Anitta

The stage name "Anitta" was inspired by the Rede Globo miniseries Presença de Anita. She thought the character Anita was "amazing" because she could "be sexy without being vulgar–a girl and woman at the same time." At 17, she won the award for "Breakout in Funk". Anitta began her career singing in the choir of the Church of Santa Luzia in the Honorio Gurgel neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro at age 8. Before concentrating on music, she considered an administrative career in the mining company Vale do Rio Doce in which she worked. Her success in the bailes funk in Rio de Janeiro yielded a contract with record label Warner Music. Anitta had worked with producer Furacão 2000 in mid-2010 and 2011, who had contacted her after videos of her singing on the Internet drew attention in 2009. She began gaining recognition on funk radio stations in Rio de Janeiro with her first song, "Eu Vou Ficar." Responsible for national hits "Menina Má", "Meiga e Abusada" and "Show das Poderosas", she was also a ballroom dance instructor at age 15. The song "Meiga e Abusada" became among the most requested songs on Brazilian radio stations in early 2013. In May of the same year, the song was included in the soundtrack of the Rede Globo soap opera Amor à Vida. The music video for the song was recorded in Las Vegas, Nevada, and directed by American Blake Farber. As new singles are released, there have already been two EPs released with these songs that have been and are being worked on. The first studio album is expected to be complete and be released by mid-year 2013. The video for her latest song, Show das Poderosas, received considerable attention in the media in May. This contributed to making the video became the most watched on YouTube in Brazil in May, surpassing 10 million views. The music was the best selling track on iTunes Brazil, and even became the second most played song on radio in the country in early June.