If there’s anyone living the biggest moment in their career right now, it’s Anitta. The global superstar has seen unprecedented success in 2022, and this next year is gearing up to be an even bigger one. She’s kicking off the new year with a special collaboration with Lay’s that’s reintroducing her hit “Envolver” with the power of potatoes. Remezcla chatted with Anitta about the new collaboration, where she finds joy, the moment things in her life shifted for the better, and what she’s got planned for 2023.
“I felt so special, to be honest,” Anitta tells Remezcla via Zoom, as she recalls the moment she was presented with the opportunity to collaborate with Lay’s. The Brasileira was particularly intrigued by the innovative nature of the partnership. The team behind the potato chip giant produced a special remix of her hit single “Envolver” using electricity generated from potatoes. When the singer arrived at the recording studio, she said she found the room filled with thousands of potatoes. “That was iconic. I’ve never [seen] anything like that in my life,” she explains.“The scientists were there, and when I saw it, I was like, ‘I’m never gonna understand how they’re doing this. Then [someone] started explaining to me, and I actually got it. I actually understood.”
The slogan for the collaboration is “Stay Golden” in an effort to encourage fans to find joy regardless of what obstacles life might throw their way. The mantra couldn’t be more appropriate for Anitta, who, despite her undeniable talents, faced unique hardships that made her crossover efforts challenging. “In an international career, everything is very new to people because I’m Brazilian, and our language is Portuguese,” she says. “It’s not easy at all for Brazil to be in the spot that I am right now, and I have 100 percent acknowledgment of that. So it’s really special to me.”
It’s easy to understand why Anitta feels so special. Her hit “Envolver” made streaming history when it reached the top of Spotify’s Global Chart. Anitta extended her winning streak when her trilingual album Versions Of Me was released in April 2022 and she subsequently performed an electric set at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. She co-hosted the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards alongside fellow superstars Thalía, Luis Fonsi, and Laura Pausini. Anitta stunned when she performed at Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Vol. 4 fashion show. In late Oct., Anitta was named WSJ Magazine’s 2022 Music Innovator. The floodgates opened in Nov. when the global superstar earned her first Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
“I lived so many things that I could pretend it was five years, but it was just one,” Anitta affirms. “We always work hard for great things, but these were way more than I ever expected.” The conversation shifts for a moment when Anitta suddenly confesses she feels like people compare themselves too much to others. She suggests that people should pause and appreciate their lives in the moment: “Whenever I started to do that, things started to happen to me.”
That new perspective became a source of joy for Anitta. “I feel like I’ve learned how to enjoy [myself] and how to see the beauty in my life so much easier,” she says. “I used to find it so hard to feel special, to feel golden, and feel life.”
“I’ve learned how to enjoy [myself] and how to see the beauty in my life so much easier. I used to find it so hard to feel special, to feel golden, and feel life.”
“For me nowadays, I learned that the small and simple things are so important,” she continues. She finds opportunities in different parts of her day to express gratitude for being alive, her health, and everything she is today. “Before I go to sleep, I picture how my day is gonna be,” she says. “I think when you maintain a routine in your mind, you kind of ‘stay golden’ forever because you don’t lose the high energy, the positive frequency you should have in life.”
As for her plans this year, Anitta just wants to “enjoy life” with vacations she has planned, including a Europe trip over the summer. “Oh my god, I’m going to so many places,” she gushes. “I’m gonna have so much fun!” Despite taking some time off this year, her league of passionate fans might not have to wait very long for new material. The singer hinted at releasing new music this Spring, but when asked about a world tour, she said it’s out of the question and laughed. “If I do more releases, like May [or] April, maybe I can do some concerts, like random ones.”
While she takes some time off from the limelight, Anitta also wants her fans to take a page from her book. “[Don’t just] work hard for the things we want materialistically,” she emphasized. “Do nothing, enjoy yourself, take vacations, rest. That’s really important.” Anitta’s future is bright and when she returns, she’ll burn even brighter.
