Rosalía (singer)
Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía ( or ), is a Spanish singer and songwriter. After discovering Spanish folk music at an early age, Rosalía attended Taller de Músics and graduated from the Catalonia College of Music with honors by virtue of her collaborative cover album with Raül Refree, "Los Ángeles" (2017), and the baccalaureate project "El Mal Querer" (2018), which is co-produced by El Guincho and mixes modern interpretations of flamenco with pop and urban music. Spawning singles like "Malamente", the album caught the attention of the Spanish general public, and was released  to universal critical acclaim. Recipient of the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year and listed in "Rolling Stone"s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, "El Mal Querer" started the ascent of Rosalía into the international music scene. Her first international hit single was her 2019 collaboration with J Balvin, "Con Altura", a reggaeton track that marked Rosalía's journey to urbano music. Selling over seven million copies, it was named one of the best songs of the year by "Billboard" and "Pitchfork," Best Urban Song by the Latin Recording Academy, and spawned her signature lyric and nickname "La  Rosalía". She later collaborated with other musicians such as Bad Bunny, Ozuna, Arca and Travis Scott, achieving multiple accolades and breaking many records. Her third studio album, "Motomami", was released in March 2022. Throughout her career, Rosalía has accumulated nine number-one singles in her home country. She has also won a Grammy Award, eight Latin Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, an MTV Europe Music Award, two UK Music Video Awards and two Premio Ruido awards, among others. In 2019, "Billboard" gave her the Rising Star Award for "changing the sound of today's mainstream music with her  fresh flamenco-influenced pop", and she became the first Spanish-singing act in history to be nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys. Life and career. 1992–2016: Early life and career beginnings. Rosalía was born on 25 September 1992 at the in Sant Cugat del Vallès, and was raised in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, a small town in Catalonia. She is the youngest daughter of Pilar Tobella, a businesswoman who has been running the family company for decades. Her father, José Manuel Vila, was born in Cudillero, Asturias. They separated in 2019. She has an older sister, Pilar "Pili" Vila , who works with Rosalía as her stylist. Rosalía expressed interest in the performing arts at an early age especially after discovering the discography of Camarón de la Isla. She began her professional musical education at the age of 16 at the . She did a six-year course at the academy. She began attending class at the Raval school but, due to her high grades and multiple recommendations, she transferred to the Superior School of Music of Catalonia in order to finish her studies. She also autonomously worked as an independent singer in weddings and musical bars, for which she was  paid "a little over 80 euros or exchanging the work for dinner". During that time, Rosalía met many underground Spanish artists who would later succeed such as La Zowi, Yung Beef, Kaydy Cain, Hinds and María Escarmiento. At 15, she competed on the television show "Tú Sí Que Vales", although she wasn't selected. In 2012 she became the vocalist of Kejaleo, a flamenco music group featuring Jordi Franco, Roger Blavia, Cristo Fontecilla, Diego Cortés and Xavi Turull. They released an album, "Alaire", in 2013. That same year, Rosalía professionally worked as a duo with Juan "Chicuelo" Gómez to promote  the "Blancanieves" soundtrack at the 2013 Panama International Film Festival in substitution of Sílvia Pérez Cruz and at the Festival Grec de Barcelona for the contemporary dance work "De Carmen". In 2013, she participated in the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) Conference in New York, and was the lead voice in the culmination of the Any Espriu 2014 at the Palau de la Música. In 2015 she collaborated with La Fura dels Baus on a show that premiered in Singapore. She was the opening act for flamenco artist Miguel Poveda, accompanied by Alfredo Lagos, at the International Music Festival  of Cadaqués, and also at the 2016 Jerez Jazz Festival. She worked with Rocío Márquez on the presentation of her album "El Niño", produced by Raül Refree, at Primavera Sound 2015. In 2015, she also worked with clothing brand Desigual and sang the single for their campaign jingle "Last Night Was Eternal". That same year, she released "Un Millón de Veces". The song was part of the benefit album "Tres Guitarras Para el Autismo". All proceeds benefited studies on autism. At 20, she worked as a flamenco teacher and vocal coach. In 2016, she collaborated with Spanish rapper and former  boyfriend C. Tangana on "Antes de Morirme". The song was a sleeper hit and entered the Spanish Singles Chart in 2018, after the success of Rosalía's other work. The collaboration received international attention when it was featured on the soundtrack of the first season of Spanish Netflix show "Élite" (2018). 