Anitta (singer)

Larissa de Macedo Machado (born March 30, 1993), better known by her stage name Anitta, is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. Due to the success of the song "Meiga e Abusada" released in 2012, she signed a contract with Warner Music Brazil the following year.
Anitta rose to national fame in 2013 after releasing the single "Show das Poderosas". Its music video has been viewed over 150 million times on YouTube. In July of the same year, she released her debut studio album which received a triple gold record certificate and platinum certification by ABPD. The album hit the mark of 170,000 copies sold, being also released in Portugal. "Ritmo Perfeito" (2014), her second studio album, sold 45,000 copies after a month of its release. On the same day she also released her first live album, "Meu Lugar". In November 2014, she performed at the Latin Grammy Award. In 2015, she released her third studio album entitled "Bang", which was certified platinum and produced the singles "Deixa Ele Sofrer", "Bang", "Essa Mina é Louca" and "Cravo e Canela".
In 2013, Anitta was the singer who remained at the top of iTunes in Brazil for the longest time. She was elected by the Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte (APCA) as the revelation of the year in music in 2013. She is a five-time winner of the Best Brazilian Act on the MTV Europe Music Awards, and was the first Brazilian artist to win the Best Latin American Act award. In 2017, she was ranked as one of the most influential celebrities in social media according to "Billboard".
Early life.
Anitta was born Larissa de Macedo Machado in Rio de Janeiro, the youngest daughter of Míriam Macedo and Mauro Machado; her brother Renan Machado serves as her artistic producer. Her mother raised the two children by herself.
She began her career at 8 years old singing in the choir of Santa Luzia Church in Rio de Janeiro by the intervention of her maternal grandparents. At 11 years old, with the allowance she got, she decided to take English classes. She later received dance lessons provided by her mother's teacher. At 16, she finished a course in administration at a technical school in Rio de Janeiro. A year later, she decided to pursue an artistic career. That same year, she was the winner of the "Revelation of Music" award.
Anitta's stage name was inspired by the character Anita, from Rede Globo TV series "Presença de Anita". She thought the character "amazing" because "[she] could be sexy without looking vulgar, girl and woman at the same times".
Career.
2012–2013: Debut album and initial success.
In 2010, Anitta was invited by funk carioca producer Renato Azevedo (known as Batutinha) to perform some tests after he saw one of her videos singing. After being approved, she signed with independent recording label Furacão 2000. That same year she released her first song on radio stations in Rio de Janeiro, the promotional single "Eu Vou Ficar", which was included on the "Armagedom" DVD, released by Furacão 2000. Advised by her producer, she decided to put another "t" in the stage name. A year later, the song "Fica Só Olhando" was included on the second version of the DVD.
Her first televised appearance was on May 16, 2012 on TV program "Cante se Puder", on SBT, where she sang "Exttravasa", a song by Claudia Leitte, inside a beer cup. In June 2012, Kamilla Fialho, after watching a performance on stage by Anitta, offered to be her manager, paying a fine of $46.000 required to release the singer from her contract with Furacão 2000, later signing her to Kamilas's company K2L.
In early 2013, she created the "quadradinho" choreography, which was very successful among funk groups. In January 2013, due to the success of the song "Meiga e Abusada" in Rio de Janeiro, Anitta signed a recording contract with Warner Music Group. "Meiga e Abusada" became one of the most requested songs in Brazilian radio stations in early 2013. A music video for the song was recorded in Las Vegas, and directed by American director Blake Farber, who has worked with Beyoncé. Her debut, self-titled debut album was released in June 2013.
The music video for the song "Show das Poderosas" received considerable attention by the media in May 2013, becoming the most watched music video on YouTube in Brazil, surpassing 130 million views. Also helping to music, which remained for weeks at the top of the best selling in iTunes Brazil, and making it the third most played song on the radio in the country in 2013. The song also held the top ten of the music charts in Spain, Portugal and Argentina. At the time, the singer's booking was estimated at $27.000 per concert, being one of the highest in Brazil. In 2019, the booking of her concerts was $65,000. The singer does an average of 200 concerts a year.
2014–2015: "Meu Lugar" and "Ritmo Perfeito".
Sales to the tickets for the recording of her first live album went on sale in November 2013. The event took place in Rio de Janeiro at HSBC Arena on February 15, 2014 and was attended by about 10,000 people. The album was previously titled "Fantástico Mundo de Anitta", but was later renamed to "Meu Lugar" with the release of the song "Quem Sabe" on iTunes. The song "Blá Blá Blá" was released as the lead single from the album on March 23, 2014. It was a success, reaching number two on the Hot 100 Airplay chart in Brazil. The album was released on June 4, 2014, just a day after the release of her second studio album, "Ritmo Perfeito".
