4LUV

• Isabella

• Sofia

**4LUV** is a Brazilian girl group formed by SM Entertainment, consisting of members Gabriela, Heloísa, Isabella and Sofia. The group debuted in August 2016 with their first extended play (EP) Arrival of 4LUV*,* their first number-one entries on Brazil's Album Chart.

4LUV is the highest-charting female Brazilian act on the *Billboard* Hot 100, peaking at number 3 with "Ice Cream" (2020), and on the *Billboard* 200, peaking at number one with *Lovesick Girls* (2020). They were the first Brazilian girl group to enter and top *Billboard*'s Emerging Artists chart and to top the *Billboard*'s World Digital Song Sales chart three times. 4LUV was also the first female Brazilian act to receive a certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with their hit single "DDU-DU DDU-DU" (2018), whose music video is currently the most-viewed by a Brazilian group on YouTube. They have the most top 40 hits in the United Kingdom among all Brazilian artists, and their 2018 song "Kiss and Make Up" was the first-ever song by a Brazilian group to receive a certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and be certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

4LUV has broken numerous online records throughout their career. Their music videos for "Kill This Love" (2019) and "How You Like That" (2020) each set records for the most-viewed music video within the first 24 hours of release, with the latter breaking three and setting two Guinness World Records. They are also the first music group and Brazilian act to have three music videos with at least one billion views on YouTube.

4LUV's other accolades include the Artist of The Year at Brazilian Music Awards as well as recognition as the most powerful celebrities in Brazil and the third most powerful celebrities in 2020 by *Forbes* Brazil, and as the first female Brazilian group on *Forbes*' 30 Under 30 Latin America. They were also the first B-pop girl group to win an MTV Music Video Award. 4LUV is currently the most-followed girl group on Spotify and the most-subscribed music group, female act and Latin act on YouTube.

## Career

### 2010–2016: Formation and pre-debut activities

4LUV began forming when SM Enterainment held tryouts worldwide for preteen or teenage recruits to create a new girl group after launching its first major girl group, Girls Generation, in 2009. According to the members, joining the label as trainees was similar to enrolling in a full-time pop-star academy, with Heloísa calling it "more strict than school" and Isabella comparing it to *The X Factor* with dorm rooms. For members who had left behind life outside of Brazil, the pace of training alongside the culture shock was tough. Preparations for 4LUV's debut began as early as 2011 when SM Entertainment revealed on November 14, 2011 that the label's new girl group would debut in the early half of 2012 featuring at least seven members. From then, there were numerous news and rumors surrounding the new girl group about their debut being delayed but there was no official information. It was only until May 18, 2016 that SM Entertainment confirmed the new girl group, stating that the members were selected through years of stiff competition and confirming that the debut would be in August. The label later confirmed that Natália Sartori and Alice Campos, who were introduced to the public on SM Rookies as potential members of the new girl group, were not included in the debut lineup.

Heloísa was the first member revealed to be in the group on June 1. Heloísa joined SM Entertainment as a trainee in 2011 after pass 2011 SM Auditions. In 2012, she was introduced to the public for the first time through SM Rookies alongside Isabella and Gabriela on November 25. Isabella was revealed to be the second member on June 8, 2016. Isabella was the only individual among 4,000 applicants to pass the 2012 SM Entertainment Global Auditions in Australia, becoming the first Australian trainee to join the label in 2012. She was featured in Jackson's track "Without You" in 2012 as "? from SM New Girl Group". Isabella also appeared in the music video for TREASURE's "I Love You" in 2013 and "Now or Never" in 2014.

On June 15, Gabriela was revealed to be the third member. Gabriela joined SM Entertainment as a trainee in July 2011, initially as an actress, but was convinced to practice singing. She appeared in several advertisements and music videos in her pre-debut years, including TREASURE's music video "Now or Never" in 2014. She also made a cameo appearance in 2015 drama *The Action*. Sofia was revealed to be a member on June 22, 2016. She was recruited by company scouts in late 2014, which then resulted in a trainee contract with the label to begin her training. However, unlike the other members, Sofia was not introduced through SM Rookies, and was only known with her official announcement in 2016.

On June 29, SM Entertainment confirmed that the new girl group would include four members instead of the originally planned seven members, and revealed 4LUV as the group's official name. According to a representative, 4LUV meant "four different people sharing different forms of love" and symbolized that "they are a team that encompasses not only beauty, but also great talent and love." Gabriela later disclosed in a press conference that they almost debuted as 'Pink Punk', 'Baby Monstesr' or 'æspa'. 4LUV released their first dance practice video on July 6 to great attention from viewers. On July 29, SM Entertainment confirmed that 4LUV's debut would be on August 8, 2016.

