Brazilian singer Dora Morelenbaum opens Asia tour in Seoul

Brazilian singer-songwriter Dora Morelenbaum opened her Asia tour Thursday night with a stripped-down voice-and-guitar concert at West Bridge Live Hall in Seoul's Hongdae district, bringing her blend of bossa nova and contemporary Brazilian pop to Korean audiences for the first time.

The Seoul show highlights a deepening dialogue between Brazil and South Korea's music scenes and reflects growing international demand for a new wave of Brazilian musicians redefining Música Popular Brasileira — a trend of interest to Korean-American communities who have watched South Korea emerge as a global cultural gateway.

Morelenbaum performed alongside guitarist Guilherme Lirio in an intimate two-piece set drawing largely from her 2024 debut solo album "Pique," which earned a Latin Grammy nomination for best MPB album. The Korea Times reported that Lirio used inventive percussion techniques during the performance, tapping the guitar body to mimic the sound of falling raindrops.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1996, Morelenbaum grew up surrounded by Brazil's most storied musical traditions. Her father, cellist and arranger Jaques Morelenbaum, and her mother, vocalist Paula Morelenbaum, both collaborated with bossa nova legend Antônio Carlos Jobim and the late Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

"My parents are musicians and that took a big part of my musical formation. When I was little, I traveled a lot with my family for their shows. I was always surrounded by music," Morelenbaum told The Korea Times in an interview before the show.

She made her professional debut in 2021 as part of the quartet Bala Desejo, whose 2022 debut album "Sim Sim Sim" won the Latin Grammy for best Portuguese-language contemporary pop album. After the group disbanded in 2024, she released "Pique" as a solo artist, weaving together bossa nova, samba and MPB with jazz, soul, R&B and disco.

"In Brazil, we have millions of different genres and it happens all very naturally, mixed with outer influences. I think artists of Brazil's new music scene are also doing a lot of this," she said, discussing her musical approach with The Korea Times. Thursday's setlist also included covers of Bobby Charles' "I Must Be in a Good Place Now" and João Donato's "Até Quem Sabe?"

Drawing a parallel between the two countries' cultural momentum, Morelenbaum told The Korea Times: "The world is giving a lot of cultural attention to the two countries. I feel the motives are different, but it's interesting for me to understand how these cultural forces are growing and how they are different." The Seoul concert was presented by Gimbab Records, a Seoul independent label, as part of its curator-driven series spotlighting Brazil's contemporary music scene.

Following the Seoul opening, Morelenbaum and Lirio will continue the Asia tour with upcoming dates in China, Taiwan and Japan.