Anna is back, two years after the success of Vera Baddiewith a suitcase full of incredible numbers (streaming, tickets, rankings) promptly reported in the press release, but which tell us little about her. You have to go to his concerts, observe the adoring audience – mostly minors – to get an idea of the phenomenon. But that's not all, there is a magical element, like a Coca-Cola formula, which he keeps secret.
We tried, despite the generation gap (interviewee 23, interviewer 50 years old), to steal the recipe whose well-mixed ingredients are part of the new album Million Dollar Babe which comes out on Friday, and a tour that will take her to fill arenas all over Italy from the end of November (plus a taster in the Summer Tour that will start on August 7th from Palermo). We're not sure we've found it (the magic recipe), but the musical drink offered by Anna is energetic, positive and refreshing, which in this heat is no small feat.
With this album it seems to me that you had fun exploring new musical territories without abandoning what we already knew about you, such as trap banger I'm the passalmost as if it were a natural evolution. Does it have anything to do with the fact that you've spent a lot of time in the United States in the last two years?
At the base there is above all the desire to evolve the sound, to experiment with new things that perhaps I have always listened to but which I had never had the courage to face, like all the EDM side that I brought out in White Girl Wasted. I tried to combine as many styles as possible thanks to the time spent in America and the chemistry with Miles (the producer of the record, ed).
What kind of life do you have when you're in the States?
When I go abroad I do it above all to live as normal a life as possible, because here maybe I leave the house and every three seconds I have to stop for a photo. I go there to relax and give as much space as possible to my creativity, without being distracted by external factors. I grew up taking America as a reference, so now when I go there I feel a bit like I've finally returned home: the home I've always seen online. I feel really good there.
Still on the subject of America, in White Girl Wasted you mention Miley Cyrus. Is this a musical reference of yours?
Of course: Miley Cyrus, but also Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga. I grew up listening to all these pop stars.
The imagery of the video clip is very Y2K, a time when you were two or three years old at most.
Let's say I experienced it as a newborn… All fashions tend to come back, whether it's clothing, makeup or hairstyles: trends go around in circles. In ten years, things that are now will be back in fashion, understand? However, I'm doing research and watching lots of concerts from that era to get inspiration. The other day I saw Madonna's 1987 concert in Turin, which was beautiful: «Are you hot? Are you ready?”.
Photo: Jacob Webster (JPW) via Universal
In addition to the musical evolution there is an evolution of the character you present: first there was the Real Baddie, now the Million Dollar Babe has arrived. What's the difference?
Million Dollar Babe is a much more confident girl. Vera Baddie was a little more puppy-like, defenseless. Now I'm going with my chest out: I'm ready, I'm not afraid to dare, to show myself, to experiment with different sounds.
Vera Baddie was a little girl many of your fans could relate to. While Million Dollar Babe is more difficult to identify with, if you don't have the famous million dollars…
It's a very self-laudatory record, self empowering. I simply say what's on my mind, so maybe I'm a little more proud on this record than on others, but let me tell you: everything I have I earned, it wasn't given to me. I know that maybe little girls can't completely see themselves in me, but I would still like to make them dream. I want them to know that one day they might get their revenge: Million Dollar Babe is unattainable, but up to a point.
Is Anna Baddie no more?
No, the Baddie is always there. They're a bit like a matryoshka doll, you just add layers. There was the Real Baddie, now there's Million Dollar Babe, who knows what comes next.
Even the Million Dollar Babe cry: for the first time in this album you talk about love and the suffering of love…
Yes, there is some Baddie nuance, but in this case I would call it Babe nuance: Million Dollar is the strong part, but in the end you're still a Babe, so much so that I didn't call it Million Dollar Woman. Million dollars, wealth, all of it, but the usual problems that afflict all girls still remain: being an MDB doesn't protect you from suffering for love, maybe you just do it in a different way.
On the record you also deal with popularity. In Italy it is rare to have such a large female fan base for a female artist: historically female fan bases are formed around male singers…
I know that many girls look at me and take me as an example and I would like them to do so always thinking that I am not a perfect being, that I can make mistakes, that I am not always smiling, that I have my bad days. I think the reason why many tell me they are my fans is precisely because I show that it can be done. This is the thing I would like to shine through: not that they try to be like me, but that they understand that they can do it too.
Who are your fans?
My fan base is predominantly young: from elementary school to middle school to high school. Sometimes they try to pass it off as a negative aspect, but in my opinion when you have small, fresh fans, and children in general are very pure, you feel a beautiful energy inside. Adults are less fond of me, although I still have many mother fans, and I believe that actual adults become fond of me through the eyes of their children. I'm very happy when I manage to create a point of connection between generations, between young and old: I would like there to be people of all ages at my concert.
This new album seems to be designed to make your fans dance at concerts: did you think about the stage while you were writing the songs?
Yes, I can already imagine everything as I write. Think of the Forum stage, do you remember it? I wanted it to open like a clamshell, like an old portable CD. That specific thing we didn't get to do, but we still created a great display on stage, and it was my idea. For the next live shows I want something interactive, which involves the audience more: the more the numbers grow, the more we risk losing interaction with people, and that's something I don't want to lose. I like speaking on stage, I like that there are organic moments, not all of them planned.
Photo: Jacob Webster (JPW) via Universal
Returning to Baddie, there are those who have spoken of yours as a new type of feminism. Do you recognize yourself in feminism?
I have always saved myself from flaunting feminism everywhere, because in my opinion it must be demonstrated with facts. What I've always tried to prove is that I could make hits on my own, without featuring, write my own lyrics, have good marketing ideas on my own. For me, being a feminist is above all demonstrating it, rather than saying it: I believe I have always been one, even without thinking too much about it. It also has to do with the fact that my mother has always been a very independent woman, she has always managed on her own, and from her I took a lot of strength and desire not to rely on anyone.
In addition to being somewhat feminist, many have called you into question as the voice of a generation, the famous Gen Z often described as anxious, problematic, addicted to smartphones…
People don't need to hear about their problems: they need to take their mind off things and have fun, and that's what I try to bring to my records and concerts. So many fans tell me that my music takes them to another dimension, and that's exactly what I'm aiming for. No one wants to hear about problems they already have, or how my life sucks even though I'm rich: in that case they'll just tell you to go to hell. I always try to bring positivity and good vibes into the songs.
But do you see Gen Z fans as sad and anxious?
I feel very responsible, but I must not let myself get too anxious, because when artists get anxious they risk losing themselves. I make happy music also because I have suffered in life, and music has always cheered me up: in bad moments there was always that song that got me back on my feet. I think that's exactly what people need. I see a scared and shy generation and I would like to unlock it a bit: I don't have this superhuman power, but I can make sure that at least when they come to see me live they spend an hour without thoughts, inside this bubble of positive energy.
May 2026, Mattarella meets Italian artists at the Quirinale for the 145 years of Siae
There are not many Italian Gen Z singers who have been received by President Mattarella and have also “taken” a selfie with him…
It was incredible, I promise, a crazy experience. For me, being called there, recognized as an author and not just as a performer, was very important. If they had told me a few years ago that I would go to the Quirinale, I would have answered: what?
Even in America you had a very important recognition…
Yes, at the Billboard Women in Music Awards I was awarded Woman of the Year. Beyoncé's mother was there applauding: it was an absurd flash.
These are the goals we saw you achieve. What are your personal goals?
I would like to broaden my horizons a bit, start doing something else: I would like to be a presenter of something, that world intrigues me.
