It’s that time of year again, folks. The 2023 Grammy Award nominations are here, and while it’s always fun to see deserving artists receiving shoutouts and industry accolades, the Grammys tend to include some head-scratching decisions, too.
The category of Best New Artist, in particular, tends to raise some eyebrows. (The primary question that arises each year: Is this artist actually “new,” or are they perhaps just new to members of the Recording Academy?) With something so subjective, the lines are easily blurred; for example, while it’s incredibly exciting to see Brazilian artist Anitta receiving some attention from the Recording Academy, the singer and songwriter has been releasing music for over a decade; her debut single arrived in 2012.
To be fair to the Recording Academy, Anitta did have a particularly enormous year — she released her fifth studio album (her second multilingual album), Versions of Me, in April of this year. By October, it had become the first Brazilian pop album to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify.
Below are five more things to know about the continuously rising star, and find the full list of 2023 nominations here. Music’s Biggest Night will take place on February 5th, 2023.
1. She breaks genre boundaries
For those who haven’t yet explored Anitta’s rich discography, the singer and songwriter has touched many different genres throughout the years, including Latin pop, R&B, and reggaeton. She cites Mariah Carey as her greatest influence, while also pointing to Shakira, Rihanna, and Beyoncé as inspirations. As an artist who herself is interested in finding ways to reinvent herself and explore new areas, she has said that she loves artists who could be described as “divas.”
2. She’s already been a Latin Grammy Award nominee
While this marks her first Grammy nomination, Anitta has already landed six Latin Grammy nominations throughout the years. In 2014, she received her first nomination in the Best Brazilian Song category for “Zen.” Fast-forward to 2022, when she landed nods for Best Reggaeton Performance and Record of the Year for her smash hit “Envolver.”
3. She loves a good collaboration
Anitta is no stranger to a great collaboration, and has worked with Nile Rodgers, Maluma, Iggy Azalea, Major Lazer, and Alesso over the years. “Downtown,” her 2017 collaboration with Colombian superstar J Balvin, helped launch her to fame worldwide.
4. “Envolver” marked her breakthrough in the American market
While Anitta has been crushing it in Brazil and in Spanish-speaking countries over the past decade, it was her late 2021 release, “Envolver” that catapulted her to a new level, especially in the US. The track topped the Global Top 50 on Spotify, making her the first Brazilian artist — and first Latin artist with a solo track — to do so. The steamy and well-choreographed music video has been streamed over 400 million times.
5. She’s a vegan
After watching the 2014 documentary Cowspiracy in 2019, Anitta made the decision to ditch all animal products and has been happily living the vegan lifestyle ever since. This prompted PETA to crown her the Most Beautiful Vegan Celebrity of 2022 alongside Lenny Kravitz. She’s also the face of an international vegan meat brand, Future Farm, based in her home country of Brazil.
See the full list of 2023 Grammy Awards nominations here.
Grammys 2023 Nominees Photo Gallery: