El Mal Querer Tour

**El Mal Querer Tour** was the second concert tour by Spanish singer Rosalía, in support of her second studio album *El Mal Querer* (2018). The tour began on March 29, 2019 in Buenos Aires at the Hipódromo de San Isidro, as part of the 2019 Lollapalooza Argentina music festival. The tour mostly visited music festivals. The tour ended at the WiZink Center in Madrid on December 10, 2019 after 43 shows.

## Background

### No. of shows

4 in Latin America16 in North America22 in Europe1 in Africa43 in total

Even though Rosalía's professional music debut was made in late 2016, her international success came in mid-2018 after she released her platinum-certified single "Malamente" in May 2018 through Sony Music. The single became an instant smash and caught the eyes of the media and critics, who praised the Barcelona-born new flamenco singer for her "soft liquid velvet voice". British newspaper *The Guardian* even called her "the most exciting thing that is going to happen to music this 2018". Her second studio album, *El Mal Querer*, was released in November 2018. The singer performed at Los40 Music Awards as well as the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards, which expanded her popularity outside of Spain.

In November 2018, after a lot of expectations about the singer's musical future, Lollapalooza announced that the festival would feature Rosalia's participation at the Argentine and Chilean editions, in March 2019. A couple weeks after the singer's Latin Grammy Award performance, she announced that she would be performing in more music festivals through 2019 such as the Ceremonia Festival in Mexico, the American alternative music festival Something in the Water and even Coachella in spring.

As of performances in Spain, Rosalía brought her world tour to her hometown, Barcelona, on the first of June as a headliner of the Primavera Sound 2019 edition. She also performed in Bilbao (as part of the BBK Live festival), Córdoba, Santiago de Compostela and Lleida. This European leg also included performances in Portugal, Poland, France, The Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom, among others.

On March 19, 2019, the singer announced her first solo North American tour dates, set to begin in April. The solo leg includes concerts in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and New York City. On March 22, 2019, tickets for these shows were opened to the general public. Due to popular demand, a second show was added in New York City for April 29, 2019. On March 20, it was announced that Rosalía would be performing at Lollapalooza Chicago on August 1. On April 16, 2019, the singer announced that the North American leg solo concerts would be opened by American musician serpentwithfeet.

On September 16, 2019, the singer announced two arena encore shows. Those tickets were available on Ticketmaster from September 20. The concerts were held on December 7 at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona and on December 10 in Madrid. A theatre concert in London and another one in Paris were announced the same day. On November 21 the singer announced that the opening act for this concerts will be Antonio Moreno "Polito". On November 26 it was announced that the Megaland Music Festival (which was set to take place in Bogotá, Colombia on November 30) was postponed due to the ongoing Latin American Spring civil protest movement.

## Critical reception

The tour received positive reviews by critics. Christopher Weingarten wrote this for *Stereogum* after the tour's stop in Los Angeles in April 2019: Rosalía focus on her wildly untraditional take on a centuries-old form, she’s much more than a star of “new flamenco.” She’s an Jodorowsky-evoking avant-gardist, an ambassador for mutant techno, an R&B hook-crooner and quite possibly a pop star in the making. (...) Part pop show, part interpretive dance performance, part folk tradition showcase, part folk tradition detonator, part avant-techno show where she plays producer El Guincho’s sampler; Rosalía’s tour bravely charts what may be America’s next musical step. On December 4, 2019, *Billboard* named Rosalía's Webster Hall shows in New York City the second-best concert of 2019 in the United States. Tatiana Cirisano wrote: "Thankfully for all, the hype was --and is-- real. Rosalía electrified the venue with her presence, conjuring up a new mini world onstage with each song".

As for the European festival tour leg, Spanish newspaper *ABC* said that Rosalía's Primavera Sound show in Barcelona "was a triumphal comeback home that has made history by reuniting over 63,000 people The scenic design, with a minimalist and sober play of lights and a central cube from which the singer and six dancers responded with gymnastic movements to the dialogue of electronic bases and flamenco palms, only reinforced the impact of an exciting hand in hand between tradition and modernity, between deep respect for its formation".

When Rosalía performed a sold-out solo concert at London's Somerset House, *NME* gave the show five out of five stars and said: "In 2019, Rosalía is everything you could want from a pop star. She’s professional and dedicated to her craft. Her setlist is tight and she warrants the deep cuts. The dance routines are flawless, and she’s by turns humble and terrifying: being able to flit between those two is important. [...] It’s a military-tight operation, but not a vapid one: the nature of Rosalía’s music demands that the artist herself takes it seriously so the desired effect takes hold…If Ariana Grande is pop’s vocal acrobat, Rosalía is its contortionist: she reaches the corners others can’t". About the solo stop at Brixton Academy, Lee Wakefield wrote for *Clash* that "what is witnessed in Brixton is not the achievement of an artist simply climbing the ranks. Fiercely unique and blisteringly confident, bolstered by an arsenal of infectious tunes that chop flamenco flourishes with more traditional pop elements, she delivers a live show worthy of the most prestigious of stages", resuming the show as a "courageous statement".

The solo tour stops were attended by many celebrities and public personalities such as Naomi Campbell, Jon Kortajarena, Kylie Jenner, Billie Eilish, Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro, Nathy Peluso, Gigi Hadid, Dua Lipa, Caetano Veloso, Riccardo Tisci, Pere Aragonès, Ada Colau and Belén Esteban, among others.