Often imitated, never duplicated, there is only one Pabllo Vittar. With over twelve million followers on Instagram and declared a ‘Next Generation Leader’ by TIME magazine, Pabllo is thee queen. She recently teamed up with Rina Sawayama for the fashion fantasía, ‘Follow Me’, channelling the spirit of Madonna’s ‘Vogue’, George’s ‘Too Funky’ and serving it up with a unique Vittar-ian twist! Pabllo is currently on her world tour which sees her play London’s Mighty Hoopla on 4th June.
Pabllo tells Loverboy about getting that posing vibe just right, her love for La Veneno and gives us the heads up on the next generation of Brazilian queens to be aware of….
Hi Pabllo, tell me, when you and Rina knew you were going to work together again, what different elements of both your styles did you want to bring together?
We tried to kind of meet halfway, you know!? Getting into a club vibe that we both love, but still with a Brazilian flair of the rhythms and instruments!
Your ‘Comme Des Garcons’ remix together is equally iconic. Was there a different approach or angle you wanted to make when collaborating this time?
We both LOVES the club flip of that song that Brabo did, so that is why we wanted to lean into that vibe for something original with ‘Follow Me.’
Watching ‘Follow Me’, I immediately think of George Michael’s ‘Too Funky’ and Madonna’s ‘Vogue.’ Both are fashion anthems that serve looks in the videos. What is your relationship with both these songs?
You are spot on! That was exactly the energy we wanted to bring with this video! A fashion/posing vibe that is so iconic! I’ve just always loved both of those songs since I could remember. I got to play World Pride the day before Madonna in NY in 2019, and energy was electric.
Growing up was there a supermodel who stood out as your favourite back then?
With no doubt that was Naomi Campbell! She is a legend!
When I think of you as a performer, I think of you as being fierce and sexy. But you never seem to cross the line and become too sexy, where you could alienate kids/older generations. You are always a great role model for all ages. Is this line something you are always conscious of?
“Too sexy” is something hard to talk about, you know?! That is totally different and individual! So what I want to show is that you gotta be comfortable in your skin, be yourself and do/move the way you want to! That’s what I do! Sometimes it can be too sexy to someone, ok for some people and not sexy at all for others, but it’s the way I love to perform, and thats the important part.
I cannot wait to see you at Primavera Sounds here in Spain. Which Spanish artists would you like to collaborate with? And are you familiar with La Veneno?
Rosalia for sure! She is just amazing, Motomami is one of the best albums of the year! Hopefully we can work together soon. And about La Veneno, just love it love it love it!
You are famous for your music, being Grammy-nominated and playing bigger and bigger tours. Why do you think no other drag performer is currently reaching the same level of success with music?
I actually think that there’s a lot of great and talented drag queens growing in the industry! Especially in Brazil! We got Gloria Groove who is huge, Lia Clark, Greg Queen, Kaya Conky, Aretuza Love and a bunch of others!
During your career have you ever felt pressure to sing or do more interviews in English?
I’m learning English and Spanish to communicate better when I am outside of Brazil! It’s important to me so that way I can bring my work even further, you know? Hopefully I’ll be fluent soon.
Lastly we are named after the iconic Mariah Carey song. So we always ask what is your favourite Mariah song?
‘All I Want For Christmas is You’ because when it starts playing means that Christmas and NYE are coming and I just love Christmas!
Pabllo Vittar & Rina Sawayama’s ‘Follow Me’ is out now.
See www.mightyhoopla.com for more info on Pabllo at London’s Might Hoopla.
