Rosalía’s Flamenco Flair

Not long ago, acclaimed director Pedro Almodóvar turned up in the audience at one of Rosalía Vila Tobella’s shows in Spain. “I was singing this song, ‘La Hija de Juan Simón’ — a very traditional song,” says the singer, 25. “And I remember him crying.” He’s not alone: Rosalía’s savvy blend of flamenco vocals and cutting-edge pop sounds is hitting home, with her excellent second album, El Mal Querer (which translates loosely to Toxic Desire), taking home two of the five Latin Grammys she was nominated for in November — a remarkable feat for a first-time nominee. With songs like “Malamente,” “Di Mi Nombre” and “De Aquí No Sales,”

Rosalía brings a sense of high drama to a Spanish-language pop world that has otherwise stayed close to upbeat, sensual, Caribbean-sourced sounds like reggaeton and dembow. Since breaking through in Spain with her 2017 debut, Los Ángeles, she’s grown increasingly adventurous, collaborating with Colombian star J Balvin on his hit album Vibras; for El Mal Querer, she worked with her

friend Pablo Díaz-Reixa, a.k.a. Canarian psychedelic-pop producer El Guincho. “I respect the flamenco tradition,” says Rosalía. “I love it. It’s a superdifficult music to sing. But I think of any genre as a snow globe: You don’t admire it for its stillness. You have to shake it up and see how

it explodes.” SUZY EXPOSITO

“I think of any genre as a snow globe: You don’t admire it for its stillness. You have to shake it up and see how it explodes.”