2016–2017: "Los Ángeles". In 2016, Rosalía performed to a crowd of a hundred people at the Tablao del Carmen, a flamenco specialized venue at the Poble Espanyol, in Barcelona. In the audience was Raül Refree, whom she invited to the show. They began working on two albums together. Rosalía  signed with Universal Music later in 2016, and she relocated to California. She went on to only release "Los Ángeles". The album talks about death in a dark way with aggressive guitar chords by Refree. It presents reworks of flamenco classics receiving several accolades. She was nominated for Best New Artist at the 18th Latin Grammy Awards. The album was released on 10 February 2017 through Universal Music and spawned two singles, "Catalina", released in October 2016, and "De Plata", released in August 2017. The album was very well received by critics. Jordi Bardají wrote on 1 November 2018 that  the record was "one of the greatest 'sleepers' that Spanish sales lists have known in recent times." "Los Ángeles" reached its peak position of number nine on 11 November 2018 and has remained in the albums chart since its entry, having accumulated a total of 89 weeks. Los Ángeles won the "Album of the Year" award at the Time Out Awards and the Ruido de la Prensa Award for Best National Record, among others. In 2017, RTVE contacted Rosalía to participate in the pre-selection to represent Spain in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, which she politely declined because of  scheduling conflicts with the promotion of her debut record. Rosalía and Raül Refree embarked on a concert tour, Los Ángeles Tour, supporting their first studio album together. The tour began on 11 February 2017 in Granada and ended on 1 March 2018 at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona. During the tour, in 2018, Spanish singer Bebe attended one of their concerts alongside Juanes, who became immediately obsessed with Rosalía and asked his manager Rebeca León to work with her. She agreed to manage her as she felt like she was a "once in fifty years kind of artist . 2018–2020: El Mal Querer" and international recognition. The recording cycle for Rosalía's second studio album, "El Mal Querer", began in early 2017 as her baccalaureate project, graduating from the Catalonia College of Music. She personally chose to work alongside Spanish musician El Guincho and spawned its concept alongside friend Ferran Echegaray, who bet on the "Romance of Flamenca" to follow the album's storyline. Thus, every song on the album would be a chapter of the story narrated in the anonymous Occitan novel. Despite having no budget to produce the record as she was an independent artist working on  a university project, Rosalía invested a lot of her own money, to the point of almost going bankrupt. However, she continued working on it, stating that "my goal was to find a way to explain this tradition that I'm obsessed with in the most personal way without fear and with risk. Before releasing the album I was in debt and had no guarantees that this would work but I had the hope that, since I was making it from my heart, whether it was a few or many, that those people that liked it, would like it for real . The album was almost completely recorded at El Guincho's apartment in Barcelona with a computer, a microphone and a sound table. It would mix traditional flamenco with today's pop and urban music. In May 2018, the singer announced the title of her upcoming album in a little homemade YouTube series. J Balvin parallelly released his fifth studio album, Vibras", which featured Rosalía on the track "Brillo". Later that month, Rosalía released the album's lead single "Malamente". The single caught the attention of international personalities such as Kourtney Kardashian and Dua Lipa and numerous music critics. In August , Rosalía was booked to perform at Madonna's 60th birthday bash but cancelled the gig after many logistic conflicts. "Malamente" was promoted at several award shows like the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards as well as the Latin Grammys. Its music video, directed by Canada, went viral on the Internet and was named Video of the Year by "Pitchfork". The song