The second single from the project was a song featuring rapper Projota titled "Cobertor", which reached number 43 on Brazilian charts. The following single "Na Batida" was released in July 2014. Its music video reached 1 million visualizations on YouTube after just 24 hours. It was also a success on charts, peaking at number four on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. Other singles released from the album were "Ritmo Perfeito" and "No Meu Talento", featuring MC Guimê. In April 2014, she made her acting debut as Helena Boccato on comedy film "Copa de Elite". In August 2014, she founded her own management company, Rodamoinho Produções Artísticas. In December, she also starred as goddess Solaris on television film "Didi e o Segredo dos Anjos".
2015–2016: "Bang" and collaborations.
Her third studio album "Bang" was released in October 2015. It was elected by "Billboard Brasil" as one of the most anticipated albums of the year. Its album cover art was signed by Giovanni Bianco, the same designer of American singer Madonna. "Bang" debuted at number three on the Brazilian albums chart with 40,000 copies sold at its first week. The album has sold 300,000 copies as of May 2016, surpassing sales of her debut album, which has sold 170,000 copies. It was also certified Platinum by the Associação Brasileira de Produtores de Discos (ABPD). The first single of the album, "Deixa Ele Sofrer", which was released on July 16, 2015 and reached the top of the iTunes Brazil chart. The song also made Anitta the first Brazilian singer to occupy the top of Spotify Brazil.
The following single, "Bang", was also a success, staying at number one on iTunes and Spotify for several days, and its music video becoming an international viral video and receiving over 320 million views on YouTube. Other singles released from the album were "Essa Mina É Louca" and "Cravo e Canela". In October 2015, the artist won the EMA Worldwide Act Latin America, being the first Brazilian artist to win the award. A collaboration with Jota Quest and Nile Rodgers, entitled "Blecaute", was released in November 2015.
In 2016, Anitta made her debut as a TV hostess on the third season of Multishow program "Música Boa Ao Vivo". The singer was also featured on a remix of the song "Ginza", by singer J Balvin. In August 2016, she released a single titled "Sim ou Não" featuring Colombian singer Maluma, and performed at the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony along with singers Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil after the parade of delegations. The next month, she signed a contract with talent agency William Morris Endeavor. In November 2016, she won the Best Brazilian Act category at the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards.
In 2016 was also released the video game "Just Dance 2017", which featured her single "Bang" as one of more than 40 tracks. On October 25, 2016, Ubisoft Brazil shot a flash mob in Avenida Paulista (São Paulo), where many people danced to the routine of the game in order to promote the new instalament of the series. Ubisoft also promoted an exclusive pocket show with the singer for the release of the game. There, the singer danced to her track in game. Meanwhile, interviews were released with Anitta talking about her song in the game and "Bang" was selected for the digital qualifications of .
2017–2018: "Checkmate", "Solo", international success and collaborations.
In January 2017, the singer was featured on singles including "Loka", by female duo Simone & Simaria, and "Você Partiu Meu Coração", by Nego do Borel also featuring Wesley Safadão. In May 2017, "Switch", a collaboration with Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, became her first single in English to be released. The same month, she released a single in both Portuguese and Spanish titled "Paradinha". In June of the same year, the American group Major Lazer released "Sua Cara", along with her and drag queen singer Pabllo Vittar. The song is part of the band's fourth EP, "Know No Better". In a matter of a few hours, the audio work exceeded the mark of 5 million views on YouTube. After its release, the song became an international hit, appearing as one hundred most played in Global Spotify, and spent more than five weeks on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songs chart, making it the only Portuguese-language song in the United States. The music video was also a hit, reaching more than 17 million views in one day.
On September 3, Anitta released her first English-language single "Will I See You", a collaboration with Grammy award-winning producer and songwriter Poo Bear. It was the first song of the singer's project entitled "CheckMate", in which she would release a new song a month. On October 13, in partnership with Swedish DJ Alesso, Anitta released the second song from "CheckMate", titled "Is That for Me". On November 19, the singer released, in her second collaboration with J Balvin, another track from the "CheckMate" project, "Downtown". The composition became an international success, entering in the "Top 50 Global", list of the 50 most executed songs in the world, making Anitta the first Brazilian to appear in the ranking. On December 18, 2017, Anitta released a new single, "Vai Malandra", featuring MC Zaac, Maejor, Tropkillaz and DJ Yuri Martins; this was the fourth and last song from the "CheckMate" project.
