Nov. 6 (UPI) — Sertanejo country music star Marília Mendonça died Friday in a plane crash on her way to a concert in Brazil, her publicist said. She was 26.
Four other people died in the incident north of Rio de Janeiro.
“With immense regret, we confirm the death of singer-songwriter Marília Mendonça, her producer Henrique Ribeiro, her uncle and adviser Abicieli Silveira Dias Filho, and the pilot and co-pilot, of which we won’t reveal their names at this time,” a statement posted on her website said.
“The plane took off from Goiania to Caratinga where Marília would perform tonight. At the moment, this is all the information we have.”
Known as “The Boss,” Mendonça sang about empowering women and was her country’s most-listened-to artist on Spotify in 2019 and 2020. The folk singer-songwriter began penning songs at the age of 12.
The Latin Grammy winner also had nearly 40 million followers on Instagram.
She currently is up for another Latin Grammy for Best Sertanejo Album for Patroas.
The artist is survived by a son, who will turn 2 next month.