was nominated for five Latin Grammys, out of it won two, for Best Alternative Song and for Best Urban Fusion/Performance. "Malamente" is certified five times platinum in Spain for selling over 200,000 copies and is also platinum in  the US. The following single, "Pienso en tu Mirá", was released on in July through Sony Music. Its music video also went viral on social media, with praise for its aesthetics and poetic symbolism. Many Spanish portals were already talking about this as the "Rosalía phenomenon" or "hurricane Rosalía". The song was nominated for Best Pop Song at the 2019 Latin Grammy awards. The third single, "Di Mi Nombre", released three days prior to the album, earned Rosalía her first number-one single in Spain. "El Mal Querer" was released on 2 November 2018 and debuted at number two on  the PROMUSICAE chart. It is presented as experimental and conceptual, revolving around a toxic heterosexual relationship, inspired by the anonymous 13th-century Occitan novel "Flamenca". It entered the charts in Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United States, where the album debuted at the top of the US Latin Pop Albums chart. "El Mal Querer" was universally acclaimed by music critics. Writing for "The Guardian", head critic Alexis Petridis highly commended the album, giving it the highest rating and describing it as "the calling card of a unique new talent". "El Mal Querer" was listed in over twenty album  year-end and decade-end lists by publications such as "Pitchfork", "Billboard" and "The Guardian". "Rolling Stone" listed it 315th on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list of 2020, making it the highest Spanish-language album in the list. "El Mal Querer" was later nominated for several awards including four Latin Grammys, a Latin Billboard Music award, a Latin American Music award and a LOS40 Music award. It won the Latin Grammy awards for Album of the Year, Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album and Best Recording Package. Therefore, Rosalía became the first female recipient of  the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year since Shakira in 2006. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album. In 2019 Rosalía took part in the Pedro Almodóvar film "Pain and Glory." This, however, wasn't the first time Rosalía took part in an audiovisual production. In 2018, she sang the theme song for the second season of Spanish hit Netflix show "Paquita Salas" and contributed vocals to the soundtrack of "Arde Madrid". In February 2019, Rosalía performed a revamped cover of Los Chunguitos' "Me Quedo Contigo" alongside the Orfeó Català at  the 33rd Goya Awards, which received universal critical and popular acclaim. She embarked on her first world tour, the El Mal Querer Tour, in support of her second studio album a month later. The tour visited several festivals such as Lollapalooza, Glastonbury and Coachella. More than 63,000 people saw Rosalía live at Primavera Sound, in Barcelona, making it the most-attended concert of the tour. The tour ended in December 2019 at the WiZink Center in Madrid after 43 shows (12 solo dates–three of them in arenas–and 31 in festivals).While on tour, Rosalía issued several songs. On 28  March 2019 she released a second collaboration with Balvin, "Con Altura". Despite initially receiving mixed reviews from critics, "Con Altura" topped the charts in Argentina, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela and Spain. Its music video, directed by Director X, became the most-watched music video by a female artist of 2019. It also spawned her nickname "La Rosalía" and its choreography eventually became viral and a moment in Latin pop culture. "Con Altura" won two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Latin Video and Best Choreography, making her the first Spanish act to win one. It also won Best  Collaboration at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards and Best Urban Song at the 2019 Latin Grammys. The song has sold over seven million copies worldwide so far. In May, Rosalía released the song "Aute Cuture". It became her third number one in Spain and earned a Latin Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. In July she released the single "Fucking Money Man", which includes two tracks: "Milionària" (which she sang in Catalan) and "Dios Nos Libre del Dinero". "Milionària" was a success, becoming her fourth number-one song in her home country. On 15 August she released her  collaboration with Ozuna "Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi". It became her fifth number one single in Spain. It scored two wins: Best Urban Song and Best Urban Fusion/Performance at the 21st Latin