The lights are low in Studio 8H. All eyes — and all cameras, of which there are at least half a dozen — are on Anitta. The Brazilian superstar stands in the center, flanked by dancers and a small band lining the stage. It's quiet enough to hear a pin drop. A stand-in announces, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Anitta,” before a flash of red light fills the room. And just like that, it's show time.
This is the famed “Saturday Night Live” set at New York City's 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and Anitta is running through two new songs — “Choka Choka” featuring Shakira, and “Varias Quejas,” a Spanish-language version of an Olodum classic, a cultural group from Bahia, Brazil — during rehearsal last week.
