The Weeknd and Anitta finally delivered their collaboration “São Paulo” on Wednesday (October 30).
The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) previously said Billboard Brazil on its cover that frequent collaborator Mike Dean had asked Anitta for a vocal recording to complement The Weeknd's set last October when he played two nights in Sao Paulo during his After Hours Til Dawn tour. “What he sent was so awesome that we created the song,” the “Blinding Lights” creator said. The two made their “São Paulo” debut at the city's Estádio MorumBIS on September 7 during a one-night-only special that was broadcast live. “We knew it was very special to play on stage. We saw great potential in the song and found the rhythm, which is the heart of the show,” he added about “São Paulo.”
“I wrote some lyrics as a joke and didn't imagine they would be taken seriously. Suddenly, I received the finished song. I loved it! I felt very honored and flattered,” said Anitta Billboard Brazil. “I've always been a big fan of him and his work. I never imagined this would happen, and now it's a dream come true. It's a bit more Brazilian funk, as promised, all over the world.”
He premiered other new songs from his upcoming album Hurry up tomorrowincluding “Dancing With the Flames” and “Timeless” featuring Playboi Carti which have since been released. The former peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the latter peaked at No. 3, making it The Weeknd's 19th top 10 debut and highest-charting debut on the all-genre song catalog and his fifth top 10 Carti.
Listen to “São Paulo” below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-weeknd-anitta-sao-paulo-video-song-1235814850/