Daniel Garcia Felicione Napoleão (born January 18, 1995), known professionally as Gloria Groove (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɡlɔɾjɐ ˈɡɾuvi]), is a Brazilian singer, rapper, songwriter, actor, voice actor, and drag queen. Napoleão's singing career began when he was 7 years old, as a member of children's musical group Turma do Balão Mágico. During his childhood, Groove starred in the RecordTV telenovela Savage, and began work as a voice actor. After a period working in theatre as a teenager, Napoleão adopted the drag persona "Gloria Groove" in 2014. Two years later, he started gaining prominence by appearing in the TV Globo reality show Amor & Sexo.
Gloria Groove's singing career launched with the release of the single "Dona" in January 2016. After its success, Groove released "Império", and was featured in Carnival hit "Catuaba" by Aretuza Lovi. Groove's first album, O Proceder, was released in February 2017 and was followed by the singles "Gloriosa" and "Muleke Brasileiro". At the end of 2017, Groove released one of the most successful singles of her career, "Bumbum de Ouro". It was followed by peer recognition, which led the singer to feature in several singles such as "Joga Bunda", along with Lovi and Pabllo Vittar, "Arrasta" with Léo Santana, a remix version of Anitta's "Show das Poderosas", and Lexa's "Provocar".
Daniel defines the "Gloria Groove" persona as "half drag, half rapper", and Groove's compositions vary from soul, trap, R&B, and Brazilian funk.[16] The singer is also known for performing and singing both as "male rapper" and a "female queer";[16] for example, the singer does this in the music videos for "Dona", "Império",[10] "Bumbum de Ouro",[4] and "Apaga a Luz".[16] As a "queer, effeminate, a non-white drag queen.", Groove's career as a singer is a way to "use my own voice to point out what's wrong [in Brazil]".[27] Since the first song, "Dona", Groove showed this feature with sarcastic lines such as "Oh My Lord / What animal is that? / Nice to meet you, my name is art, darling".[16] The singer aims to represent the LGBT community: "My music hopes to signify the existence of thousands of LGBTIQ people—our music becomes a platform of love and self-acceptance."[16]
Groove was influenced by hip hop since during the childhood; the singer appreciated male rappers, such as Usher,[7] but the main inspiration to sing comes from female rappers, including Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott, Nicki Minaj, Karol Conká, and Flora Matos [pt].[26] At first, Groove did not intend to be labeled as a "drag rapper", but later thought it could be something that differentiates the singer's work.[26] While O Proceder was considered to be mostly a rap work, it already included songs that mix rap and pop as "Muleke Brasileiro",[7][11] also said to be a "Reggaeton-like song".[16] The following song, "Bumbum de Ouro", was deemed entirely pop with a funk inspiration.[7][26] The singer did it consciously, hoping to achieve a wider public[26] and it was meant to be t
