Sam Smith has teased their "special" collaboration with Brazilian pop star Anitta.
The pair are poised to release a yet-to-be-announced song together, and Sam, 31, is full of praise of the 30-year-old Latin star.
Sam told Harper's BAZAAR: “Anitta’s energy is amazing.
"We connected immediately, and it just made the collaboration feel so special that there was genuine friendship there.”
The 'Unholy' hitmaker added how Anitta had a "clear vision" for their duet.
The singer-and-actress - whose real name is Larissa de Macedo Machado - recently left major label Warner Music after 11 years after complaining that they were not properly promoting her single 'Envolver'.
In a joint statement, the label and artist said in April: “After eleven years of successful partnership, we’ve agreed to go our separate ways.
“Anitta would like to thank the Warner Music team for all their support. And the Warner team wishes Anitta all the best in future.”
And the star says now is the perfect time to release her follow-up 2022's 'Versions of Me'.
She told the publication: “I got big enough for people to pay attention to what I’m doing, so it’s a good moment for me to drop this album [that’s] finally something I believe and something I think, ‘Okay, that is me.' Now that I got this attention, I can really be myself.”
Anitta had recently fumed on Instagram: “I asked the label to just do the simple job they were supposed to: promote my music.”
Anitta admitted she would have sold her organs to get out of the contract.
Responding to a fan on Twitter, she divulged in Portuguese and English: “My love, if I had a fine to pay, I would have already auctioned off my organs, no matter how expensive it was to get out. But unfortunately, it doesn’t [work that way].
“When you’re young and still don’t know much, you have to pay close attention to the things you sign… if not you can spend a lifetime paying for the mistake.”
Anitta also hit out at Warner for using her photo and song to mark International Women's Day in March.
She bemoaned: “Communication at Warner is so good that [they’re] posting me on a Happy women’s day looping post, even tho I had to go public to ask for the ‘woman respect’ that this date represents. (sic)"
And she claimed they told her 'Envolver' wouldn't be a hit without getting a major artist featured on it.
She added how the label's post used the song "they said would never break without a feat cuz I wasn’t strong enough for that. (sic)”
Variety reported that the label had hoped 'Envolver' - which went viral on TikTok last year - would have the same success in the US as it had in Latin American.
However, Warner hasn't commented on this.
Anitta has since signed to Republic Records.
Read the full interview here: www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-books-music/a43865211/anitta-interview-2023.
