O vocalista canta para a plateia.

These are the definite articles the.

• o vocalista = the vocalist
• a plateia = the audience

In Portuguese, articles are used very often, sometimes more often than in English. They also have to match the noun’s grammatical gender:

• o for masculine singular nouns
• a for feminine singular nouns

So here:

• vocalista is treated as masculine because of o
• plateia is feminine, so it takes a

No. In Portuguese, noun endings do not always tell you the gender.

Vocalista is a common-gender noun, which means the word itself stays the same, and the article shows whether the person is male or female:

• o vocalista = the male vocalist
• a vocalista = the female vocalist

So the -a ending here does not automatically make the noun feminine.

Canta is the 3rd person singular of the verb cantar (to sing) in the present tense.

The subject is o vocalista, which is he / she / it form grammatically, so you use:

• eu canto = I sing
• você / ele / ela canta = you / he / she sings

So:

• O vocalista canta = The vocalist sings

Here, para shows the direction or target of the action.

So canta para a plateia means the vocalist is singing to the audience or for the audience.

In English, both can make sense depending on context:

• sing to the audience
• sing for the audience

In this sentence, para connects the singer with the people receiving the performance.

Yes. In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, para a is very often reduced to pra.

So you will commonly hear:

• O vocalista canta pra plateia.

This is very natural in speech and informal writing.

But in more careful or formal writing, para a plateia is safer and more standard.

Because plateia is a collective noun. It refers to the audience as a single group.

English does this too with words like audience, crowd, or team.

So:

• a plateia = the audience, seen as one group

If you said plateias, that would usually mean multiple audiences in different places or situations.

Normally, yes. Para a plateia is the natural standard form.

Saying para plateia usually sounds incomplete or unnatural in normal Portuguese.

So the most natural options are:

• para a plateia — standard
• pra plateia — common informal spoken form

In Brazil, plateia is pronounced approximately like:

pla-TEI-a

More closely, it sounds like plah-TEY-ah, with the stress on tei.

A rough guide:

• pla = like plah
• tei = like tay, but a bit more open
• a = a light final ah

You may also notice that many Brazilians pronounce the final unstressed a very lightly.

Not exactly.

• cantor / cantora = singer in general
• vocalista = vocalist, often the main singer in a band or musical group

So vocalista can sound a bit more specific, especially in music contexts involving bands.

Examples:

• Ele é cantor. = He is a singer.
• Ele é o vocalista da banda. = He is the band’s vocalist / lead singer.

Yes, but the normal, neutral order is:

• O vocalista canta para a plateia.

This is the standard subject + verb + complement order.

You can change the order for emphasis, but it may sound more marked or literary. For example:

• Para a plateia, o vocalista canta.

This puts special emphasis on for the audience.

But for everyday use, the original order is the most natural.