In January 2018, another collaboration with J Balvin, "Machika", was released. Two months later, she released another single in Spanish, titled "Indecente". In April, she debuted her new TV show on Multishow titled "Anitta Entrou no Grupo". In June, she performed at Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon for a sold-out crowd of 80,000 attendees, and was acclaimed by British magazine "NME". She also made concerts in Paris and London as part of the Made in Brazil tour. The same month, she released a single titled "Medicina". "Medicina" featured her for the second time in the "Just Dance" series with two exclusive routines for the same track. The latest one was presented at "Just Dance 2019" World Cup in Brasil. In September, she was featured on a single by production duo Seakret, "Perdendo a Mão", featuring Jojo Maronttinni. Later that same month, she debuted as one of the coaches on "La Voz... México". The next month, she was featured on Colombian singer Greeicy Rendón's single "Jacuzzi". In November, Anitta released a multilingual extended play (EP) titled "Solo", which has three songs in different languages, among them "Veneno" and "Não Perco Meu Tempo". Anitta also announced that all songs on the EP would have their respective music videos, which were released simultaneously on the same date as the EP and was the subject of a Shots Studios-produced docu-series titled "Vai Anitta", which aired on Netflix.
2019: "Kisses and Brasileirinha".
The year 2019, in Anitta's career, was marked by musical partnerships and participation in tracks by other singers.
In February 2019, the artist released five songs: "Terremoto" (whose music video is based on "I'm Still in Love with You" by Sean Paul.) with Kevinho; "Bola Rebola" (single similar to "Vai Malandra") with Tropkillaz, J Balvin and MC Zaac; a re-recording of "Zé do Caroço" with producers Jetlag; "Te Lo Dije" with Natti Natasha and "Favela Chegou" with Ludmilla. On March 15, the song "R.I.P." Mexican Sofía Reyes with participation of Brazilian and British Rita Ora. On March 27, the singer's unauthorized biography, "Furacão Anitta", written by journalist Leo Dias, arrived at bookstores.
On April 5, the singer's fourth studio album, entitled "Kisses", was released. It was her first visual and trilingual album. In the United States, the album reached the fourth position on the Latin Pop Albums and number 16 on the Top Latin Albums charts. In Spain, the album reached forty-sixth position on the PROMUSICAE list. The album's lead single, "Poquito", with American rapper Swae Lee, was released in conjunction with the album.
Anitta is present in the soundtrack of the film UglyDolls that was released in April of the same year. The singer appears on the track "Ugly" which was recorded in three languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese.
On June 14 Madonna launches Madame X, where Anitta participates in the track Faz Gostoso, a re-recording by Portuguese singer Blaya.
Anitta again partnered with Major Lazer, - the first in 2017 on the song "Sua Cara" - this time on "Make It Hot", a track released on June 19 and featured on the group's "Music Is the Weapon" album. On June 21, the song "Pa 'lante" was released along with Alex Sensation and Luis Fonsi. On July 11, "Muito Calor" was launched, a partnership between Anitta and the singer Ozuna. The song was part of the singer's third studio album, entitled "Nibiru", but was removed for reasons that have not been clarified. On September 6, the partnership between Anitta and Léo Santana, "Contatinho", was launched. The song was recorded live, as the opening song of Léo Santana's DVD, called "Levada do Gigante". Still in September, on the 30th, together with the group Black Eyed Peas, they released the single "Explosion".
In October 2019, Anitta received widespread critical acclaim to her performance at Rock in Rio Brasil.
On October 4, she collaborated with the singer Vitão, "Complicado". Anitta recorded the song "Pantera" for the soundtrack to the movie Charlie's Angels, released in October. In the same month, the artist started the Brasileirinha project, which had released songs in Portuguese only until December. The first single released was the song "Some Que Ele Vem Atrás" in partnership with the singer Marília Mendonça, the music video was recorded live during the 26th edition of the Brazilian Music Multishow Award. "Combatchy" was released in November as a second single, the song features singers Lexa, Luísa Sonza and MC Rebecca. On November 23, she participated in the opening show of the Copa Libertadores de América Final that took place in Peru alongside Colombian singer Sebástian Yatra and Argentine singers Fito Páez and Tini, performing the song "Y Dale Alegría A Mi Corazón". The third single from the Brasileirinha project, "Meu Mel", in partnership with the trio Melim, was released on December 13; "Até o Céu", a duet with MC Cabelinho and the last track of the project, was made available on December 20.
