinematic clip that uses a retro look, the feat has accumulated more than 26 million views on YouTube and almost 50 million plays on Spotify. Currently, it is part of the soundtrack of the soap opera “Fuzuê”, on TV Globo.

_{Watch the music video for “Pilantra” (Reproduction/YouTube/Jão)}

“SUPER” and the completion of the cycle of the 4 elements

After the resounding success of “Pirata”, it was time to fire up. Through a letter he wrote leaving the last show of the tour, Jão announced the album that marks the end of the cycle of the 4 elements: SUPER, fire.

“When I made my first album, I already knew I would make a series of four albums, guided by something bigger – earth, air, water and fire. Together, they tell a single story: that of my twenties. Wolves, Anti-Hero and Pirate need an end, and SUPER, my new album, is an end.

Then there will be other albums and other stories, but I need to finish this one. Because I always wanted to be someone else, have another body, be somewhere else. And today I just want to be here.”, he said.

_{Watch the trailer for the album “SUPER” (Reproduction/YouTube/Jão)}

Tying together all the previous phases, a cinema-quality trailer announced SUPER's release date for August 14, 2023. Before the official release, Jão held a free audition at Ginásio do Ibirapuera. The 12 thousand available tickets sold out in just two minutes.

And as the title track says, SUPER arrived supersonic. The album broke records and became the biggest debut in the history of Spotify Brasil with 8.1 million streams in the first 24 hours and 120 thousand people playing simultaneously at the premiere time. Currently the debut record is held by Luísa Sonza with the album “Escândalo intimate”.

_{Listen to the album “SUPER” (Reproduction/Spotify)}

The first show of the “SUPER” Era took place in the first edition of The Town festival, at the Interlagos racetrack. With a mega structure and the right to Jão Voando, the show was showered with praise from several major specialized websites in the country and, according to the singer, it was just a sample of the grandeur of SUPERTURNÊ, which will begin in January, in São Paulo.

And even without having started, the tour has already achieved achievements for the composer. In just 3 hours of sales, Jão sold out 50 thousand tickets for Allianz Parque, realizing one of the biggest dreams of his career. The date in Rio de Janeiro, at the Jeunesse Arena, in May 2024, was also sold out, even though there were seven months until the show. The tour will be carried out in partnership with 30e, which will be responsible for producing the experience, scenography and content. Forecasts point to revenues of R$100 million for the tour, which so far has 15 dates.

_{Watch the video for “Me Lambe” (Reproduction/YouTube/Jão)}

The first single from the album is the track “Me Lambe”, which has accumulated 14.5 million plays on Spotify. The visual for the track, featuring actor João Guilherme, was released on September 14th. All songs on the album have a lyric video on YouTube and in less than two months of release, “SUPER” has accumulated 59 million streams on Spotify.

Featured photo: Jão in the “SUPER” Era photoshoot (Reproduction/Instagram/@jao)