Grammy Awards. In November, Rosalía released "A Palé", which features background vocals by James Blake, with who she had worked earlier on "Barefoot in the Park". In December, Rosalía was featured alongside Lil Baby on the remix of Travis Scott's "Highest in the Room". Peaking at four, this marked the first time a song of hers entered the Global Spotify chart. She was awarded the  Rising Star award at "Billboard"'s Women in Music for the international recognition she achieved during the year and for "changing the sound of today's mainstream music with her fresh flamenco-influenced pop". Rosalía's performance of "Juro Que" at the 62nd Grammy Awards marked the first time a Spanish female artist performed at the gala. She also became the first Spanish-singing act in history to be nominated for Best New Artist. During lockdown, Rosalía released "Dolerme" and, in May, "TKN", her second collaboration with Travis Scott, which eventually became her first entry on the US "Billboard" Hot  100, debuting at number 66, as well as the sixth number-one single of hers in her home country. It became very popular on TikTok globally. The music video for "TKN", directed by Nicolás Méndez, won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. It also spawned a nomination for Best Direction at the Berlin Music Video Awards. On June 22, Arca and Rosalía released their highly anticipated collaboration "KLK", included in the musician's album "KiCk i". 2020–present: Collaborations and "Motomami". Rosalía started teasing her third studio album in 2020, stating that it would be released  hopefully in 2020 but whenever it makes sense She also revealed that it will not include the seven singles released since the release of "El Mal Querer". She also discarded the idea of releasing a box set or a compilation album where these songs would be included. Recording sessions for this new conceptual album started as early as 2019. In early 2020, Rosalía relocated to Miami due to unforeseen circumstances from the COVID-19 pandemic. When travel restrictions from the United States started to lift, the singer traveled to Puerto Rico for the first time, where she had recorded sessions with  Lunay, Rauw Alejandro and Tego Calderón. During her time on the island, she also recorded a remix of Sech's "Relación", which also features Daddy Yankee, Farruko and J Balvin. The remix was released on 4 September and earned Rosalía her second entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 64. She took part in Bad Bunny's third solo studio album, "El Último Tour del Mundo", on the track "La Noche De Anoche", which was later released as a single on Valentine's Day. The collaboration, performed on "Saturday Night Live", became a huge commercial success, debuting at number  two on the Spotify global chart with 6.63 million streams in a single day, marking the biggest debut for a song fully sung in Spanish in history. It also marked the ninth best debut on the platform in 2020 and the second biggest debut on Spotify Spain in music history. A week later, she collaborated alongside The Weeknd in the remix of "Blinding Lights". On January 21, 2021, the singer went on to release "Lo Vas a Olvidar", the highly anticipated collaboration with Billie Eilish after two years in the works to promote a special episode from the show "Euphoria . In May, Rosalía surprisingly released a collaboration with experimental musician Oneohtrix Point Never titled Nothing's Special". In September, Rosalía collaborated with Dominican rapper Tokischa on her song "Linda". On 2 November 2021, Rosalía announced the title of her new album "Motomami". It was released on 18 March 2022 through Columbia Records. Its lead single, "La Fama", featuring The Weeknd, was released on 11 November 2021. In December 2021, Rockstar Games launched a new "Grand Theft Auto Online" radio station, Motomami Los Santos, curated by Rosalía and Arca. In February 2022, Rosalía revealed the album artwork for "Motomami" and released  Saoko as the album's second single. On 24 February 2022, Rosalía released "Chicken Teriyaki" as the album's third single. Artistry. Musical style and genres. Rosalía's music has been described as "challenging" both for her and for the listener. Denoted for the conceptuality and constant genre transformation of her albums and singles, Rosalía's music has evolved from folk to the mainstream and avant-pop . As Rosalía has a master's degree in flamenco interpretation, she started her professional career as a full flamenco singer. 