When two industry titans in the world of pop music decide to team up for a project, the audience expectations are high. São Paulo by Anitta and The Weeknd is expected to be a highlight of the year. The new track was gradually introduced in a series of previews and made official in a live performance by The Weeknd, which raised the anticipation. While ambitious in its merging of sounds, the final product falls in the middle of the soaring hype.
The song starts with the commanding presence of Anitta, her strong vocals drenched in distortion over a background of jagged, dissonant synths. Its intro immediately controls your attention, hinting at the bold and boundary-pushing direction this song is about to take. The lyrics by Anitta are bubbling with bold sexuality, consonant with the provocative tone of the arrangement, setting the stage for an all-out exhilarating musical journey. But when The Weeknd’s signature silky-smooth vocals come in, the song starts to lose its momentum. While the contrast between Anitta’s delivery and The Weeknd’s polished sing-along creates an interesting dynamic, the song often feels disjointed, where the different styles of the two acts don’t quite mesh into a harmonious whole.
The real success of this track lies in its production, which combines elements of Brazilian funk, experimental synth-wave, and The Weeknd’s spaced-out pop aesthetics. Under the masterful guidance of Mike Dean, The Weeknd, and Sean Solymar, the sonic landscape unfolds both enveloping and abrasive, characterized by punchy rhythms and glitchy, distorted textures—uneasy in harmony with the lyrical content.
The most bewitching moments are when the production drops into noisier territory—but most notably, in the mid-breakdown of the track. The Weeknd’s vocals go majestically above the swirling instrumentation, allowing him to truly let loose in this space.
The song flits between Anitta’s sultry, assertive presence and The Weeknd’s darker, atmospheric approach, but it never quite finds a balance that feels genuinely seamless.
“São Paulo” treads familiar ground for The Weeknd, working through themes of temptation, obsession, and desire. Lines like “Every time I try to run, you put your curse all over me” and “I surrender at your feet, baby, put it all on me” display the artist’s typical openness, always ready to delve deep into the workings of the human mind.
Anitta’s contributions, on the other hand, are bold in their sensuality, with her repeated refrains of ‘Bota na boca, bota na cara, bota onde quiser’ (translation: ‘Put it in your mouth, put it on your face, put it wherever you want’), infusing the track with undeniable carnal energy.
In the end, ‘São Paulo’ gives the feeling of a wasted opportunity. The ambition and creative vision are great, but the execution leaves the listener with a lingering sense of better things left undone. The Weeknd and Anitta are both artists at the apex of their art, more than able to make music that truly pushes the boundaries. With “São Paulo,” they have gone into unexplored waters, but the result is a track that—despite all its sonic experimentation—lacks the harmoniousness to connect on a deeper level.
More time and polish could have allowed this collaboration between two of pop’s most adventurous voices to blossom into a great tour de force. For now, “São Paulo” can be considered a noble but not perfect attempt at the fusion of these diverse musical realms, ingraining the sense of something that could have been, but not quite a fully realized triumph. To die-hard fans of either The Weeknd or Anitta, the track will retain its charm; but to the casual listener, it will sound like an interesting miss that leaves you wanting more.
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