São Paulo (song)

To promote his upcoming album and celebrate his final project under the moniker the Weeknd, Tesfaye held a one-off concert in São Paulo called "one-night-only" on September 7, 2024.^[3] The occasion also marked the first time the Weeknd and Anitta performed their collaboration "São Paulo".^[4] The appearance was a surprise performance as Anitta emerged on stage initially disguised as one of the Weeknd's dancers.^[5]

On October 27, Anitta shared a post depicting an ultrasound image of a baby with sharp teeth and a forked tail asking if the creature is beautiful, to which the Weeknd responded how beautiful it looks.^[6] The picture was labelled with the date October 30, 2024, which turned out to be the release date.^[7] Anitta had previously posted a picture of herself with a baby belly and a white face mask two days prior.^[8] The song was initially released as the third single from the Weeknd's upcoming album Hurry Up Tomorrow.^[9] However, the album's intended first single "Dancing in the Flames" was later removed from the track listing and "São Paulo" was reworked as the project's second single.^[10] An EP for the song was released on September 19, 2025, where the shortened version of the song would be sent to radio stations to use.^[11]

The music video for "São Paulo" coincided with the release of the song on October 30, 2024.^[12] Directed by Freeka Tet, the music video features a pregnant Anitta wearing a "Rejuvenique" massage mask with a mouth on her stomach, singing the Weeknd's lines.^[13] Sonja Knežević of Vogue Adria considered the video's horror motives appropriate for the Halloween atmosphere.^[14]

"São Paulo" debuted at number 35 on the Canadian Hot 100;^[15] it peaked at number 22.^[16] In the United States, the song debuted at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[17] Following the releasing of its parent album, it peaked at number 43, becoming Anitta's highest-charting single.^[18] In Brazil, the song debuted at number 69 on the Brasil Hot 100.^[19] In its second week, the song rose to a new peak of number five.^[20]

In France, the song debuted at number 55 and reached the top twenty, at number 18 by the week of February 2, 2025, following the release of "Hurry Up Tomorrow" two earlier days, becoming Anitta's highest-charting in the country since "Envolver" and the Weeknd's fourteenth top twenty.^[21]

The song also topped the Portuguese and Greek charts and reached the top ten in India, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Switzerland, top twenty in Germany, Ireland and Iceland, top thirty in Croatia, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary and United Kingdom, top forty in the Netherlands, Norway and Australia and top fifty in Finland and Sweden.

Streaming / digital download – EP^[22]

1. "São Paulo" (single version) – 2:28
2. "São Paulo" – 5:01
3. "São Paulo" (live from São Paulo) – 5:27
4. "São Paulo" (single version / a cappella) – 2:28
5. "São Paulo" video – 3:29
6. "São Paulo" video (live from São Paulo / 2024) – 5:04

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[1][23]

• The Weeknd – vocals, songwriting, co-production, keyboards, programming
• Anitta – vocals, songwriting
• Mike Dean – songwriting, co-production, synths, drum programming, vocal engineering, mixing, mastering
• Tommy Rush – assistant mixing
• Sean Solymar – songwriting, co-production, drum programming
• Sage Skolfield – vocal engineering
• Faris Al-Majed – assistant engineering
• Flavio Seraphim de Almeida – songwriting
• Everton Ramos de Araujo – songwriting
• Marcelo Nei Leal – songwriting
• Tatiana dos Santos Lourenço – songwriting
• Agustinho Raphael dos Santos – songwriting
• Washington Luis Costa Vaz – songwriting
• Andre Luiz Viegasand – songwriting