Get to know Latina performer Rosalía
The Spanish songbird has been setting the pop world on fire with her crossover style
GRAMMY NOMINEE She hails from a small town in Spain but made Grammy history this year by becoming the first Spanish-speaking artist to earn a best new artist nomination.
While she didn’t win – Billie Eilish got that honour – she won in another category: best Latin rock, urban or alternative album for her 2018 breakthrough record, El Mal Querer. Host Alicia Keys introduced her as the “Spanish sensation waking up the world” and she gave a rousing performance of Malamente, the album’s lead single.
FLAMENCO FAN She was 13 when she fell in love with flamenco after hearing it blasting from the speakers of her older friends’ cars.
“It was so visceral. I’d never heard anything like it. Nothing was the same for me after that.”
Rosalía (26) completed a degree in flamenco in 2017 at Barcelona’s Catalonia School of Music under José Miguel Vizcaya (or El Chiqui), a Catalan flamenco legend.
She’s faced criticism for exploiting the genre to make money. Rosalía acknowledges that the debate is “complicated”, but says she’s “always [spoken about and given] credit to my references and the artists that have inspired me”.
MUSICAL INFLUENCES Her influences range from Frank Ocean and Talking Heads to Kate Bush, Brazilian guitarist Caetano Veloso and flamenco legend Camarón de la Isla.
“I have so many references – flamenco, classical, Latin, too many. I come in and put it all on the table, with no prejudice.”
Her unique style has caught the attention of singer and producer Pharrell Williams, singer-songwriter James Blake and Colombian singer J Balvin, who’ve featured her on tracks and invited her to perform with them. This led to reviewers labelling her a “complicated genius” and a “rule-defying renegade”.
THOSE NAILS She’s become known for the crazy-long nails she sports in her music videos. She says they make her “feel strong”.
“I see really long nails as a form of extreme, radical femininity.”
‘For me music is about experimentation’