Who is Anitta: the girl from Rio who conquered the world

Anitta is currently the most powerful Brazilian singer with the greatest national and international notoriety. Empowered woman and owner of a strong personality, she fights for her dreams from a very young age. It’s no wonder she became a huge pop star. Therefore, it is worth checking her trajectory to international recognition.

Biography: from Larissa to Anitta

Larissa de Macedo Machado, known by her stage name Anitta, was born on March 30, 1993, in Honório Gurgel, a neighborhood in the north of Rio de Janeiro. At the age of 16, she finished her Technical High School in Administration at the Instituto Superior de Educação do Rio de Janeiro (ISERJ/FATEC), and did an internship at the mining company Vale do Rio Doce.

His first contact with music occurred at the age of 8, when he joined the choir of the Santa Luzia Church in his neighborhood. Since she was little, she dreamed of being rich and famous, so at age 11, she started studying English and taking dance classes.

Anitta’s career: the trajectory of a diva

His career is marked by dreams, struggles and achievements. It wasn’t easy, but Anitta made her fortune and reached a level much coveted by great Brazilian artists. Discover the steps of the singer from the beginning of her career to international fame:

Start

It all started when the singer gave up her internship at Vale do Rio Doce and created a YouTube channel, where she shared songs and dances. The next step was to choose the stage name, inspired by the main character of the miniseries ‘Presença de Anita’ (2001), on Rede Globo. Then, in 2010, at the invitation of producer Batutinha, she joined the group ‘Furacão 2000’, in which she performed with other artists of the brand. It didn’t take long to stand out and be successful in Rio de Janeiro, still as ‘MC’.

At the end of 2012, three years before ending her contract with ‘Furacão 2000’, the singer expressed her desire to leave the company and was managed by Kamilla Fialho. The businesswoman with names like Valesca Popozuda and Naldo paid a fine of R$260,000 to terminate the artist’s contract. However, it would soon be worth it.

The release of the album ‘Bang’, in October 2015, was a watershed in the singer’s career. The art director of the album and the clip, Giovanni Bianco, invested in the pop art style, thus, Anitta assumes a foreign pop diva aesthetic, something unprecedented in Brazil. The choreography of this clip went viral, the song even had an English version, presented in Cannes, France.

national success

The rise of Anitta’s national career began with the video ‘Meiga e Abusada’, recorded in Las Vegas. With it, the artist entered the radar of the Warner Music label. So, in June 2013, she released her first self-titled album.

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With the hit ‘Show das Poderosas’, still in 2013, the pop star dominated the stages of Brazil and won fans across the country. From then on, the artist’s popularity only increased and other successful tracks came along, such as ‘Tá na mira’, ‘Menina Má’ and the ballad ‘Zen’.

On the release of the second album, entitled ‘Ritmo Perfeito’ (2014), Anitta bet on the partnership with rapper and composer Projota, who participated and composed the song ‘Cobertor’, in addition to other tracks on the album.

The partnerships did not stop there, the singer released other hits, such as ‘Loka’, with the duo Simone and Simaria, and ‘Você Partiu Meu Coração’, by Nego do Borel, with the participation of Wesley Safadão. Furthermore, she also participated in the song ‘Sua Cara’ with Pabllo Vittar and Major Lazer.

Musical styles and influences

Initially known as MC Anitta, she was labeled a funk singer. However, since her first album, it is possible to notice that the artist explores pop mixed with reggae and R&B. As she always states in interviews, her music taste is eclectic. The singer listens to everything, especially hip hop, reggae, funk, reggaeton, samba and rap.

Her main influence is the international star Rihanna, admired not only for her musical style, but for her attitude and personality. In addition to her, she was also influenced by the diva Mariah Carey and the Bahian singer Ivete Sangalo.

Full of attitude, in her songs, Anitta encourages female empowerment, inspiring women to be strong, fearless and to enjoy life without taboos.

Another face of Anitta: the businesswoman

Anitta is among the most admired women in the country. A visionary, as well as a singer, dancer and songwriter, she is an entrepreneur, expert in marketing and business strategy. Until 2019, the artist managed her own career, with that, she matured, grew and developed. However, reconciling a career as a businesswoman and an artistic life was very tiring. So, she opted to hire her current manager Brandon Silverstein.

In 2021, the pop artist joined Nubank’s Board of Directors, contributing her experience in always successful marketing strategies. The goal of the partnership is to create products focused on empowering people, something Anitta does brilliantly.

Throughout his career, he has advertised for major brands, such as iFood, Adidas, C&A, Itaú, Claro, among others. With that, he accumulated millions and more visibility in the advertising market.

The singer also has a partnership with Ambev, being Head of Creativity and Innovation at Skol Beats. In addition, she recently became a partner at Brazilian foodtech Fazenda Futuro, a company focused on plant-based meats.

