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The Sims is easily the most popular life simulation game, with vivid worlds, characters and builds. You can raise a family, run for office or even own a restaurant within the latest Sims 4. And, with the constant release of new expansion packs (most recently the High School Years pack) the game continues to dazzle and keep gamers entertained.
Buy Sims 4 PS4 $14.99
One of the most peculiar parts of The Sims is the exclusive in-game language spoken by characters, Simlish — even the songs that play on the radio are in Simlish! Arists that have recorded their songs in Simlish include Katy Perry, My Chemical Romance and even Tori Kelly.
Now, the game has enlisted even more artists to join its Simlish song roster, with its most recent collaboration being with Brazilian Superstar, Anitta. Anitta will be debuting her chart-topping song, ‘Practice’ in Simlish, and fans can get an exclusive look at Anitta’s creative process in a new episodic series called ‘Sims Sessions.’
Sims Sessions will give fans a backstage view into how artists record songs in Simlish, and what it takes to convert songs into the made-up language. Anitta will be the first musical artist to star in the series, and you can watch the first episode now on YouTube.com.
Rolling Stone sat down with Anitta to learn more about her collaboration with The Sims and what’s next for the artist as the year closes out.
Talk to me about your Sims collab! What made you want to create a song in Simlish?
I loved collaborating withThe Sims! my whole career has been about making music that connects with people in different languages, and this was a new way for me to be able to do that!
Why ‘Practice’? Why was this the song chosen to be featured in The Sims?
‘Practice’has such a fun energetic beat, I thought people would have fun listening to it even if they don’t understand the words in Simlish!
Was it difficult converting the song to Simlish? What had to change?
It wasn’t difficult, it was fun! Simlish doesn’t have literal translations for every word, so it was a fun exercise in creativity.
Can you tell me a little bit about your creative process with ‘Practice’ and what it was like collaborating with A$AP Ferg?
A$AP Ferg is a huge talent and was so fun to collaborate with. Working with him didn’t feel like work because it was so easy to go back-and-forth with him. We had a lot of fun making the song and I hope that comes through when people listen to it.
I know you love The Sims too! How long have you been playing and do you have a favorite expansion pack from Sims 4?
I love the Cats & Dogs expansion pack because I love animals! I have dogs myself so of course, my sims should too.
Buy Sims 4 Cats & Dogs $39.99
What’s your favorite part about The Sims?
I love picking out different outfits for the sims to wear! Inthe Sims 4you can customize any makeup style, body shape or fashion you want so there is a lot to spark inspiration for my real-life outfits and costumes. And I love for my sims to dance and have parties!
Was learning Simlish difficult? Now that you’ve recorded the song, do you think you can now speak a little Simlish in your daily life?
I definitely picked up a few words, who knows maybe I will record my next album in Simlish!
How does The Sims inspire you? If you could add one new feature to the game, what would it be?
The Sims inspires me to be creative! There are so many new features and ways to be creative in the Sims 4 I can’t think of what else there is to add!
What’s next for you? I know you’ve still got a busy few months left, is there anything you’re particularly excited about?
There is a lot I am excited about but everyone will have to wait and see what we have coming up!
