Every November, The Wall Street Journal honors the people who are changing the world through the “Innovator Awards”. This year, in the 12th edition of the tribute, the newspaper elected the Brazilian pop-star Anitta as the “Music Innovator” of 2022 and one of this “year’s eight game-changers whose ideas offer a blue-print for a better future.”
The WSJ explains its choice:
“Like the single-monikered Cher and Madonna before her, Brazilian pop star Anitta is a diva whose fame doesn’t depend only on her talents.
She draws attention with her opinions, sexuality, and political views. She’s also a workhorse. Changing the sound of pop music in her native Brazil became possible only through a relentless performance schedule and a breakneck artistic output. A solid career in America is the capstone on her path to becoming a Latin superstar. “I only compete with myself,” she says.
With this year’s release of her trilingual album and the hit single “Envolver,” Anitta has broken into the U.S. market and expanded her reach far beyond Brazil. Now singing in five different languages, and charting hits around the world, she’s collaborated with Madonna, Snoop Dogg and Missy Elliott and has over 63 million followers on Instagram.
Anitta recalls the skepticism of local industry folk about her global plans. “They said, ‘Well, you can try to go international, but that’s impossible. Nobody’s ever made it, the last person was Carmen Miranda,’ ” she says. “Impossible? This word just makes me want to go for it.”, highlighted the newspaper in its special edition.