Urias teaches pop: ‘I’ve stood out for doing things that no one does’

Since when she began her career as a singer, with the release of “Devil” in 2019, Uriah brings a proposal quite different from what we see in Brazilian pop — no wonder the debut single was already a huge success, and has more than 17 million reproductions on the internet. Spotify.

Despite finding a precious formula right at the beginning, the 29-year-old singer from Minas Gerais refuses to stay out of her comfort zone and always forces herself to explore new sounds. It was this concern that resulted in two great and completely different studio albums: Fury (2022) and Her Mind (2023).

If you like a more urban sound style, a bit dark and with more dramatic beats, Fury is a great choice play. If you like a more electronic, techno and danceable sound, I suggest you go Her Mind. If you enjoy both styles, Urias is the perfect artist for you to follow.

The next step in her career was an extension of the 2023 album: on November 21, 2023, she released the deluxe Her Mind – Blossom Editionwith the addition of three new songs and a remix featuring the American rapper Killa’s Cakes.

Over time, she released two studio albums, both with a completely different sound and proposal. Her most recent release was the deluxe album titled. As stated in a previous article on Rolling Stone Brazil, Blossom Edition showed how the singer is one of the main pop divas in Brazil.

During an interview in the newsroom studio, Uriah He took the opportunity to talk about the creative process of the new album, sound changes, representation and deep lyrics that also encourage listeners to dance. She, Maffalda It is Number Teddy started thinking about the concept after the launch of Her Mind on June 8th.

It is worth highlighting how the three new songs by Her Mind – Blossom Edition“Rolling,” “trip” It is “Soft,” have a unique style compared to the original, and Urias had exactly this change in mind during the creative process, described as a struggle to make something new that he didn’t have in the first Her Mind.

A name present in the production that was highly praised by the artist was Maffaldawho has worked with her since “Devil.” In fact, the singer described him as “a man of the future” and “visionary” — and asked the duo to continue as collaborators.

This time, the musical bases and productions were completely from the mind of the Maffalda. We talked and shared what we wanted, of course, but he’s the one with the cool twists and mixes, like reggaeton with drum and bass from ‘Soft.’

The remix of “Ultimate One” with Killa’s Cakes represents the only feat of the era Her Mind. They followed each other on social media before, and the singer was very proactive in making the partnership really happen. “He included me in the reimagining of ‘sex drive,’ then I took advantage of this contact and openness, already exchanging emails with producers,” he recalled.

The academic basis Her Mind – Blossom Edition

There are two ways to listen Her Mind – Blossom Edition: enjoy the beats and not pay attention to the lyrics and meanings, or try to stop to understand what Urias meant with this work.

The deluxe is based on a study of University of Liege, from Belgium, in which it was proven that the brains of trans people are similar to those of cis people to whom they identify and not to their biological gender. In addition, the research included exams that measured brain microstructures using the diffusion tensor imaging technique. Finally, the result observed how boys who say they are transgender have the same brain activity as cisgender boys — and the same happens with female people.

An interesting fact: the singer had her first contact with the study after a video of a woman on this subject appeared in the algorithm. TikTok her. In the meantime, post-launch of Fury, Uriah began to get really bothered by the excessive comments they made about her body — and decided to explore her mind (hence the name Her Mind).

“As much as my body was in evidence, I wanted to draw attention to my mind as well, other aspects and other characteristics… to show that I was more multiple too,” he explained to Rolling Stone Brazil. She then spoke about the impact of Belgian research:

This study brought me great reflection on the way I would impose my existence. Even biologically speaking, you know? That I am part of biology and nature. Even if the social situations, the social pillars that we have built throughout humanity, did not exist, I would still be part of nature. Her Mind is this search for naturalness through nature, while the Blossom Edition is the conclusion of all this.

Of course, this is a period of great reflection for the singer, and the release of Her Mind It represents a great experience for her, as she commented on how she realized that she is heard, in addition to being relieved to know how people are encouraged to go beyond her work. A place of satisfaction.

“I learn a lot about myself, my limits… about limits that are mine, but also don’t come from me,” said the artist. “About limits rather than how far I can go, how far I can run. Discovering that this distance has been increasing and expanding all this time. Of Fury here, I saw that I am a singer, songwriter [risos]. The penny dropped.”

Her Mind – Blossom Edition also represents an aesthetic change for Uriah, which will release merch and even vinyl (scheduled for release on December 5, 2023), on stage. The deluxe’s ​​visual identity integrates her body with nature.

Highlight of national pop and with foreign fans!

Not just the sound, but the language of Her Mind is quite different from Fury. In the 2023 album, she shared her attention with languages ​​other than Portuguese: she speaks English, Spanish and even French. “I wanted to make dance music, upbeat, that different types of people would listen to. And I also wanted these songs to remind me that I’m Brazilian. That was the direction we tried to go, and things went well. It looked like me,” she assured her.

This exploration of other languages ​​led to the singer expanding around the world, and her fan base grew, especially in Latin America. In conversation with Rolling Stone Brazil, Uriah revealed how he receives messages from people in Paris and Spain, for example. She also has a fan club, Urias Argentina, which even traveled to watch her show in Brazil: “I think it’s really impressive. It’s gone.”

Brazilian pop began to gain a lot of strength in the last decade, and mainstream artists receive more and more investment for their respective releases. However, the genre seems to be in a comfort zone, with different sounds and similar aesthetics.

That’s where it comes in Uriah: She is one of the most different artists in the field, with an original and unique touch. As mentioned above, she has a goal of making “music for everyone to listen to and dance to” and, if the person wants, they can pursue the meaning of it all.

“I try to make it balanced,” he said. “It wouldn’t make sense to me if I weren’t talking about something that impacts my life negatively. If I weren’t going to talk about something with this certain type of impact on my life, not everyone in my group can be heard in this way.”

For me it’s still in a place of need and talking about something. But when I want to be futile, I will be futile too. And everything is fine.

“To date, in my career, I have stood out for doing things that no one else does, different things,” he continued. “There is no reason to change this line of thinking, now that I have achieved a certain prominence within what I do, to change to something considered mainstream.”

The future is a mystery, but Uriah will shine brightly

It’s still too early to discuss or begin to imagine the third studio album in his career. Uriah. She just launched Her Mind – Blossom Edition and still wants to work this era in a better way. But the singer already knows what to expect in the future

In my next job, I want to get away from these two [álbuns]. I don’t want to do something repeatedly, I don’t want to not explore at the moment. I want to search, find out about myself… what I can do, what I can’t do. I will always be changing.

Whether with rhymes, dance beats, lines more reminiscent of rap or in Brazilian ballads, Urias has a lot of talent to be even more successful — and a legion of fans who follow her closely.