Hesperia High Sting

Anitta 

 

When you hear the word Funk, what comes to your mind? Probably a mix of Jazz and Blues, however, in Brazil, Funk is a totally different music genre that, for almost a decade, has been changing lives. It is fair to say that Anitta was a huge part of it.

 

Anitta was always more than just another Funk artist. Since her first successful song, “Show Das Poderosas” released in 2013, the Funk industry in Brazil changed for good. The rhythm that started in Rio’s poor neighborhoods called “favelas,” finally got known nationwide. 

 

Born and raised in a favela in the north zone of Rio de Janeiro, Anitta made her way through the top hits of Brazil by dedicating herself after her first single was released. As the success came, she decided that she wanted more. She started studying English and Spanish, she invested a lot of money on her career and now she has songs in three languages. 

 

Her dedication didn’t stop there. She pushed herself out of her comfort zone and started looking for collaborations with international artists such as Major Lazer and Iggy Azalea. Her latest album, “Kisses,” if filled with collaborations, among them are Snoop Dogg and Becky G. Madonna even just released a song with her, “Faz gostoso.” 

 

The ironic thing is that, even though she sings in those three languages and she collaborated with a lot of internationally known artists, people that don’t live in Brazil don’t seem to know who she is. They may have heard one or two of her songs but her fame didn’t go far enough for her to actually have fans outside of the country. 

 

Her attempt of being famous worldwide has also made her a little less popular in Brazil. People that used to listen to her songs now claim that her music style is not what it used to be anymore, that she is more of a Pop star than a Funk singer. Some extreme comments also suggest that she is not proud of the part of the Brazilian culture that got her where she is. 

 

Such criticism made she change her mind. In latest interviews, when asked about the next album she said that it is going to be entirely sung in Portuguese and that fans will find the Funk rhythm that they are looking for. She claims, however, that her dream of becoming an international star is not over.

 

Anitta started out with nothing but her desire of being famous. Her national career gave her the status she has today, fame, and fortune. Her ambition and desire, however, made her lose fans and didn’t get her where she wanted to be. She is living proof that you can have 42 million followers on instagram and you can sing with Madonna but if you weren’t born in the U.S. or the U.K. it is going to be really hard for you to get international fame.