2017 saw the release of her debut album "Los Ángeles", a folk record  in which Rosalía "is posited as the contemporary cantaora who has better understood the current times". The singer has, ever since, been described as "an old soul trapped in a young body" due to the maturity of the genre. After the release of "Malamente" in May 2018, which rose the singer's popularity to a national level, her music was described as a "heavily exciting fusion of flamenco and modern arts". American magazine "Pitchfork" called the singer's voice "a soft liquid velvet" and wrote that "Malamente consumes the listener with drums and soft synthesizers that drag you to their  world completely". After releasing "El Mal Querer" later that year, "The Guardian" gave it a perfect score and stated: "the Catalan singer's potent, smart second album is more complex than any Latin pop currently in the charts". During the three-year dropplet era that started with the 2019 release "Con Altura", Rosalía's music evolved to a more mainstream urbano field without leaving the flamenco essence that characterizes her artistry. Described by "Rolling Stone" as "one of the most daring and reckless productions of recent years", Rosalía's 2022 studio album "Motomami" "redifined mainstream" by taking reggaeton as its  main influence and mixing it with traditional music of Latin America as well as with other genres such as industrial or jazz. The singer has stated that she listens to a vast catalogue of music specially when she is making a record in the urge to learn about them. Rosalía has cited the 2011 homonymous album by James Blake as one of the most impactful records of her life. Despite her wide vocal range, Rosalía tends to use Auto-Tune aesthetically in songs and live performances. The songwriting skills of Rosalía have recently been questioned and critizised for being "random  and kitsch". Generally, her lyrics deal with various topics and contain multiple references to general and pop culture. Those references can also be seen in her visual work, which she considers the "crutial way of communication between the artist and the consumer". Graphic artist Carlota Guerrero is one of the singer's best friends. Rosalía's visual inspiration mainly comes from Spanish tradition and Oriental culture, mainly Japanese. The singer has wide knowledge of art history, which she translates to her public by constantly recreating religious portraits, contemporary paintings, and movie scenes within her musical projects. She has cited Pedro  Almodóvar and Andrei Tarkovsky as her favorite filmmakers, Gaspar Noé's "Enter the Void" (2009) and "Fallen Angels" (1995) as her favorite films, and Jean-Michel Basquiat as her favorite artist. Rosalía has been accused of cultural appropriation by some Romani people because she adapts Romani customs into her style, and she draws from the flamenco music tradition, which is often thought to be from Romani people in Andalusia. However, the origin of flamenco music is not known precisely, and it probably fused musical practices from three sources: Moorish, Jewish and Romani cultures. Responding to this criticism, Rosalía said, "flamenco  does not belong to the Gypsies." Influences. Rosalía has cited Camarón de la Isla, James Blake and La Niña de los Peines as her major musical influences. In January 2019 she told MTV "when I was 13 years old I started listening to him [Camarón de la Isla] by chance. This genre, flamenco, was what my high-school friends listened to and so did I. When I discovered him I was like 'oh my God!' I didn't think anyone was capable to sing with such a voice; it would go right through me so heartily. He was my introduction  to flamenco. Thanks to him I discovered this vast universe within this music style which is almost endless and very exciting." When she was asked about the impact Blake had on her, she said: "I started listening to him when I was at university. His music has left a mark on me; not only the bold character of his production but also its minimalism and free structures. When I listen to him, I can feel that he allows himself a lot of freedom. I personally think that he doesn't do music to please nobody but only for himself." Rosalía  collaborated with Blake on his song "Barefoot in the Park", which was released as the fourth single of his 2019 album "Assume Form" in April 2019. Rosalía states that she began listening to another big influence in her life, La Niña de los Peines, when she was 16. She states that at first, she didn't enjoy her music because it sounded like 78 RPM records to her but that later she ended up appreciating her melodies and realized that she was a creator, that she was a cantaora when, at that time, most flamenco singers were men. She said : "flamenco is a masculine art form by tradition and there she was, with all her creativity as a woman. She became a professional at the