The Story Behind YNGRID: It All Started With a Question

YNGRID was born from experience, not assumption

People often ask me why I spell my name with a Y.

The answer is much bigger than a letter.

Before YNGRID became a brand, there was simply Ingrid Salomão — a singer who stepped onto her first professional stage in 2014 with the same dream shared by so many artists: to be seen from where we stand.

Having the very first start at a singers reality show "Desafio Total - Second season" was the door to many other opportunities yet to come.

Over the years, I performed at corporate events, private celebrations, weddings, festivals and intimate venues along with well recognized underground musicians, being Nilton Ussene responsible to pushing me into live performing world at restaurants and so on. Every performance taught me something new, not only about music but about the creative world I had chosen to be part of.

I intentionally call it a world rather than an industry.

An industry has structure. It has systems, standards and pathways that allow talent to grow sustainably. What I experienced was something different: an incredible amount of talent, passion and creativity, but very few bridges connecting artists to real opportunities, professional management and long-term/ real value.

As I continued performing, I began noticing that the biggest challenge wasn't necessarily finding talented people. Mozambique has never lacked talent.

The challenge was creating an environment where that talent could be recognised, organised, respected and fairly valued. Beside me having experienced it, fellow musicians would complain along the way about the same matter.

For years, I believed that artists simply needed more exposure or perhaps a record label. But the more I learned, the more I realised that visibility alone wasn't enough.

Artists needed representation.

Clients needed guidance.

Events needed creative direction.

Someone had to understand both sides of the conversation and put an end to the cycle where artists were encouraged to accept promises of visibility as if recognition alone could replace the financial value their talent deserved.

Someone had to speak the language of creativity and the language of business at the same time. Had to understand the disappointment of clients who believed in the power of entertainment, investing in talent without structure. This creates uncertainty, and expectations without understanding which creates frustration on both sides.

That idea stucked with me for years.

Long before YNGRID existed, I experimented a different identity. Some people may remember the name Twinner, which I used on Instagram for a while (twinner_smith). It never felt like me. Was only a fun name invented as a joke between teenage friends. No matter what I called myself online, people continued recognising and introducing me as Ingrid Salomão. So as own myself. I always felt a joy being Ingrid and no one or nothing else could replace it.

Eventually, I stopped trying to become someone else and started asking a different question.

What if my own name could become something bigger than my identity?

That was when one simple letter changed everything.

Y.

Not because it looked different.

Not because it sounded unique.

But because, to me, it represented a question.

Every meaningful journey begins with one. And "Y" is one that was always there to begin.

Why isn't there a better way to connect artists with opportunities?

Why do clients struggle to find reliable creative partners?

Why can't entertainment be managed with the same professionalism as any other business service?

The "Y" became a constant reminder that every answer begins with asking the right question.

From that moment, YNGRID was no longer just my stage name.

It became a vision.

A vision where artists are valued not only for their talent but also for their commitment, professionalism and ability to create meaningful experiences.

A vision where clients don't simply hire performers — they gain a creative partner capable of understanding their goals and bringing them to life.

A vision where entertainment is no longer treated as an afterthought but as a strategic part of every memorable event.

Today, YNGRID goes far beyond me.

Yes, I still sing. I perform and make music.

Music will always be where this story began.

But every recommendation I make, every artist I connect with a client, — even myself if requested — every production I coordinate and every partnership I build serves a purpose much greater than my own career.

It is about creating opportunities I once wished existed when I was starting out.

It is about building trust between creativity and business.

It is about proving that artists deserve sustainable careers, and that clients deserve exceptional experiences.

This is only the beginning.

I don't see YNGRID simply as an entertainment agency.

I see it as the foundation of something much larger — a creative ecosystem where artists, businesses, institutions and audiences grow together, strengthening the very industry we all deserve.

After all, every transformation starts with a question. The question we all've been making for so long. The same very question that unite us as Artists — by the same motive and the same purpose.

For me, that question has always been represented by one single letter:

Y.