Flamenco. This is the word that has been most associated with singer Rosalia since the beginning of her career. Indeed, this artist from the suburbs of Barcelona, now 29 years old, dreamed when she started out to become a flamenco singer. In 2018, when she released the song Badly, which revolutionizes the genre by merging it with trap and pop, the world believes it has found its new flamenco icon.
But, four years later, Rosalia is no longer confined to the genre that made her famous. On March 18, the artist released his third album, Motomami, acclaimed by critics and the public. This project embodies the duality of his career: being able to make world hits while offering songs on the borderline of the experimental.
How did this artist, trained in a flamenco school, finally manage to find a place for herself on the podium of world pop? What does his success tell us about the Hispanic shift that the music industry has taken in recent years? Why is she accused of appropriating cultures, gypsy and Latino, in her music?
Aureliano Tonet, journalist in the Culture department of the Monde, met the singer for the release of her latest album. In this episode of the “L’Heure du Monde” podcast, he retraces the artist’s journey.
An episode produced by Esther Michon, directed by Alexandre Ferreira and presented by Jean-Guillaume Santi.
“The Hour of the World”
“L’Heure du Monde” is the daily news podcast of the Monde. Listen every day, from 6 a.m., to a new episode, on Lemonde.fr or on Spotify. Find all the episodes here.
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To learn more about Rosalia:
- Find the portrait of Rosalia by Aureliano Tonet. The singer Rosalia, hybrid racing car of world pop
- Portrait. Rosalia, Catalan queen of flamenco pop
- Blog post. “Despacito”, anatomy of a success
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