[3] On March 30, 2021, Anitta began teasing the release of the song on her Instagram by posting black and white photos of the city of Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as trivial contents regarding recordings of the song "The Girl from Ipanema",[4] a bossa nova classic composed by Vinícius de Moraes and Tom Jobim in the voices of Astrud Gilberto, Frank Sinatra, Amy Winehouse, and Ella Fitzgerald, and photos of anonymous Carioca women and famous figures, such as actresses Taís Araújo, Carolina Dieckmann and Fernanda Montenegro; by singer Fernanda Abreu; models Roberta Close and Helô Pinheiro (who inspired the music of Moraes and Jobim); of the twin athletes Bia and Branca Feres; and the late political and activist Marielle Franco.

And then we decided, while 'Garota de Ipanema' talks about a very fancy and chic (neighborhood) in) Rio, we would bring the other version of my country and my city, which is the hoot, the streets, is the place I come from."

[8] Despite singing in English on the song, Anitta considers "Girl from Rio" one of her most personal works as she aimed at bringing together as much of Brazilian culture and her own life experiences as possible.

[8] While at a studio recording the song, Anitta received a text message containing a link to a story on a Brazilian newspaper in which it had been published there were rumors that she had a half-brother.

[8] This led producers Stargate to suggest Anitta to include a verse on the song commenting about her newly discovered half-brother.