Soraya Moraes.

Some songs get sung in churches without anyone remembering who wrote them. "Caminho no Deserto," the Portuguese version of "Way Maker" that Soraya Moraes recorded in 2017, has already passed 50 million streams on Spotify, and her voice is now among the most listened to in Brazilian Christian music: more than 1.2 million monthly listeners and a YouTube channel with 554,000 subscribers.

Soraya was born in São Paulo and got her start in 1992 with the band Metanoya. She then moved through the worship group Renascer Praise, where her performance of "Deus é Fiel" made her known across Brazil. In 1998 she signed as a solo artist and released "Pensando em Deus"; two years later she recorded "Se Tu Quiseres Crer," the Portuguese version of "When You Believe," which became a classic in church services.

The leap came with "Deixa o Teu Rio Me Levar" (2004), a live album that earned her first Latin Grammy in 2005. In 2008 she added three more: two for "Som da Chuva" and one for "Tengo Sed de Ti," her Spanish-language album, which was also nominated for a Dove Award. Then came "Grande é o Meu Deus" (2009), "Minha Esperança" (2011), "Céu na Terra" (2013), "Shekinah" (2016), and a string of singles that hasn't stopped: this September 2026 brought "Amamos Mais e Mais (Ao Vivo)."

What sustains that career isn't novelty but service: songs meant for a whole congregation to sing, not to showcase the soloist. She is also a pastor, and you can hear it in a repertoire about trusting God in the desert, in the process, and in the waiting. No success formulas: the lyrics of "Vai, Acredita!" say it her way, that it is God who finishes the work he begins.

Her catalog spans three decades and two languages, moving from the rock of her early years to the worship pop that now defines her repertoire. Which of her songs has carried you through a hard season? Listen to "Caminho no Deserto" and tell us.