time when it was very unusual". She has also cited Björk, Kate Bush, Aretha Franklin, Christina Aguilera, Azúcar Moreno, and Lauryn Hill as direct musical inspirations. When she was asked about her biggest fashion influence, she cited Lola Flores. In an interview with "Billboard" she said: "I love her. I love the attitude and the strength she had". She also mentioned Carmen Amaya; "she used to wear masculine clothes in a moment that any woman  was dancing in typically-man clothing". Rosalía has also expressed admiration for Frank Ocean, who she referred to as her first celebrity crush, Kanye West, Ivy Queen, Kendrick Lamar, Lil’ Kim, Diego el Cigala, Lole y Manuel, Pharrell, Daddy Yankee, Aventura, Héctor Lavoe, Beyoncé and Estrella Morente, among others. Impact. Spanish music industry. Rosalía is the main character in the first tidal wave of Spanish international musicians of the 21st century. From 2014, new artists started to emerge in Spain from Álvaro Soler to Pablo Alborán. Spain, however, being a Spanish-language country that is able to get inspired by  a lot of different projects and genres thanks to technology and communications, had a lot of pop stars but not that many urban/hip hop-orientated artists. Spain's music industry was weak, monotonous and boring. Thus, based on this premise, and with the help of streaming platforms, artists like Yung Beef, C. Tangana, La Zowi or Bad Gyal started to make fresh urban music influenced by the folklore of regions like Puerto Rico, Jamaica or Colombia. The rise of urban music in Spain grew in parallel with the increasing global interest in reggaeton, trap and, in general, Latin American  music. Rosalía became very close with these artists, who heavily influenced her. The interest in music in Spain, however, didn't reach its peak until 2017 when the mentioned artists reached a high point of success and when talent show "Operación Triunfo" aired on television for the first time since 2011. The show attracted millions of loyal viewers and became a massive platform for artists like Aitana, Amaia and Lola Indigo. When Rosalía appeared on the charts for the first time with "Malamente", she became a fresh, interesting artist who had invented something new and exiting to listen to, a  mix of traditional and modern arts; Rosalía had created flamenco music for everybody. The revenue of music in Spain was 232 million euros in 2018, 9% more than the year before. Due to this, music in Spain became an art to protect and to be proud of, making people take a look at the Spanish artistic market, which had abandoned its category of C-list industry. In 2020, Spanish novel rapper Don Patricio told "El Periódico" that "The interest that the world has in Rosalía has benefited all of us, because all those who are interested in her and her  music have looked out to see what else we are producing here. Rosalía going to the Grammys helps; the fact that she has made a song with Travis Scott helps. It all adds up to Spain, to Spanish musicians and to our movement". Singer Rigoberta Bandini opened about the diversification of music in Spain stating that "Rosalía paved the way for experimentation. We all have a lot to thank her for". This new wave of musicians in Spain and growing interest in music in the country has led to the recuperation of an annual award ceremony to celebrate Spanish music , the Premios Odeón, in 2020. In December 2020, "Forbes" named Rosalía the most influential Spanish female singer in their list of "most influential Spanish women". In 2021, "Pitchfork" named Rosalía one of the most important artists of the last 25 years. On cultural appropriation. The popularization of new flamenco, both nationally and worldwide, has allowed new artists such as María José Llergo to reach a wider audience internationally. In 2020, "The Atlantic" stated that Rosalía had "turned the harrowing music of Andalusia into a global phenomenon". Rosalía has been credited with inspiring some contemporary artists, such as Marina, Kacey Musgraves  and Christina Aguilera. The resurgence of flamenco music alongside Rosalía's work has led to discussions of cultural appropriation, sometimes dubbed "the Rosalía polemic". Rosalía has been accused of stealing the culture of the Spanish Romani people ("Gitanos"), who claim this artistic expression as their own, as it has been one of the few ways of free cultural expression "Gitanos" had available to them, in the face of discrimination and persecution within wider society. Purists view flamenco performance by Catalans, non-"Gitanos", or non-Andalusians, such as Rosalía, as unfair and illegitimate. Others have defended Rosalía, saying that, in a global  interconnected world, where