"Paradinha" () is a song by Brazilian singer Anitta. It was released on May 31, 2017 by Warner Music. Written by Anitta, Umberto Tavares and Jefferson Junior, the song was expected to be included on her upcoming fourth studio album. It is the first single in Spanish by Anitta after "Sí o No" featuring Maluma. "Paradinha" is a mix of dancehall-pop and reggaeton with tropical house influences. Inspired by artists like Shakira and Ricky Martin, Anitta recorded the song in Spanish as an attempt to reach the millions of people who speak the language in the United States, with plans to cross over to the English-speaking market in the future.
Background and release
On September 9, 2014, Anitta made her first step towards an audience outside Brazil by releasing a Spanish version of her song "Zen" with a new video featuring Spanish singer Rasel. In 2015, with the release of her third album, Bang, which became a success in Brazil, the singer began to plan an international career and after studying the music industry she decided that the best way to reach a foreign audience was through the Latin market, she begin to take Spanish lessons from a private tutor and started to work with reggaeton artists after seeing a renewed interest in the genre around the world. In January 2016, she was featured in a remix of the song "Ginza" by Colombian singer J Balvin, to help promote him in Brazil and to get her fans familiar with reggaeton and the Spanish language, which she intended to adopt on her next project.
In May 2016, Anitta recorded an English version of "Bang" specially for Midem – worldwide gathering of entrepreneurs of the music industry – although the song has not been used for any purpose after. On July 28, she released "Sim ou Não" which featured Colombian singer Maluma, focusing on reggaeton, as well as a Spanish version titled "Sí o No". From an initial underwhelming performance compared to her previous releases, the collaboration gave international visibility to the singer in Latin America, reaching number 15 in Chile, and 13 in Mexico.
In 2017, Anitta collaborated with Australian rapper Iggy Azalea on the track "Switch" for her now cancelled album Digital Distortion, while Anitta was in New York to record the single and the music video with Azalea, she also secretly recorded "Paradinha". Through social media, Anitta announced that she was preparing a surprise for her fans from all over Latin America, she would be releasing her first fully Spanish single from her upcoming fourth studio album, and on May 31, 2017 the song along with the music video was released.
Musical structure and lyrics
"Paradinha" mixes two popular genres of 2017 international charts, dancehall and tropical house – made popular again by songs like "Sorry" by Justin Bieber, "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran, and "Work" By Rihanna. The song also features elements of reggaeton and pop music. Among the instruments used in its production are the Jamaican drum and the electronic flute. The track was composed by Anitta along with Umberto Tavares and Jefferson Junior, who had already worked with her on most of her previous singles. Originally, the song was written in Portuguese and later translated to Spanish with the help of instructors, adapting the stanzas and rhymes to the language. The singer explained that the term "Paradinha" is a reference to the Brazilian dance move "Quadrado", where dancers move in a sexually-provocative manner throwing their hips in four different directions.
The main theme of the track is flirting, in which the main character take suggestive advances on the partner with dancing ("I want to see you go crazy / I want to tease you, you will see that / When I want something, I can do it"), Stating also who has the control of the situation and reinforcing women's empowerment in the bridge on the last part ("I am not a saint/ I have an attitude, yes / I am not easy").