In June 2020, Anitta signed a recording contract with Warner Records in the U.S., ahead of her U.S. debut album expected to release later in 2020. The album will be executive produced by Ryan Tedder.
2020–present: Television and "Girl from Rio".
In January 2020, she released the single "Jogação" with the band Psirico. The music video for the song was recorded live during "Ensaio da Anitta", a show that took place at Espaço das Américas, in São Paulo. The following month, the singer released the song "Rave de Favela" in partnership with the Brazilian singer MC Lan and the American group Major Lazer. Anitta also participated in the songs "Contando Lunares" by Spanish singer Don Patricio, "Joga Sua Potranca" by Brazilian DJ Gabriel do Borel and "Dança Assim" by Angolan musician Preto Show. Still in February, the singer participated in four episodes of the telenovela Amor de Mãe on Rede Globo, playing Sabrina, a fan of the character Ryan (Thiago Martins), who ends up getting involved with him. During the social isolation due to the pandemic of COVID-19, Anitta premiered in May directly from her home the program Anitta Dentro da Casinha, broadcast by the channel Multishow. Anitta prepares her first album all in English (the fifth overall), after the trilingual bet on Kisses (2019). The singer confirmed that she has thirty songs ready and is currently selecting the tracks that will make her album, along with American businessman Brandon Silverstein. Ryan Tedder, lead singer of the band OneRepublic worked on the executive production of the disc, he is known for having worked on songs with Adele, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, among others. In an interview with Veja magazine, he said: “She understands the global culture and is prepared for the American market. Everyone in Los Angeles and New York wants to work with Anitta”. The information on the new album had been circulated on the internet in a post in the singer's biography on the website of S10 Entertainment, Silverstein's company, but after the news spread to the singer's fans the information was removed from the site.
In August 2020, Anitta released her first single in Italy with Fred de Palma, "Paloma" which became one of the most shamaz'ed songs of the month in the country. In August 2020 she was also featured on WC No Beat's album on a track called "Cena de Novela" alongside Djonga & PK and also featured on the trap song "Tá Com o Papato" of Papatinho with Dfideliz & BIN.
On September 18, 2020, Anitta started a new era in her international career, launching "Me Gusta", in partnership with Cardi B and Myke Towers. The song reached 17th position on the iTunes chart in the United States.
Artistry.
Musical style.
Anitta's music is generally pop and Latin pop, but she also incorporates R&B, dance-pop, electropop, EDM, reggae, reggaeton, funk carioca,
Voice.
Anitta has a slight soprano voice, whose vocal extension covers 2 octaves, with homogeneous vocals. The celebrity website Vocal Pop detailed that her voice appears to be a 15-year-old girl and she has a "very sharp and light voice" and added that she has "no such master of her own voice and falls short in many gaps as a singer and an interpreter". "Forbes" Anderson Antunes indicated that the singer uses R&B on her songs, which is also used by Rihanna and Kesha, and she could be the next "global superstar", as Shakira, who follows the "world music appeal". In a review for her self-titled album "Anitta", Braulio Lorentz of G1 described her voice as being tweaked and sweet, and her songs have "lyrics about women's power, seductive power and other predicates of whoever claims to "have power".
Influences.
Anitta cites as her greatest influences the singers Beyoncé, Shakira, Mariah Carey and Rihanna. In 2013, the singer revealed that she dreamed of doing duets with Carey and Ivete Sangalo, and on the latter she emphasized: "If she accepts an invitation from these I think I'd die right at the time of the duet of so much emotion and then it will never come out". During the first album, Anitta was compared to the singer Beyoncé, saying that the artist was one of her influences, although she was deeply acquainted with her work a short time ago. "It's a new admiration for me, I was not a fan since I was little like Mariah, but today I really admire her. Since I started to sing I really started to enjoy her". Another influence was also Sandy, with whom Anitta sang together on July 27, 2013, during "Altas Horas", a television show, singing the tracks "As Quatro Estações" and "Desperdiçou". In the program Anitta commented: "I can sing all the songs, I have followed her since always. I took the CDs borrowed from my friends to listen". During the production of her second album, Anitta quoted Katy Perry as influencing the new tracks. Other references cited by the singer also include the group Pussycat Dolls, and such singers as Madonna, Britney Spears, Kate Nash and Colbie Caillat. Among Brazilian pop artists, she was influenced by girl group Rouge. During an interview for the G1, Anitta mentioned the MPB singers Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso for always being renewed and risking themselves in other styles.
Public image.
