Anitta Reborn: The Brazilian Superstar on ‘Funk Generation,’ Her First U.S. Tour and the Mysterious Illness that Reset Her Career
variety.comAnitta didn’t think much about her death. Despite growing up in the notorious favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian multi-hyphenate just knew that her life would be as glamorous as she always imagined: she would sing, dance and act her way to global stardom.
Gradually, that vision has been coming to life. “I never thought that I wasn’t going to get what I wanted,” she says. “Everyone around me has been maybe more realistic, but I just have these visions for how my life will turn out.
I don’t tell anyone, because I know how easily outside pressure can influence the results.” Anitta, 31, has been a superstar in Latin America since the release of her self-titled debut in 2013, and she was poised to achieve a similar level of success in the United States in 2022 with her fifth full-length album, “Versions of Me.” She made a splash — a Grammy nomination for best new artist, a vibrant performance at Coachella (with a cameo from Snoop Dogg), a global hit with the song “Envolver” — but the album, with songs in English, in styles ranging from pop and rock to reggaeton and Brazilian funk, was trying to have something for everyone and confused listeners.
Then, Anitta was hit with a mysterious illness that racked her with chronic, full-body pain and fevers that at times rendered her unable to walk.
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