Fever pitch The pop star named after an English footballer

The house lights were dimmed in one of Rio's top music venues and, as the star of the show prepared to take the stage, thousands of enraptured fans cried out their idol's name in the darkness: "Liniker! Liniker! Liniker!" It was not, though, the England striker turned TV football presenter Gary Lineker the sellout crowd was here to see.

- By Tom Phillips RIO DE JANEIRO

It was his Brazilian namesake: a Latin Grammy-winning pop sensation whose mesmerising performances and soul-stirring songs have captured the hearts and minds of millions.

"I've loved my name ever since I was a kid... [it] has such a wonderful sound," the 29-year-old said, recalling how it was given to her at the suggestion of a footballing-loving uncle.

"People used to really struggle to pronounce it. [They would say]: 'Leeniker... Linker or Lynicker... [or] Linkin Park," joked the velvet-voiced singer-songwriter. "Lately, what they've most called me is 'LinkedIn': 'Oh, You're that singer LinkedIn, aren't you?"" she added with a laugh.

Brazil's Liniker - full name Liniker de Barros Ferreira Campos- was born in Araraquara, a small city north of São Paulo, in 1995. As well as being a chart-topping musician revered for her huge vocal range, Liniker - who is black, trans and has working-class roots - is also a potent symbol of diversity and tolerance in a country that only recently emerged from a bleak spell under Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right populist notorious for his racist comments and hostility to minorities.