Soon after reaching stardom, Anitta was described as a sex symbol by the media. In 2015, she was voted the sexiest woman by "VIP" magazine readers. Writing for "Folha de S. Paulo", Gustavo Fioratti said that the singer's "sexy, vulgar-style personality" is more impressive in her music videos than in her live performances. She believes that by working "with the sensuality thing", her artwork is not taken seriously by a part of the critics and the public. The singer expressed her frustration by saying, "[...] people think you have no talent, no intelligence. I can be intelligent and have the will to be sensual."
In 2014, Anitta was accused of adopting an "anti-feminist speech" during a participation in the Globo network's "Altas Horas" show, claiming that "women fought so hard to have the same rights as men, that, when they succeed, they want to [be in charge] of the situation and [take] the place of men". Subsequently, she began to adopt a position more in line with the ideals of feminism and also began to consider herself a feminist. When she was elected "Woman of the Year" by the Brazilian edition of "GQ" magazine in 2017, she made a "feminist speech" and said:
"I'm going to keep fighting with my music, talking about shallow things, dancing, wearing short clothes, saying what I say and what I do... so people understand that it's not a short outfit, it's the fact that you kiss how many people you want to kiss one night, who will tell you whether you're smart, whether you're capable, whether you have talent, whether you can sing, do, or fail to do."
The singer was listed by "Vogue" magazine as one of the 100 most influential and creative people in the world. Anitta was chosen for the ranking because of her "positivity engagement around the body illustrated by the affirmative choice to display her untold image in the "Vai Malandra" music video. Dom Phillips of "The Guardian", said that the music video of "Vai Malandra" "sparked a ferocious debate in Brazil, exposing the country's social lines of failure, dealing with issues of inequality, racism, sexist abuse and cultural appropriation." the singer was accused of "cultural appropriation" by black activists, for wearing hairbraids in the video, "Anitta uses black when it suits her," wrote Stephanie Ribeiro in a column for "Marie Claire". The singer claimed that her paternal family is black. Anitta has a huge LGBT+ and female following. When she refused to publicly disapprove of the candidacy of right-wing conservative Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, she received much criticism from her fans and the media.
Anitta is one of the most influential celebrities in social networks. In June 2017, it appeared in the Social 50 ranking of the North American "Billboard" like the 15th most influential artist of the world in the social networks, repeating, among other times, its appearance in December, when it was in the tenth position. In March 2018, she won the iHeart Music Awards in the Social Star category.
After achieving success, Anitta associated its image with several brands. Often referred to as a "marketing case," Anitta said she feels praised when she is described as such. She explained: "I'm happy when I see people believe that I'm a marketing case because I'm the one who does my marketing. I studied marketing, I graduated in pre-college administration, I had a marketing class, all my marketing I'm the one who plans, I do it, I feel praised when I see people saying that." She also described as" co-branding "her strategy of partnering with foreign artists to lead their work to other markets.
Anitta wore more colorful printed dresses early in her career, with cropped top combinations, short jeans and plaid blouses and caps. After the release of the album "Bang" (2015), the style of the singer began to make references to pop art. She has already stated that she likes to wear clothes from the brands Moschino and Givenchy. In an interview with EGO.com, she said, "Being stylish is having an attitude, having an uncommon sense of being authentic, having style is having a good mood."
Personal life.
Anitta is bisexual and identifies as "part of the LGBTQ+ community". She dated Mr. Thug, the lead vocalist of Bonde da Stronda, from early 2011 until the end of 2012. The singer also had a relationship with actor and model Pablo Morais. On November 17, 2017, she married businessman Thiago Magalhães, with whom she had been in contact since May of the same year. The couple officialized the union under total separation of goods. They announced their separation in September 2018. 
In June she confirmed to be dating Pedro Scooby. In August they broke up, with Scooby claiming that she broke up with him via text message without giving him a reason. She also began dating Gabriel David in February 2020, but they separated in April. One month later, she began dating television host Gui Araújo. Later, they broke up in June.
In an interview for "Trip" magazine in 2017, she stated that she is undergoing therapy and also that if she did not pursue her artistic career, she would "be a happy psychologist". In January 2019, after watching the documentary "Cowspiracy" (2014), she became vegan.
Aside from her native Portuguese, she can also speak English, Spanish and Italian fluently.
Filmography.
This is a chronologically-ordered list of films and television shows in which Anitta has appeared.
Awards and nominations.
Latin Grammy Awards.
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Anitta has received four nominations.
MTV Europe Music Award.
A MTV Europe Music Award is an accolade by the MTV Europe Music Award to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Anitta has received four nominations.