Anitta talks health scare in 2022, new album exclusively TODAY

Today, Anitta is in good health. However, the Brazilian singer has faced her fair share of ups and downs during her rise to fame.

In an exclusive interview with TODAY.com for the May digital cover story, the 31-year-old opened up about a health scare in 2022 that landed her in the hospital for months. At one point, she was unable to walk and thought she was going to die as she battled a mysterious illness.

Larissa de Macedo Machado, known by her stage name “Anitta,” has taken the world by storm with her catchy music and vibrant personality. She recently released her sixth studio album, “Funk Generation,” and her first devoted entirely to Brazilian funk music.

The songs are fun and uplifting, but the story behind the record is much more complex. The idea for her latest album came to Anitta in a hospital bed.

“I was in super, super unhealthy,” Anitta told TODAY in a segment that aired on Friday, May 31. The singer contracted COVID-19 in 2022, and “right after…I had these crazy symptoms,” she said.

Towards the end of 2022, after touring across Europe, the “Evolver” singer fell seriously ill and was rushed to the hospital. She remained hospitalized for the next five months while doctors tried to figure out what was wrong.

While in the hospital, the singer became so incapacitated that she thought she was “going to die,” she told TODAY.com.

“I got really sick and I was so physically ill that I couldn’t work, and I hadn’t stopped working for so many years,” she said. “It really made me realize that I physically couldn’t do a lot of the things I loved doing because of my health. I had to take the time to take care of myself.

After ruling out lung problems, cancer and many other health issues, doctors had no answers or diagnosis for the singer.

While in the hospital, Anitta said she began to look back on her life and think about her priorities. “I wasted so much of my life trying to achieve my goals and please people and be successful,” she said. Ultimately, the health crisis “changed his whole mentality, and that’s why I made this album.”

“I did (‘Funk Generation’) in the hospital…I was like, I want an album like this – in case I die, I’ll leave an album that I’m proud of,” he said. -she declared.

“I’m really proud of this album, and I didn’t make it thinking about streams and algorithms and numbers. I was just thinking about having fun and loving what I was doing,” the singer explained.

This isn’t the first time Anitta has spoken out about her health. In a series of tweets Posted in July 2022, the singer revealed she was diagnosed with endometriosis after nine years of suffering and misdiagnoses.

“Seek more than one doctor, more than one opinion. If one doesn’t solve it… move on to another until it does. It’s not normal for us to live forever with pain like this,” the singer wrote.

“Endometriosis is very common in women. It has several side effects, different in each body. They can extend to the bladder and cause excruciating pain when urinating. There are several treatments. Mine will have to be surgical “, she says. added.

In a tweet published On July 19, 2022, Anitta said she was in the hospital preparing to have surgery for her endometriosis, posting a photo of herself from a hospital bed.

As for her most recent health issue and hospitalization, Anitta said she never received a diagnosis or an explanation for her illness. However, she recovered and said that today she is healthy again, both physically and mentally.

Anitta credits her faith with helping her heal. “After my health problems, I started to take better care of my spirituality. I follow the Yoruba religion and I had to embark on this path. I dove into myself and anything that makes me feel peace,” she said.