“Astronauta do brega” e a órbita digital a cultura brega entre margens e mídia: trajetória, ressignificação e um estudo de caso contemporâneo

Abstract

This study proposes a reflection on the re-signification of música brega in the digital environment, focusing on the performance of the artist Astronauta do Brega, from Rio Grande do Norte, on Instagram. The research starts from the recognition of música brega as a legitimate expression of Brazilian popular culture, historically marginalized by sectors of music criticism and the recording industry, yet widely consumed by different segments of the population. The investigation seeks to understand how brega is reinvented on social media, combining traditional aesthetic elements with contemporary strategies of engagement and visibility. Methodologically, the study combines netnography, semi-structured interviews, and bibliographic research. The netnographic process followed the stages proposed by Kozinets (2014). Data collection was carried out through the systematic observation of publications on the artist's Instagram profile, alongside an analysis of the followers’ comments. The interviews, guided by the principles of Manzini (2004), were conducted with members of the artistic project: the singer (Astronauta), his keyboardist (Nefi dos Teclados), and his manager (Robson Oliveira). Theoretically, the study is grounded in authors such as Adorno and Horkheimer (1958), whose reflections provide a critical lens for analyzing mass culture and the aesthetic stigmatization mechanisms that have historically affected brega. Walter Benjamin (1935) offers key insights into the effects of technical and digital circulation on popular cultural manifestations and their contemporary reception. The research also draws from studies on música brega and popular culture by authors such as Paulo César de Araújo, Silvia Cardoso, Expedito Leandro Silva, and José Maria da Silva. By analyzing how Astronauta do Brega constructs his artistic identity, engages his audience, and mobilizes an affective and nostalgic aesthetic, the study concludes that brega culture not only resists but transforms itself and gains new forms of symbolic value in the digital sphere.