Spanish singer Rosalía has taken the world by storm with her unique sound — infusing
traditional flamenco music with modern influences. And considering her massive popularity, it's
safe to say she isn't going anywhere, but up. Here's a closer look at the untold truth
of Rosalía.
Rosalía displayed a powerful voice even as a young girl, growing up in Spain. She revealed
to Entertainment Weekly in 2019,
"I'd sing the things that I heard on TV or the radio [as a child]. I didn't know why,
I just did it."
When she was just 15, she auditioned for a Spanish TV talent competition, but an acoustic
performance left the judges underwhelmed. According to The New York Times, she was ultimately
sent packing after a disastrous subsequent performance that one judge criticized as being,
quote, "regularly off-key."
Soon, Rosalía shifted her focus from chasing stardom to honing her craft and pursuing musical
excellence.
"This music changed my life and changed my perspective because I never heard something
so pure."
Rosalía discovered flamenco music as a child — in her hometown, near Barcelona. According
to The New York Times, her obsession with the art form led her to take dance classes
at age 13, while her vocal abilities continued to grow. When she was 16, she was accepted
to the Catalonia College of Music, which admits just one student to study flamenco each year.
She later told Billboard,
"It is difficult to get in, but it made me force myself to work harder."
At age 20, Rosalía was still studying at the College while struggling to break through
as a professional singer. To earn some extra cash, she advertised her services as a vocal
coach, with an hour-long singing lesson costing a student roughly $22.
"Flamenco hands, you try to like, very like this, you know? Very slowly move. In flamenco
it's very typical and I love it."
Rosalía graduated when she was 24, taking with her a bachelor's degree in flamenco vocal
performance. Her instructor told El Pais ,
"The classes I had with her were a pleasure. She wasn't hard work at all — she went the
extra mile. Every week, she came to me with songs that were perfect."
In 2016, Rosalía collaborated with Madrid-based rapper C. Tangana on the track "Antes de Morirme
." The two were dating while recording the song and filming the video, with a chemistry
that was totally flowing.
The couple ultimately weren't meant to be, but they maintained their professional relationship.
According to Billboard, Tangana is credited with writing lyrics for eight songs featured
on Rosalía's sophomore album, El Mal Querer . But in a 2018 Billboard profile on Tangana,
the singer revealed that he and Rosalía had split after being together for two years.
Still, the former lovebirds' collab single was a hit — even though it took a few years
for it to really catch fire with fans. In fact, it only became popular when it landed
on the soundtrack for the third season of the Spanish teen drama Elite , on Netflix
in March 2020.
In the span of just a few years, Rosalía teamed up with some of the music industry's
biggest stars to crank out the hits. In May 2020, the songstress notably linked up with
rapper Travis Scott to release a joint single called "TKN," which debuted at Number 66 on
the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In fact, the track marked Rosalía's first entry on the
coveted chart.
Prior to that, she worked with Scott on a remix for "Highest in the Room", featuring
rapper Lil Baby. Other collaborations have included "Con Altura " with J Balvin , "Yo
x Ti, Tu x Mi" with Ozuna, and "Barefoot in the Park" with James Blake.In April 2020,
Rosalía teased a long-in-the-works collaboration with Billie Eilish , leaving fans waiting
in excited anticipation.
"I actually love the song. It's half in Spanish, for both of us, half in English, um, yeah,
it's so beautiful."
And in a 2019 Billboard interview, the singer revealed she'd been working on her third studio
album with famed producer and artist, Pharrell Williams. Obviously, this talented songstress
has no plans of slowing down anytime soon!
When Rosalía first made a splash in the U.S. market, she earned one of TV's most popular
reality TV stars as an early booster. As Elle Spain reported, Keeping Up with the Kardashians
star Kourtney Kardashian played the singer's track "Malamente" as background music in some
of her posts on Instagram Stories.
But Kourtney isn't the only member of the Kardashians to embrace Rosalía. In 2019,
Kourtney's little sis, Kylie Jenner, shared a photo on Instagram of herself and the singer.
Of their friendship, Rosalía later told Entertainment Tonight,
"She's a very good friend of mine. I love her a lot, she knows it. […] We have fun
a lot together."
But the Kardashian-Jenner siblings haven't been the only celebrities to happily partake
in Rosalia's onslaught of talent. According to the Daily Mail, actress and model Emily
Ratajkowski shared a video of herself on social media blasting Rosalia's "Con Altura" in her
car. One thing's for sure: Rosalía has fans — and friends — in high places.
Much like the other celebrities on her list, it seems Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar
is a big Rosalía fan. In fact, in 2018, it was revealed that the songstress would be
making her acting debut in the director's film Pain and Glory.
Rosalía shared her thoughts about the opportunity in an Instagram post, claiming that she'd
watched the director's movies with her mom, as a kid. While admitting that she has currently
been focused on performing, the singer added,
"I can truthfully say that I dreamed about doing something like this since I was a little
girl."
"Penelope was asking me to rehearse together to sing…They were asking, 'Come on, come
on, show us how you do it.'"
In a 2018 interview with Paper, Rosalía further spoke about working with Almodóvar, explaining,
"You can't even imagine […] he's my very favorite artist in Spain. He connected to
my music and I connect to his movies, so it was very natural and organic to work together."
Rosalía's collaboration with J Balvin, "Con Altura", dropped in March 2019 — and quickly
went on to become a massive hit. In fact, Fader declared the track to be nothing less
than, quote, "the song of the damn summer."
The artists spoke with The New York Times about what went into creating the song. And
according to Rosalía, she wanted to record a track with a quote, "reggaeton vibe, like
Daddy Yankee," and it turned out, that's just what she got.
