Marília Dias Mendonça (Brazilian Portuguese: [maˈɾiljɐ mẽˈdõsɐ]; 22 July 1995 – 5 November 2021) was a Brazilian singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, posthumously recognized in Brazil as the Queen of Sofrência, a subgenre of sertanejo music, and has been recognized for her contribution to female empowerment by revolutionizing the universe of sertanejo music.

[2] In 2019, she released the live album Todos os Cantos, which featured shows recorded by the singer in all the state capitals.

[4] On 5 November 2021, Mendonça died at the age of 26 in an airplane crash in Piedade de Caratinga, Minas Gerais, where she was to perform a concert.

[5] Born in Cristianópolis and raised in Goiânia, Mendonça had her first contact with music through church and began composing when she was 12, having started to write songs for various singers such as "Minha Herança" (João Neto & Frederico), "Muito Gelo, Pouco Whisky" (Wesley Safadão), "Até Você Voltar", "Cuida Bem Dela", "Flor e o Beija-Flor" (Henrique & Juliano), "Ser Humano ou um Anjo" (Matheus & Kauan), "Calma" (Jorge & Mateus) and "É Com Ela Que Eu Estou" (Cristiano Araújo).

In October, a live acoustic EP entitled Agora É Que São Elas was released with previous successful tracks and had its only single with the song "Eu Sei de Cor".

[12] In March, her second album was released entitled Realidade, which had singles such as "Amante Não Tem Lar" and "De Quem É A Culpa" again featuring the duo Henrique & Juliano.

[36][37] In June the same year, she confirmed that she was pregnant, giving birth to her son Léo, born eight months premature, on 16 December 2019, in Goiânia.

[38] During the break of her Side B live show, on 8 August 2020, Mendonça mentioned a gay nightclub in Goiânia called Diesel, where one of her band's musicians had kissed "the most beautiful woman in his life", according to her.

In addition, other members of the band chuckled and made unspoken comments, implying that the boy would have hooked up with a transsexual woman.

[39][40] On 5 November 2021, Mendonça embarked on an air taxi with four other people on board towards Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil, where she was expected to perform in a local concert.

[5][41][42] Her death attracted immense attention of national and international media, and several artists mourned the tragedy and paid their respects on social media, such as Anitta, Luísa Sonza, Dulce María, Gal Costa, Roberta Miranda, Gilberto Gil, Ivete Sangalo, Pabllo Vittar, among others and from Manuel Abud, CEO of the Latin Recording Academy.

Their private funeral was held at 9:00 am, restricted to family members; it later opened to the public at 1:00 pm, and fans were allowed to pay their respects.

In Caratinga, the city where Mendonça was going to perform at the time of her accident, the singer has been honored annually on the date she died,[53][54] and is in the process of changing the name of the João da Costa Mafra Exhibition Park to Marília Mendonça and João da Costa Mafra Exhibition Park.

[56] The sertanejo duo Henrique & Juliano also honored Mendonça on the occasion of their DVD recording in the United States, moving the Times Square audience.