Brazilian Sertanejo Star Marília Mendonça Dies in Plane Crash at 26

Brazilian sertanejo star Marília Mendonça has died in a plane crash in the state of Minas Gerais, according to an official statement posted to the singer’s Instagram page. The 26-year-old artist was on her way to perform in the city of Caratinga. All five passengers, including the plane’s crew, lost their lives in the accident.

“With immense regret, we confirm the death of singer-songwriter Marília Mendonça, her producer Henrique Ribeiro, her uncle and advisor Abicieli Silveira Dias Filho, and the pilot and co-pilot, of which we won’t reveal their names at this time. The plane took off from Goiania to Caratinga where Marília would perform tonight. At the moment, this is all the information we have.”

With more than 8 million listeners on Spotify and more than 22 million subscribers on YouTube, the folk singer-songwriter, who began writing songs at the age of 12, had become one of  biggest exponents of popular Brazilian music.

Last year, during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, her three-hour #LiveLocalMarília Mendonça event on April 8, 2021, had over 3.3 million peak concurrent viewers on YouTube. That same month, she hit No. 6 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart. In 2019, Mendonça won the Latin Grammy for best sertaneja music album thanks to her 12-track set Em Todos Os Cantos. 

Earlier Friday, Mendonça had posted on her Instagram account that she was taking off to Minas Gerais, asking her fans to leave her food recommendations. “This is my reality my people,” she wrote. “Tell me here in the comments what delicious foods I can eat in this wonderful state.”

Mendonça is survived by her 1-year-old son, Léo.