Pabllo Vittar talks NME through her ‘Firsts’

Brazilian superstar Pabllo Vittar is changing the game one bop at a time. Last month, she became the first drag queen ever to perform at Coachella, then brought out fellow queer icon Rina Sawayama to amplify the festival’s LGBTQ+ representation. Naturally, the duo performed their new single ‘Follow Me’, a dazzling track that celebrates the healing power of the dance floor. “Me, I got bad days, gets a little tough,” Vittar sings on the verse. “But I got a secret, babe, I dance it off.”

A couple of weeks before she made history at Coachella 2022, Vittar joined NME on Zoom to share some of her musical first times. It’s definitely a case of ‘legends supporting legends’ when Vittar reveals that the first artist she fell in love with was Britney Spears. “She’s amazing. I remember her performance at the VMAs [in 2001],” Vittar recalls. “I’m an artist, a performer, and she inspires me every single day.” The first album she ever bought is equally iconic: Lana Del Rey‘s classic 2012 debut ‘Born To Die’, a record Vittar still listens to today.

Vittar also reveals that her first job was doing hair and make-up at a beauty salon: an experience that proved useful for her future career. “Now I’m a drag [queen], I do my hair and make-up. I have a hairdresser [now], but I know how to work with hair and wigs.” Well over a decade later, there’s no doubt that Vittar, who has also collaborated with Major Lazer and Charli XCX, has found her true calling in life. “I need to be on the stage, I feel alive [there],” she says. And after she completes one of her high-energy live shows, the first thing she does is breathe, pour herself a Jack Daniels and dance with her friends. Anyone who’s seen Vittar light up a venue or festival will know she’s most definitely earned it.

For the latest in NME Firsts, Vittar also chats about her first tattoo, the first gig she played, and the first song she finished writing. Watch the video in full above.