A successful case, the artist is intelligent, articulate and attuned to trends. In addition, she understands well what the public needs in different segments. Of course, big companies know this and are vying for the singer’s partnership.

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International career

Since the beginning of her career, Anitta’s goal has been to reach the international market and impact other cultures with her music. So, after establishing herself as the biggest Brazilian pop star, the artist began to take her first steps towards international recognition. In 2016, she participated in the song ‘Ginza’ by Colombian singer J Balvin, with whom she later released two more hit songs: ‘Downtown’ and ‘Machika’.

In the same year, Anitta recorded the hit ‘Sim ou Não’, with Maluma. The track exploded and the music video for the song has over 376 million views on YouTube. In 2017, she participated in the song ‘Switch’ by Australian singer Iggy Azalea.

The CheckMate Project, from 2017, was an important step in the singer’s international career. She released the hits ‘Vai malandra’, which exploded in Brazil, and ‘Downtown’, with Latin references. Almost all the songs have a feat with international artists, with the exception of ‘Will I see you’ – however, the hit has the partner of American producer Poo Bear.

In 2019, the artist released the album ‘Kisses’, which featured international acclaimed guest appearances, such as rapper Snoop Dogg, Becky G and Alesso. The song ‘Onda Different’ was written by singer Ludmilla and the music video was recorded with a special participation by Snoop Dogg. The success was immediate and reached more than 97 million views on YouTube.

But it was with the hit ‘Envolver’, from the album ‘Versions of Me’ (2022), that the star reached the first position of Spotify Global. Anitta composed, produced the music and created the choreography known as “El paso de Anitta”. Several followers moved TikTok reproducing the dance and, thus, the hit gained even more notoriety.

anita in fashion

The artist is also a great influencer when it comes to fashion, and inspires women of different styles. Over the course of her career, her looks have evolved and are very eclectic, assembled with attitude and authenticity. The pieces worn by the singer demonstrate her personality and mix the sexy with the streetstyle.

She usually wears jeans, jerseys, sweatpants, lycra and street pants. In shows, the pop star explores sensuality and wears clothes that enhance her body. She mixes basic pieces with something glamorous, in addition to betting on accessories, such as glasses, gloves and over-the-knee boots.

With a diversified style, Anitta launched, by fast fashion SHEIN, her collection with 99 pieces that approach the Y2K aesthetic trend. The pieces are aimed at warmer days and have a sensual, romantic and printed touch.

Anita’s fortune

The singer has worked hard to conquer everything she has and currently owns a fortune estimated at more than US$ 100 million. She stands out in Forbes magazine among the richest singers in the world. The fortune was built with shows, business consulting, head, in addition to advertising partnerships with major brands.

Discography: from Anitta to Versions of Me

Anitta has five studio albums, all of them by Warner Music Group, as well as a DVD and live album. Check out the details and hits of each one:

Anita (2013)

The album ‘Anitta’ marks the singer’s debut in the studios, and was released in 2013 by the label Warner Music. The song ‘Show das Poderosas’ reached the first place in the Brazilian charts. In addition, it won the Multishow Award in the categories of ‘Music-Chewing Gum’ and ‘Video Clip of the Year’.

The album spawned two more hits, ‘Menina Má’ and ‘Meiga e Abusada’, which had already been released in 2012. But it was with the ballad ‘Zen’ that, in 2014, Anitta received her first international nomination for the Latin Grammy for Best Brazilian song.

Perfect Rhythm (2014)

After conquering thousands of Brazilian fans with her first album, the pop star released her second album in 2014. ‘Ritmo Perfeito’ follows the same pop and electropop genre as the previous production, but with an R&B influence.

In addition, it had the special participation of rapper Projota, who composed ‘Mulher’ and ‘Cobertor’. This last song hit the Brazilian charts followed by ‘Na Batida’. With the success of the two tracks, the album was certified gold by the ABPD.

Bang (2015)

‘Bang’ is the artist’s third album, released in 2015, with 16 tracks. The biggest hit takes its name from the record and its music video was inspired by comic books, recorded in black and white with colorful elements.

The music video has reached over 418 million views on YouTube. The songs ‘Deixa Ela Sofrer’ and ‘Essa Mina é Louca’ also became hits. ‘Bang’ surpassed the mark of previous albums and sold more than 300 thousand copies.

Kisses (2019)

The visual album ‘Kisses’ was released in 2019, and is a milestone in the singer’s international career. The work mixes songs in Portuguese, Spanish and English. In addition, there are participations by great artists, such as Snoop Dogg, Alesso, Ludmilla, Papatinho, Caetano Veloso, among others. ‘Kisses’ took 4th place on Billboard’s Latin Pop Albums Ranking and was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the category of Best Album…