16 of Portugal's top 50 songs on Spotify are Brazilian, and sertanejo is now in the mix

A funk track fronted by three MCs, MC Leozinho ZS, MC RN do Capão and MC Pelourinho, and right behind it, a sertanejo song recorded live on stage. That is what the top of the Spotify Portugal chart sounded like on 31 October. 'Ta Pedindo Toma' sat at No. 5. Felipe e Rodrigo's 'Pós - Ao Vivo' sat at No. 6. Two places further down, another live sertanejo recording held No. 8.

Zoom out and the picture gets bigger. According to the data platform Kworb, which tracks Spotify's daily charts, 16 of the 50 most-streamed tracks in Portugal that day were by Brazilian artists. Almost a third of the country's top 50 came from across the Atlantic.

Kworb's Brazilian chart for the same date shows how tight the link has become. 'Ta Pedindo Toma' was No. 7 in Brazil while it stood at No. 5 in Portugal. 'Pós - Ao Vivo' was No. 1 in Brazil and No. 6 in Portugal. There is no slow trickle across the ocean here. The two lists move nearly in step.

Whether any of these tracks had a campaign built specifically for Portugal is not known. The likelier reading is that the Portuguese market now reacts to a Brazilian release on its own, with no local push required. If that holds, sertanejo's arrival says less about one song travelling well and more about how the country listens.

On streaming, Portugal now behaves like one more Brazilian state.