Anitta performed on Today’s Citi Concert Series on Friday in New York City.
In addition to hitting the stage, the 31-year-old Brazilian songstress — who performed with Madonna in Rio de Janeiro — also sat down for an interview as the outlet’s May digital cover star and opened up about her past health struggles.
Back in 2022, the hitmaker was hospitalized for months as she battled an unknown illness that eventually subsided.
The mystery condition left her unable to walk and she admitted she thought she ‘was going to die’ during the ordeal.
‘I was super, super unhealthy,’ she recalled. ‘I got really sick and was so physically ill I couldn’t work — and I hadn’t stopped working in so many years.’
Anitta performed on Today’s Citi Concert Series on Friday in New York City
In addition to hitting the stage, the 31-year-old Brazilian songstress — who performed with Madonna in Rio de Janeiro — also sat down for an interview and opened up about her past health struggles
She noted that the experience ‘was a big wake up call’ as she realized that she ‘physically couldn’t do many things that I loved doing because of my health.’
‘I had to take time to take care of myself,’ she said.
While working to improve the state of her health, she felt inspired to make music.
‘I just wasted so much time of my life trying to reach goals, and please people and be a success,’ she told Today.
The songstress, born Larissa de Macedo Machado, said the illness ‘changed [my] whole mentality, and that’s why I made this album.’
Anitta noted, ‘I made Funk Generation in the hospital. I was like, I want an album like this — in case I die I’m going to leave an album that I’m proud of.’
And that’s exactly what she did.
‘I’m really proud of this album, and I didn’t do it thinking about streams and algorithms and numbers. I thought just about having fun and loving what I did,’ she gushed.
Anitta was Today’s May digital cover star
Anitta posed with longtime host Hoda Kotb
In July 2022 the superstar used Twitter, now X, to share a photo of herself in a hospital bed holding a thumbs up.
She explained, ‘I came from the tour straight to the hospital to start the preparations for a surgery that Imma do as soon as my body is ready for it.’
In a follow-up tweet she added, ‘The surgery was already scheduled before the tour started. I have something called ENDOMETRIOSIS (very common in millions of women in the world but not as spoken as it should be). I’m doing good being very well cared and will keep everyone posted. Lots of love.’
She told Today: ‘After my health issues, I started taking better care of my spirituality. I follow Yoruba religion, and I had to jump into that. I dove into myself, and everything that makes me feel peace.’