Liniker Brazilian Singer With 2M Instagram Followers

Early life

Liniker de Barros Ferreira Campos, known professionally as Liniker, was born on 3 July 1995 in Araraquara, a city in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Liniker was raised by a single mother, Ângela. Liniker grew up in a musical household and heard samba rock, jazz, soul and R&B at home. Liniker began writing songs at the age of 16.

At 18, Liniker left Araraquara to follow an interest in the performing arts, particularly tap dance and drama. In 2014 Liniker moved to Santo André to attend drama school. There the rapper Linn da Quebrada encouraged Liniker to adopt, as an everyday style, the combination of skirts, lipstick and a turban that became part of Liniker's public image.

Career

In 2015 Liniker formed the band Os Caramelows with friends. The name was a play on the words caramel and mellow, and the group was later called Liniker e os Caramelows. Liniker wrote all of its songs, and the group gave its first concert when it was one day old. The video for "Zero", a single from the EP Cru, was watched 1.5 million times on YouTube within a week. In 2016 the band released Remonta, and it toured in Brazil and also in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the United States. The album Goela Abaixo was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2019, in the category for Portuguese-language rock or alternative album.

The group described its sound as new Brazilian Black music, or "funzy", and Goela Abaixo draws on Caribbean and African music and includes verses in English and Spanish. In 2017 Liniker recorded the single "Flutua" with the singer Johnny Hooker, a song that speaks against homophobia in Brazil. In 2020, after five years together, the band announced its separation and a planned farewell tour, which was delayed by the pandemic. Liniker continued as a solo artist. The records list the band's years as 2015 to 2020.

Liniker's first solo album, Indigo Borboleta Anil, came out in 2021 and blends lyrics in English and Portuguese with elements of MPB, R&B, soul, jazz, reggae and samba. The records also list an album called Caju, and place Liniker's music under soul. Beyond music, Liniker has screen credits that include the series 3% in 2016 and Tranny Fag in 2018. In 2023 Liniker was among the performers in a televised musical tribute to Milton Nascimento on the Brazilian programme Altas Horas.

Liniker has named a wide range of influences, among them Clube do Balanço, Cartola, Elza Soares, Etta James, Nina Simone, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Tulipa Ruiz and Tássia Reis, as well as members of Liniker's own family.

Recognition

In November 2022 Liniker won the Latin Grammy Award for Best MPB Album for Indigo Borboleta Anil, described as the first Latin Grammy win by a trans woman. In the acceptance speech Liniker spoke of the day as a historic one for Brazil. In 2025 Liniker received the Order of Cultural Merit of Brazil. Liniker's Instagram following was about 2 million in October 2026.

Public roles

Liniker has spoken in interviews about the responsibility of speaking up on violence against queer people in Brazil and has used a public platform to promote social change and to present Black trans culture. Liniker has also said that, particularly during the period of transition, interviews dwelt on gender and gave less space to the music itself.