Rosalía

Rosalía Vila Tobella, known professionally as Rosalía, was born on 25 September 1992 in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, near Barcelona, Spain. She studied flamenco for years, including training at the Catalonia College of Music, where her final project developed into her 2017 debut album, Los Ángeles. Produced with guitarist Raül Refree, the record paired her voice with spare guitar arrangements and reworked traditional flamenco material, including “Catalina” and “De Plata.”

Her breakthrough arrived with El Mal Querer (2018), a concept album inspired by the 13th-century Occitan novel Flamenca. Each track represents a chapter in a story of a young woman’s relationship becoming controlling and violent. Rather than presenting flamenco as a museum piece, Rosalía and co-producer El Guincho combined palmas, vocal inflections, orchestral touches, electronic production, trap and pop. The album’s visual universe was equally central: “Malamente,” directed by Canada, used symbols such as trucks, bullfighting imagery and religious iconography. El Mal Querer won the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year and made Rosalía the first Spanish-language female artist nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards.

In 2019, “Con Altura,” her collaboration with J Balvin featuring El Guincho, became a major global hit. That year she also released “Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi” with Ozuna and “A Palé,” while appearing with Lil Nas X on “Rodeo.” Her 2020 single “TKN,” with Travis Scott, blended Spanish and English and was accompanied by a video set in a tough, child-led urban world.

Motomami, released in 2022, expanded her approach further. Built around a contrast between “moto,” representing speed, toughness and experimentation, and “mami,” representing intimacy and vulnerability, it includes “Saoko,” “Chicken Teriyaki,” “Hentai,” “La Fama” with the Weeknd, and “Despechá.” The album drew on reggaeton, bachata, dembow, avant-pop, piano balladry and deconstructed electronic sounds. It won Album of the Year at the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards and Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

Rosalía has also worked beyond her own albums. She contributed “Me Traicionaste” to the 2019 Game of Thrones companion album For the Throne, collaborated with Billie Eilish on “Lo Vas a Olvidar” for the HBO series Euphoria, and recorded “Beso” and “Vampiros” with Rauw Alejandro on their 2023 joint EP RR. Her performances, videos, styling and vocal choices have made her a debated figure in contemporary Spanish-language pop, particularly because of her engagement with flamenco traditions while crossing international genres.