Morning Chronicle - Brazilian star Anitta tops Spotify with booty-grinding 'Envolver'

"Number 1 in the world. I really don't know what to say," the 28-year-old singer wrote on Twitter.

"The only Brazilian in the history of my country to have a top 5 song in the world. Oh my God."

The sensual video of the reggaeton single features Anitta dropping to the floor and gyrating her mid-section -- a move that has drawn a flood of imitations worldwide.

Viral videos of the "Envolver" dance include performances by men, women, schoolchildren and the elderly, and even some underwater.

Sung in Spanish, "Envolver" first took off in Spanish-speaking Latin America, rather than Anitta's native Brazil, where Portuguese is the official language.

But a surge of Brazilian listeners helped it reach the top spot as it became a worldwide hit, streamed more than 71 million times in all on Spotify -- and Anitta's home country feted her Friday.

"Anitta is Brazil! You've written your name in the history books," said fellow pop singer Lexa.

#Anitta was by far the top trending hashtag on Twitter in Brazil Friday.

The pop star has also had hits in English, such as last year's "Girl From Rio."

She has used her increasingly high-profile platform to speak out on social and political issues.

She is a frequent critic of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who comes up for reelection in October.

As Brazilians helped "Envolver" close in on the number one spot Thursday, she tweeted, "Hey Brazil, I want that same level of effort to kick Bolsonaro out of office!"

She also lashed out at online criticism from men that the "Envolver" dance was too suggestive.

When Venezuelan TV presenter Osman Aray said on Instagram that the dance showed some women "want to be disrespected," she fired back in an expletive-laced post: "a man's duty is to respect us whatever the hell we do with our bodies."

T.Taylo--MC-UK