Jão and Anitta's 'Pilantra' restages 1960s TV auditorium shows for R$1 million

The song — about irresistible love as a game of seduction, with a sticky chorus — needed a cinematic visual that could carry twists and reviravoltas like a show from TV's golden era.

Directed by Jão's longtime partner Pedro Tofani with a look the singer described as 'meio Tarantino, anos 60 e 70', regulated by the aesthetic of era TV programs. The set employed more than 200 professionals and cost about R$1 million — the most expensive video of Jão's career. Song and video were both recorded back in 2022 and released in March 2023, with a making-of shared on Spotify Brasil's YouTube channel.

Pilantra entered straight into the Top 5 most-heard songs on Spotify Brasil; the scene of Jão and Anitta's kiss during recordings reverberated across social networks, and the pair's choreography drew 'millions' of views.

Jão's 'Pilantra', featuring Anitta, was his first single after the success of his 2021 album PIRATA and his first-ever collaboration, on a song about an irresistible love built as a game of seduction. The clip, directed by Pedro Tofani, took its inspiration from the classic Brazilian auditorium TV programs of the 1960s, with a vintage aesthetic portraying the turbulent love story of two pop stars.

The production was enormous for a pop clip: more than 200 professionals on set and a cost of about R$1 million, the most expensive of Jão's career. The look, Jão said in an exclusive POPline interview, sought 'something half Tarantino, the 60s and 70s', calibrated against the aesthetics of era television programs — complete with choreography and a sharply rehearsed ballet.

Released in March 2023, the track entered directly into Spotify Brasil's Top 5. The making-of, posted on Spotify Brasil's YouTube channel, showed the pair rehearsing, finishing choreography and guessing which moments fans would love most; the on-set kiss between Jão and Anitta became the clip's most-shared moment on social networks.

The auditorium-show format is Brazilian pop's shared memory, so pairing the country's biggest pop star with its pained-romantic crooner inside it reads as both homage and stunt.

A R$1 million, 200-person production signals that a collab single is an event, not a playlist filler — and press coverage followed the budget.

Planting a kiss scene built for social clipping gave the release its own viral distribution beyond the music platforms.

A first collaboration is a casting announcement: putting two pop eras in one vintage TV studio turns a featured-verse single into an event.

As of March 2023, Pilantra sat in Spotify Brasil's Top 5 with the making-of live on Spotify Brasil's YouTube; the song and video had both been recorded in 2022 ahead of release.