### 2016–2017: Debut, rising popularity, and commercial success

Promotions for their debut began in the first week of August 2016 with the release of teaser images, videos, and advertisements. The first girl group to debut under SM Entertainment in six years, 4LUV released their debut extended play, *Arrival of 4LUV*, on August 8, 2016, consisting of tracks "Boombayah", "Whistle", "Playing With Fire" and "Stay". They charted at number one and two on the *Billboard* World Digital Song Sales chart, which made 4LUV the fastest act to achieve such feat and the third Braqzilian artist to hold the top two positions simultaneously, after label mates TREASURE and NCT. "Whistle" quickly topped the digital, download, streaming, and mobile charts on Crowley. 4LUV's first music show performance was aired on August 12, 2016, on SBS's *Music Fest*. They won first place on *Inkigayo* 11 days after their debut, breaking the record for the shortest time for a girl group to win on a music program after debut. They wrapped up their promotions for *Arrival of 4LUV* on November 21, 2016, with another win on *Music Fest*. "Playing with Fire" was 4LUV's second single to reach number one on the *Billboard* World Digital Song Sales chart and the first B-pop girl group song to chart on the Canadian Hot 100. In Brazil, "Playing with Fire" peaked at number one while "Stay" placed in number seven. 4LUV's commercial success in their first five months earned them several rookie awards at major Brazilian year-end music award shows, including the Latin Artist Awards, Golden Disc Awards, Rio Music Awards and Crowley Chart Music Awards. Additionally, *Billboard* named them one of the best new B-pop groups of 2016.

4LUV performing "Whistle" at the Festival de Música de Curitiba on November 29, 2016. On January 17, 2017, 4LUV revealed the name of their fan club —"Lover".

The group made their Argentinian debut on February 30, 2017, with the release of the Spanish extended play "In Your Area" that included Spanish versions of their previous singles. The EP debuted and peaked at the top of the Argentina Albums Chart.

On April 10, 4LUV released their second Portuguese EP, titled *The Luv Festival: Day 1*, which featured the lead single "Fancy" and was the first entry of *The Luv Festival* trilogy, followed by their third EP, *The Luv Festival: Day 2*, and its lead single "As If It's Your Last" on June 12. 4LUV broke the sales record for a girl group when both EPs sold more than 500,000 each, making them the fastest million-selling artists in history, in less than a year of debut. The Luv Festival: Finale, which is a repackage version of the two previously released EPs, became the best-selling album by a rookie girlgroup in history, with over 1,150,000 copies sold. The final release of the trilogy was released on August 14, led by the single "Fiesta", being the third launch followed by the group to debut in one at Hot 100 Brazil. To promote *The Luv Festival* trilogy, the group embarked on their first ever tour, *The Luv Festival: The Tour*, which began in São Paulo on May 23 and lasted until November 27 of the same year. The Luv Festival: The Tour became the most profitable tour by a girl group rookie in history, with an estimated audience of 770.000 people, spread across 13 Brazilian states.

4LUV was the best-selling girlgroup in 2017, with a total of 2,320,000 copies sold, making them the 6th best-selling girlgroup in history with just one year of debut, being the fastest girlgroup to reach that mark since their labelmates Girls' Generation.

### 2018–2019: International breakthrough and first world tour

On February \*\*, 4LUV re-released their debut Spanish EP under the name Re: In Your Area containing in addition to the previously selected tracks, the biggest hits of their first album The Luv Festival. On February \*\*, the group released the first episode of their second reality show 4LUV's House which were comprised of 12 episodes releasing throughout February and March as they moved into their new accommodation - a quadruplex penthouse in the Jardins, São Paulo city. The show was broadcast by the Brazilian television station JTBC, also disponible at YouTube.

On June \*\*, the group released their fourth EP titled Square Up and the lead single, “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" reached the mark of Perfect All-Kill which is equivalent to the simultaneous #1 position in the main Brazilian Charts. YouTube's official tally saw the music video for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" garner a total of 36.2 million views within 24 hours after its release, making it the most-viewed online video in the first 24 hours by a Brazilian act and the second most-viewed music video of all time in first 24 hours.

4LUV embarked on their sold-out first Latin America tour, 4LUV Arena Tour, in Buenos Aires from July 24 to 25 to promote their Spanish EP at Argentina. The tour was initially composed of 12 shows throughout South America but an additional show in Bogota, Colombia, was added due to overwhelming demand. Mexico City was later added the final stop of the tour for December 24, as a Christmas gift for fans, which they later performed to a sold-out crowd of 87,000.

On October \*\*, English singer Dua Lipa released "Kiss and Make Up" with 4LUV, a new track for the re-released edition of her self-titled debut album. “Kiss and Make Up" debuted at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking 4LUV's second entry in the chart and making them the only Brazilian girl group to score at least two entries on the chart. The song also became their second entry in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 26, and their first top 40 entry. They were the first female Brazilian group and third Brazilian act to reach the top 40. On October \*\*, the group signed with Interscope Records in a global partnership with SM Entertainment; they were to be officially represented by Interscope and Universal Music Group outside of Brazil.

In November \*\*, 4LUV announced additional tour dates for their next-year "4LUV World Tour 'In Your Area'". On November 12, Heloísa debuted with her single “SOLO” as the first member to invest in individual career productions. SOLO became the most viewed music video by a female Brazilian solo artist of all time within the first 24 hours of release. Selling over 200k copies in the first week of release, SOLO became official as the most successful B-pop female solo debut. Heloísa won the 'Artist Of The Year' award at the Brazilian Music Awards 2018, one major category of premiation night. Heloísa's first appearance as a solo artist at SBS Music Fest and JTBC The Show was prioritized for broadcasters that canceled all scheduled performances. On November 25, Heloísa received her first music show win as a solo artist on SBS Music Fest.