It’s hard to remember a year as weak for English-language music as 2025. Historically dominant in the recording industry, the output of artists from the US and UK who sing in English has had less weight in what has been massively consumed over the past 12 months here and abroad, and also in what has generated cultural and political impact.
Lists of the year’s best albums were dominated by Spanish singer Rosalía, who blended Catholicism and classical music into her pop on the album “Lux.” Puerto Rican Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” was also high-profile, garnering US Grammy nominations, a Super Bowl halftime show and the title of most-streamed artist on the planet — in addition to two shows at Allianz Parque in São Paulo scheduled for February.
Even Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl”, was not enough to change this scenario, nor was the work of The Weeknd, Miley Cyrus or Sabrina Carpenter. It was Lady Gaga who shone with “Mayhem”, an album which marked the return to her classic sound and also to Brazil.
She gave a historic and free show on Copacabana beach, even bigger and apotheotic than Madonna’s the previous year, bringing together more than 2 million people, according to Rio de Janeiro town hall. It also contains one of the most listened to hits of the year on the planet, the song “Die With a Smile”, a partnership with Bruno Mars.
In Brazil, the country singer started the year by descending on the Balneário Camboriú and competing for the summer soundtrack, but he dominated the most listened to charts with his romantic and acoustic guitars. It is this sound that predominates in “Tubarões”, a song by Diego and Victor Hugo played throughout the country, and in the album “Manifesto Musical 2”, by Henrique and Juliano, the most successful duo of the year in the genre.
Simone Mendes was once again among the most listened to, but this time with “P do Pecado”, a partnership with the group Menos é Mais, responsible for bringing the pagoda back into the charts. Supported by the Portuguese version of “Corazón Partío”, the group broke through with “Churrasquinho 3”, released at the end of last year.
It was also a remarkable year for forró and piseiro. Wesley Safadão made a successful foray into vaquejadas and Natanzinho Lima became one of the most popular names in the genre, while Leo Foguete propelled the accordion to the ranks of the most heard with “Cópia Proibida”. João Gomes did the same on the best 2025 lists. The native of Pernambuco reaped rewards with “Dominguinho”, in which he gives an acoustic and pop side to the styles he defends, alongside Jota.pê and Mestrinho.
Few songs were as bubblegum as “Resenha do Arrocha,” in which Bahian J. Eskine talks about the Tigrinho game in a strangely infectious collage of snippets from other songs. The same online gambling game also appears in “Oh Garota Quero Você Só Pra mim”, a hit by Oruam in partnership with Zé Felipe, MC Tuto and Rodrigo du CN.
Funk gave birth to Hariel’s concept albums, “Eh Noiz Ki Tá”, and Papatinho’s, “MPC”, in addition to other hits, like “Famosinha”, with DJ Caio Vieira, MC Meno K and Rodrigo from CN, but it was news in the pages of the police. Oruam and Poze do Rodo were arrested – then released, in high-profile cases – on charges related to glorifying crimes and alleged links to drug trafficking.
The year of COP30 in Belém, it was Gaby Amarantos who was able to capture attention around Pará culture. The singer, icon of technobrega, summarized in the album “Rock Doido” a scene that has been bubbling for years in the north of the country through sound system evenings. It was in fact in Pará that one of the most unusual scenes of the year took place: the recording of a television program in which the American Mariah Carey sang on top of a boat shaped like a water lily to raise awareness for the preservation of the Amazon.
Rap was marked by the split with a million-dollar legal dispute between Emicida and his brother, Evandro Fióti, and the end, albeit temporary, of the Laboratório Fantasma label. The rapper is also returning to his roots with an album inspired by MC Racionais, in what he calls the “Racional phase”. Matuê released an album that was not very famous and the women who shone were the women, including Ebony, Ajuliacosta and Stefani.
For specialized critics, the two works in which Luedji Luna searches for a particular and Brazilian jazz stand out, “Caro Vapor II” by Don L, the samples saved by BK, the cauldron of rhythms of BaianaSystem, the immersive and tropical pop of Marina Sena, the concretism of Jadsa, the urgency of Arnaldo Antunes and the infinite magnetism of Djavan, among others.
In terms of shows, neither Lollapalooza, with Alanis Morissette and Olivia Rodrigo, nor The Town, with Green Day and Backstreet Boys, managed to overshadow Gilberto Gil’s last major tour, “Tempo Rei”. The capital of São Paulo also hosted alternative artists, such as Wilco and Air at C6 Fest, and experienced rare excitement around Oasis’ two performances at Morumbi Stadium, the year Planet Hemp bid farewell to the stage. Dua Lipa, who also played in Rio, was enchanted by Brazil.
Some music giants have died this year. Outside, the world mourned the losses of Ozzy Osbourne, a seminal voice in the history of rock and Black Sabbath, Brian Wilson, the brilliant and troubled mind behind the Beach Boys, the first reggae star, Jimmy Cliff, and the genius Sly Stone, who fused soul, funk, rock and psychedelia under Sly & the Family Stone, and the prince of neo-soul, D’Angelo, among others.
In Brazil, the death of Arlindo Cruz forced the country to stop and remember his eternal sambas distributed since the first albums of Fundo de Quintal — a group that lost Bira Presidente, its leader and tambourine expert. They also left us the magician of universal sounds, Hermeto Pascoal, the dreamlike melodies of Lô Borges, one of the minds of the “Clube da Esquina”, the damn restless Jards Macalé, the deep and esoteric voice of Nana Caymmi, the bluesy bohemianism of Ângela Ro Ro, the rock with glitter and attitude of Edy Star, the music legend Pará Mestre Damasceno and the inexhaustible charisma of Preta Gil, to name just a few.
American businessman and rapper Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, more important to the industry than to music, will see the end of the year from prison, where he is detained, convicted of crimes related to prostitution. The affair has had a lot of repercussions in recent months.
The year 2025 will also go down in history as the first year in which music created by artificial intelligence made noise. A group called Velvet Sundown, created using technology, gained listeners and headlines, but their music didn’t catch on. Meanwhile, Brazilians were having fun with the new tools, for example transforming MCs Racionais’ “Estilo Cachorro” into 1970s soul, and Anitta’s “Bang” into Aretha Franklin-style R&B.
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