Pabllo Vittar’s negotiated performances The Glamazon as a performative script towards a notion of drag music

Abstract

This article examines the dynamics of musical categorization through the analysis of drag queen Pabllo Vittar’s strategies to approach what is stablished as “drag music” within the Anglophone context. By investigating Vittar’s international collaboration Flash Pose (2019) with Charli XCX, the study explores how musical genres are not merely sonic categories but performative spaces of cultural negotiation. Drawing on Performance Studies, it is argued that Vittar enacts the performative script of the RuPaul’s persona Glamazon to gain legitimacy within a tradition of drag culture in the Anglophone context. The analysis demonstrates that musical categorization is a complex process involving aesthetic conformity, intentional deviations, and intricate symbolic exchanges. By examining Vittar’s approach, this work aims to shed light on broader issues surrounding genre formation and the performative nature of musical belonging in a globalized cultural landscape. Furthermore, the research seeks to show how the construction of an artist’s musical identity unfolds in the complex interactions between aesthetics and market, offering a perspective on the role of drag queens in the music scene.