"This melody was sick, I was just like, ok, ok, let's do something with this."
Rosalía immediately began thinking about which artist she envisioned appearing on the
track, and quickly invited J Balvin to join her for the collaboration. She sent him the
recording via WhatsApp, and by his account, he was shocked at what he heard. Balvin told
the outlet,
"It wasn't that I wasn't expecting something good from her, but I wasn't expecting it was
a straight-up pure reggaeton. I was like, 'Wow, this is fire, let's do it.'"
While Rosalía's star is clearly on the rise in the U.S., she's been hit with some backlash
in her home country over accusations of cultural appropriation. Her success, unfortunately,
has proven to be a double-edged sword in her native Spain — due to controversy stemming
from the cultural origins of the flamenco music that she's been revolutionizing for
modern audiences.
"Flamenco has everything. There's tragedy, there's spirituality, there's celebration,
there's love and heartbreak."
According to the encyclopedia definition of the genre, flamenco was born in southern Spain,
as the traditional music of the Romani. Given that Rosalía isn't from the area and doesn't
share the heritage, this has become a bone of contention for some. According to The World,
Rosalía has been accused of adopting the accent and traditional clothing of the originators
of the art form. Per a statement given to the outlet by a diversity organization,
"If you stick feminist slogans in your songs but then contribute to the oppression of other
women through your actions and capitalist practices, that’s not being a feminist,
that’s being a [poser]."
But Rosalia's legions of fans seem to think otherwise. Of their initial partnership, her
manager told Billboard in 2020,
"It was very exciting to work with a woman who had such a clear idea of what her identity
was, even though it was something so different than anything that was out there."
In 2019, Rosalía opened up to MTV International about the specific artists who have influenced
her music the most. According to her, she has three primary musical inspirations and
influences: Spanish flamenco legend Camarón , British singer-songwriter James Blake, and
iconic flamenco singer La Niña de los Peines . Rosalía revealed that she first heard Camarón
when she was 13, admitting,
"[I] discovered a vast universe within this musical style."
But she had a different reaction when she first heard La Niña, at age 16. Explaining
that at first she was not a fan at all, she admitted that she later developed an ear for
the music, adding,
"I began to appreciate her melodies. I realized she was unique. She taught me many of the
songs I know."
Rosalía began listening to James Blake as a university student, explaining that his
music, quote, "left a mark" on her.
Rosalía is not only responsible for creating singularly unique flamenco-inspired pop hits,
she also boasts a personal style that is equally distinctive. In an interview with Billboard,
the singer opened up about her biggest fashion influences — and when asked who her style
icon was, the songstress had an immediate answer, sharing,
"My style icon, Lola Flores . She was amazing back in the day. Her attitude, everything,
I love her."
The singer also said her signature style and aesthetic had been influenced by flamenco
dancer Carmen Amaya . She explained,
"I loved her. She used to wear masculine clothes in a moment when no other woman was dancing
in masculine clothes."
Speaking of admiring masculine aesthetics, Rosalía also cited Spanish flamenco singer
Camarón for his, quote, "rings [and] his tattoos."
Rosalía had quite the night at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020. The star delivered
a buzzworthy performance during the ceremony and even won her first-ever Grammy for Best
Latin Rock or Alternative Album. She was also nominated for the coveted Best New Artist
award, but ultimately lost out to Billie Eilish.
"I hope, honestly, I hope that she wins because she deserves it so much. I love her and she
knows it."
Understandably feeling the celebratory mood after winning her first Grammy, Rosalía joined
fellow artists Lizzo, Dua Lipa , and Lil Nas X to party at a Los Angeles strip club. But
when video of their hijinks wound up on social media, they were hit with backlash. According
to Refinery29, their strip club visit led to a fierce debate on social media, with some
feeling they were participating in the exploitation of women, while others thought they were just
having fun.
Dua Lipa later defended the incident in an interview with The Guardian, insisting she
and her fellow artists had nothing to apologize for.
Rosalía's A-list fan club just keeps growing. According to one Spanish radio station's interview
with Madonna, the "Material Girl" was apparently so enamored with Rosalía that she tried to
book her to perform at her birthday party. Madge recalled,
"I adore Rosalía. She is incredible, really, because she is unique."
"I just saw her singing with a guitarist and I thought she was such an amazing — I love
flamenco. And I was really moved by her."
When she first discussed the birthday party idea with Rosalía, Madonna thought it appeared
to be in the bag. But, as she explained, the whole thing soon unraveled and became a giant,
complicated mess. Madonna told the outlet,
"A manager appeared, then an agent […] and then there were already five people in the
middle who wanted to collect an extraordinary amount of money. Then they told me that Rosalía's
team would be made up of 36 people and I kept thinking: 'What?'"
While there's no doubt Madonna had the cash to book Rosalía, she ultimately decided to
celebrate flamenco-free. Maybe next time, Madge!
Rosalía broke into the North American market with her second studio album, 2018's El Mal
Querer – which has some pretty interesting origins.
Speaking with Rolling Stone in November 2018, Rosalía revealed that the concept album — which
can be loosely translated to Bad Love, in English — was actually inspired by her university
graduate thesis. Her paper delved into the 13th-century Spanish novel Flamenca , in which
a jealous husband keeps his young wife imprisoned in a tower. In an interview with The Daze,
Rosalía said,
"[El Mal Querer] is, in fact, my senior thesis, which took me two years to write. […] The
album features songs I wrote taking flamenco as an inspirational starting point."
With the album, she explained that she had hoped to bridge the gap between electronic
sound and what she called, "roots music." With her seemingly limitless creativity and
deep-rooted musical inspiration, we can't wait to see what this talented artist does
next!
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