IZA

IZA, born Isabela Cristina Correia de Lima on September 3, 1990, is a Brazilian singer from Rio de Janeiro. She grew up in Olaria, in Rio's North Zone, and began posting cover videos on YouTube in 2016. Those videos drew attention from Warner Music Brasil, which signed her that year. Her stage name is stylized in capital letters as IZA.

Her debut studio album, Dona de Mim, arrived April 2018. It combines pop, R&B, soul, and Brazilian rhythms, while its title track presents self-possession and independence as central themes. The album earned a nomination for Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album at the 19th Latin Grammy Awards. Its singles established her nationally: “Pesadão,” featuring Marcelo Falcão, reached the top of Brazilian charts, and “Ginga,” featuring rapper Rincon Sapiência, became another signature recording. In 2019, IZA received the Multishow Award for New Artist and performed at Rock in Rio, marking an important appearance at one of Brazil’s largest festivals.

Beyond recording, IZA became a visible television personality. She joined the coaching panel of The Voice Kids Brasil in 2019, replacing Carlinhos Brown, and remained on the program through 2022. She also served as a judge on The Masked Singer Brasil, bringing her public profile into a different entertainment format. Her music continued with “Brisa,” released in 2019, and the 2021 single “Gueto.” “Gueto” explicitly connects her success with the neighborhood and social environment that shaped her, and its video was filmed in Olaria. In 2022 she released “Fé,” a song built around perseverance and confidence, followed by “Sem Filtro,” a collaboration with L7nnon.

IZA’s second studio album, Afrodhit, was released in August 2023. The project takes its title from a combination of “afro” and “hit,” and its concept places Black identity, desire, romance, and autonomy in a contemporary pop setting. Tracks include “Fé,” “Mega da Virada,” “Que Se Vá,” “Mó Paz,” and “Sintoniza,” while collaborations involve artists such as Djonga, MC Carol, and Thiaguinho. Afrodhit received a nomination for Best Portuguese Language Pop Album at the 25th Latin Grammy Awards, confirming its position within the Brazilian mainstream and the broader Latin music industry. Rather than presenting a single fixed genre, the record moves among R&B, dance-pop, funk, and Afro-Brazilian influences.

Across these releases, IZA has made visibility part of her artistry, a Rio-born performer whose songs place ambition, Black womanhood, and Brazilian cultural references inside accessible, polished popular music with local specificity.