Anitta talks Me Gusta in Covershoot and Interview

Interview: Miles Holder

Brazillian singer Anitta’s contributions to the Latin music world is undeniable, with Latin GRAMMY® Award nominations and winning “Best Brazilian Act” at the MTV Europe Music Awards for five consecutive years, she has become one of the leading contemporary Latin music artists. Her impact isn’t exclusive to Latin music genres, however, back in July Anitta released “Tocame”, produced by the certified hitmaker Ryan Tedder which has amassed over 24 million views on Youtube. Last week the singer returned with her new track ‘Me Gusta” Feat. Cardi B & Myke Towers which is well on it’s way to becoming a hit gaining 12 million views over the weekend alone.

We caught up with Anitta to find out more about her upcoming projects, the challenges facing Latin musicians today and of course, her FAULTs.

You’ve teamed up with so many great collaborators on this project, but you all also come from different musical backgrounds. How did you all come to working on this project together?

Anitta: I like to bring my Brazilian culture always when I’m working because I think it’s part of who I am! It makes sense, and explains why I’m doing this, why I’m going international. I want to bring my Brazilian culture to the world. So when we get to the studio or design how the music video is going to be, we always try to make Brazilian flavour on it. Even if I’m singing in Spanish or English, we always try to bring Brazil somehow. It can be with the drums or with the rhythm or with the lyrics and what we’re talking about, or the music video. I think it’s important to bring Brazil somehow with a sample or melody of a Brazilian hit, for example. I think it’s important for my country to feel represented when I’m doing something.

Tell us about the inspiration behind Tócame?

Anitta: ’Tócame’ is a song very focussed on the Latin market, and it’s kind of bringing it back to the reggaeton world. The song has roots in my personality and of sexuality. My video brings the reality of the pandemic, how to be together and how to get together during this pandemic. It’s typical reggaeton!

It seems that right now we’re having a great renascence of female artists who embrace their sexuality through music, but at the same time, it’s met with harsh criticism (non surprisingly from small-minded men). As someone who has been at the end of criticism, what motivates you to keep going?

Anitta: I hate it so much, when people come to me with this prejudice, criticism or ideas of something that makes no sense, or they feel like we’re completely not personable in how we are speaking. It motivates me to educate people on accepting the differences. Accepting that people have different tastes, people are different from each other.  I think when you’re part of people’s lives more often, they start to understand that they need to respect things, when they’re not the way they think they should be.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Latin American musicians when breaking through to new markets?

Anitta: I think it’s more about Brazilian and Portuguese, because right now in the Spanish world there’s a cross over. People are very interested in Spanish and it’s big. I think it’s more about Brazil, and Portuguese which is a different language, and we need people to listen to this, which is what I’m trying to do right now. I’m singing another language, so I can bring an audience to me and they can start getting interested in the Brazilian word and the Portuguese world.

When you look back on your career in 50 years, what do you want to have said with your art?

Anitta: I would like them to say, ‘yeah… she changed the industry somehow for her country, she changed the face somehow’. I’d love to be part of history. That’s why I like to be… not problematic… but to bring subjects for people to talk about, that makes them think.

What’s one question that no journalist has ever asked you, but is something you’ve always wanted to say/discuss?

Anitta: Wow. Hard! I mean, I always talk about everything! I think journalists are pretty curious, they always ask about everything. ‘The most important thing for me in my life?’, I would have said my family. I don’t know if anyone has ever asked me this before. It’s important to say that even with all the things that I have and have done in my life, I still think that the most amazing thing I have in my life is my family. It can be a good question.

“What’s been the hardest hurdle you’ve had to overcome on your musical journey?

Anitta: I’m very honest about who I am and I’m always myself. And I don’t think people can accept the truth so much. People say they love the truth, people say they love honest people, but when you try and be honest about all the things in your life, they just throw rocks in your face like you’re not right. So for me the most difficult thing is to make people understand my way of being, which is pretty different from others. Prejudice is a big issue. Being a young woman is hard, they’re always judging you and it’s not like this for men.

What is your biggest fear as it pertains to your music?

Anitta: To change myself, to change myself because of people. I’m pretty afraid of my routine or the size of my career and how big everything turned. I’m pretty afraid of this changing my character or my personality and who I am.

If you could go back to the start of your career and leave yourself a piece of advice, what would it be?

Anitta: Don’t believe in people that much. Don’t trust people that much. I have an innocence. I know I’m not ‘innocent’, but I have this innocence where I have this trust in people and I just think that everyone is going to be nice just because I am nice to them. I would just say don’t trust people that much. But I do think everything happens for a reason. There’s no better way to learn things than going through them. So maybe I wouldn’t say anything….

You’ve got Me Gusta being released very soon, what’s it about/what vibe should fans expect? 

Anitta: The song is about powerful women. It talks about how I love women who are themselves, who dance and do whatever they want to do. The rhythm is a mix of Latin music for like the Spanish market, American music and Brazilian music, so it’s a very big mix. It’s a mix of people too on the track – one from the US, another from the Latin world/Columbia and another from Brazil so it’s a big cultural mix. The video was recorded at the same place Michael Jackson recorded ‘They Don’t Really Care About Us”. It has a very big message behind it.

Why important for you encompass all those different musical influences from different places?

Anitta: I’m working these three markets right now and working on a strategy to bring the other cultures and rhythms. But of course, I want to bring my culture to the world, that’s the number one thing. We mixed the Latin and American because it’s the markets that I’m going for right now and so that’s why I like to mix the three things. 

What can we expect with the upcoming album?

Anitta: All the songs have a mix of rhythms! Ryan Tedder [collaborator] was always looking at how to communicate to the world my Brazilian culture. In all of the album you’re going to feel this Brazilian flavour in the rhythm or the vibe or the lyrics. So I think people will feel very close to my culture after this.

What is your FAULT?

Anitta: I would say I’m too open. I wish I was more mysterious. Because I’m too much [laughs]. Or maybe my career is because of this, maybe that’s the thing that made me big. I would love to be more mysterious; I open up too much to everyone.