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A photo of Spanish pop sensation Rosalía performing live during the launch of her album El Mal Querer in Madrid in November, 2018.
© Aitor Matauco/Red Bull Content Pool
Music
7 things you should know about Rosalía
Catalan pop sensation Rosalía brings her acclaimed, flamenco-powered album El Mal Querer album to Red Bull Music Festival NYC. Here's what you need to know about the Latin Grammy winner.
Written by Rachel Grace Almeida
4 min readPublished on
Rosalía Vila Tobella – better known to discerning pop pickers around the world simply as Rosalía – is the Catalan singer redefining flamenco for the 21st century. By infusing the centuries-old art form with pop, R&B and experimental electronic production, Rosalía is breathing new life into the Spanish tradition.
The Sant Esteve Sesrovires born singer's single Malamente, released in 2018, catapulted her into stardom. The track, produced by longtime collaborator El Guincho, came with a year-defining, YouTube-conquering music video. She followed it up with her critically-acclaimed concept album El Mal Querer.
Drawing inspiration from the anonymous 13th-century Occitan novel Flamenca, Rosalía unpacks the turbulence of a toxic relationship on an album brimming with whip-smart, stylish production, ancestral wails and snappy palmas (handclapping). The drama is inescapable.
Fresh from her attention-grabbing Coachella appearance, Rosalía is touching down for two sold-out nights at Red Bull Music Festival NYC. Here's what you need to know about one of global pop's brightest stars.
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1. She's revamping flamenco for a modern generation

Rosalía was 13 years old the first time she heard flamenco. A song by Camarón de la Isla – a renowned flamenco legend – was blaring out of a car outside her school. That moment ignited her passion for the old art form.
Historically, flamenco is characterised by the way its performers process pain, like grief and heartbreak. Through her melodic vocal inflections, mournful guitar and succinct dance moves, Rosalía has re-energised the classical practice by viewing it through a contemporary lens.
As Madrid-based women’s magazine Telva put it, Rosalía is “the latest great patron of contemporary flamenco”.

2. She's a classically trained performer

Rosalía studied at the Catalonia College of Music in Barcelona, working under widely respected teacher José Miguel Vizcaya, better known in the flamenco world as El Chiqui.
Trained in the traditional style of singing known as cante flamenco, Rosalía has worked on productions for the likes of the Panama International Film Festival, Festival Grec de Barcelona, and even participated as the lead voice of the Año Espriu 2014 at the Palau de la Música.

3. She’s collaborated with some huge stars

In 2018, Rosalía feature on Brillo, the slow-moving track off Colombian star J Balvin’s long-awaited fifth album, Vibras. The pair's collaboration didn’t stop there, though. Just a few weeks ago, the two released reggaeton party pumper Con Altura.
Earlier in 2019, James Blake recruited her for Barefoot In The Park, on which Rosalía lends her haunting vocals to a call-and-response between the two artists. Since then, she’s been in the studio with Pharrell Williams for her next solo project.

4. She recently made her acting debut

Last July, Rosalía announced she had been cast in Spanish film Dolor y Gloria alongside Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas. Translated as “pain and glory”, Pedro Almodóvar's film chronicles the life of a frustrated Spanish film director at a crossroads in his career.
The film was released to critical acclaim in March, 2019, and you can watch Rosalía and Penélope Cruz sing an evocative rendition of Andalusian folk song A Tu Vera in the film's trailer. If your Spanish isn’t up to par, then flick on those subtitles.
A photo of Spanish pop sensation Rosalía performing live during the launch of her album El Mal Querer in Madrid, Spain, on November 31, 2018.
Rosalía takes the spotlight© Aitor Matauco/Red Bull Content Pool

5. Rosalía sings exclusively in Spanish

If you haven’t already noticed, Rosalía sings in Spanish – and Spanish alone. But that hasn’t stopped her connecting with fans all over the world. Following suit from her first album Los Ángeles, her second effort and major label debut El Mal Querer (or "bad loving") was also presented as a concept album.
Trawling through universal themes of jealousy, control, closure and, finally, empowerment, Rosalía proves she doesn’t have to compromise on her native language to realise her daring vision.

6. She’s already a Latin Grammy-winning artist

A few days before her 25th birthday, Rosalía’s sister broke the news to her that she was nominated for a whopping five Latin Grammys by delivering her a balloon with the number five on it. This made her the lead female artist and the second most-nominated artist on the list, behind collaborator and friend J Balvin.
On the night, Rosalía took home two awards for Best Urban Fusion/Performance and Best Alternative Song for Malamente.
Rosalía used her acceptance speech to thank all the women who paved the way for her career to thrive: “I want to thank women like Lauryn HillBjörk, Kate Bush…shout out to all the women in the industry that have taught me that I could do this, because thanks to them I am here."
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7. She’s an accomplished producer and musician

Rosalía writes, produces and plays piano and guitar. Despite working with producers Antón Álvarez and Pablo Díaz-Reixa, otherwise known as El Guincho, co-producer of El Mal Querer, Rosalía revels in her own creative autonomy.
In an interview with Jezebel last year, Rosalía explained: “I have the luck to be able to collaborate with great people… But I’m responsible for my work and my sound. It’s important to me that people know that women can lead their own projects.”
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