In the history of Brazilian exports, there may be no truer representation of the nation’s flavor than Anitta. She is not a supermodel, not a movie star, not a muse walking the sands of Ipanema. She is a girl from the favelas, who learned to sing in church, took courses in business administration, and rose to global fame on a wave of grit, determination, and some serious bass-thumping, ass-bumping music.
Before Anitta appears for an interview I already know she is likely to be wearing a strapless ruched top and beachy, sun-kissed hair and that her backdrop will be, as the kids say, drippy. Because, like the other 52.1 million Instagram followers who watch her every move, I just saw the IG Story of Anitta, along with her dad and a friend, checking into a breathtaking private villa in the Dominican Republic where she will spend a two-week quarantine before traveling to the United States to begin promoting her next single, Girl From Rio, which is scheduled to be released April 30.