Billboard and Samsung Galaxy Announce Anitta as Next Billboard NXT Celebrity Mentor

Greg Lotus*

Brazilian pop superstar Anitta is the latest celebrity mentor to join Billboard NXT, a first-of-its-kind singing competition from Billboard and Samsung Galaxy, which kicked off September 28th on TikTok.

The “Me Gusta” singer will join Charli XCX as a celebrity mentor who will be paired with one of three finalists before the Grand Finale performance to help prepare for the big night. The third celebrity mentor will be announced in just a few days.

The winner of Billboard NXT will be determined at the end of the Grand Finale event, and the winner will receive a life-changing grand prize — a Billboard cover, a music video, studio time to record a first single and tickets to the Billboard Music Awards.

To participate, artists across the country created their best 60-second cover of the new song “Out Out,” by Joel Corry & Jax Jones featuring Charli XCX and Saweetie, and posted to TikTok with the hashtag #BillboardNXT.

Billboard will select 12 contestants from the hashtag challenge participants to go on to compete in a series of challenges. Over the course of several weeks, the contestants will sing their hearts out in music challenges that test artistry, creativity, and live performance skills. All challenge videos will be captured on the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, a phone designed for capturing moments, expressing yourself and socializing.

The contestants will be ranked weekly on a custom Billboard chart that will be updated after the challenges. The top 3 performing contestants will become finalists and go on to perform at the competitions Grand Finale, a livestreamed performance event on Billboard.com.