If Pabllo Vittar is making headlines, they might be about her smash hit songs, her astonishing fashion week outfits, her disruptive political statements, or some combination of the three. Over the last four years, the 24-year-old Brazilian drag queen and pop star has established herself as someone to watch on many fronts, seamlessly integrating the personal with the cultural and political and using her platform as a musical star to demand equality for LGBT communities in Brazil and beyond.

In a music ecosystem made global by streaming, Vittar, who identifies as gay and genderfluid, has emerged as one of South America’s most popular exports: she has garnered half a billion Spotify streams and a billion YouTube views for her earworms that gild Brazilian rhythms with an American pop sheen.

Vittar has used her global megaphone to both celebrate her identity — performing at the World Pride parade, the U.N. Headquarters, and Rio’s Carnival — and speak out against its horrifying dangers. The number of violent deaths of LBGT people in Brazil peaked in 2017 at 445 people, with researchers asserting this 30% rise on the previous year related directly to the virulent anti-gay sentiments championed by ultraconservative politicians. Read more via Time