exposure to cultural traditions and art forms are widely accessed, Rosalía's success can inspire international appreciation of this artform, and compare the situation to Madonna's use of Spanish traditions sparking international interest in Spanish culture and art. "The New York Times" said in 2019: "the debate on the cultural appropriation of the Spanish singer is unfair: her music embodies, with height, the most eloquent artistic form of globalization: the remix". When asked about this topic, she responded: "I've realized that it is not that I am specifically being attacked, it is the situation where  there are people who, like me, have been fortunate enough to be able to study music, which they have wanted. And having options that other people don't have", stating that this is more of a political issue and a matter of privileges. Following her win for Best Latin Video for "Con Altura" at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, Rosalía broached a related discussion, as to whether the expression "Latin" (derived from a Romance language, like Spanish) has been misunderstood and has evolved to "Latino" (person from Latin American countries previously ruled by the Spanish and Portuguese empires), extending  the debate about cultural appropriation and whether she should or should not be nominated in Latin categories at award shows. Rosalía also discussed the topic at the 2020 Latin "Billboard" Music Week, where Leila Cobo, host of VP Latin, stated: ""Billboard" categorizes music sung in the Spanish language as Latin music. You are a Spanish artist, not a Latin American but your music is called 'Latin' because it is sung in Spanish. It is also very interesting to see how this term is only used in the United States". Rosalía has also said that she feels "uncomfortable" when this term  is used on her. Stemming from these debates, Rosalía has received online criticism. Personal life. She is of paternal Asturian and maternal Catalan heritage. Her paternal grandparents were of Galician and Andalusian origin. Her great-grandfather was Cuban. She is fluent in Catalan, Spanish and English. Relationships. In 2016, Rosalía started dating Spanish rapper C. Tangana. They co-wrote eight of the eleven songs of Rosalía's sophomore album "El Mal Querer" and collaborated vocally twice. They broke up after two years, in May 2018. Since then, the couple has referenced each other in songs, social media posts, interviews and  music videos. In April 2020, Tangana told the press that there "exists a good friendship between the two". They unfollowed each other on social media in December 2020 after Tangana talked about her quite poorly in a recorded interview for "Rockdelux". In March 2020, Rosalía started dating Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro. In 2022 they purchased La Morera, a modernist house in the outskirts of Manresa for €2.2 million, declared a cultural asset of local interest. Political views and religion. Rosalía is a feminist. After being congratulated at the 2019 "Billboard" Women in Music gala, the singer stated: "I  was fifteen when I entered a recording studio for the first time having all this women as references. I was so shocked by the fact that there were only men in that session that, since that moment, I've been fighting for having the same number of men and women in the studio. As simple as that". Her studio album "El Mal Querer" revolves around the liberation of a female from a toxic heterosexual relationship. Rosalía is also pro-choice. During a concert in Mexico, she wore a green handkerchief in support of the National Campaign for the Right to  Legal, Safe and Free Abortion. As for Rosalía's religious beliefs, she revealed that she has never been baptized nor taken to church by her parents. Her grandmother, who was Christian, used to take her to church if she voluntarily asked to. There she began to believe in God despite never having submitted to the Catholic Church nor considering herself Christian. During her performance at Glastonbury on Pride Day, the Spanish singer told the crowd that she was an LGBT supporter and said: "there are a lot of ways to love and none is better than the other. Raise your  glass for love and freedom to love". All profits from her Viva Glam cosmetic campaign were to be given in support of women, youth and the LGBT community. In July 2021, Rosalía condemned the killing of 24-year-old Samuel Luiz, who was beaten to death in A Coruña in a crime motivated by homophobia. She stated, "Samuel didn't die, he was assassinated". As for Spanish politics and international conflicts, in November 2019, following a second general election in the country within six months, Rosalía tweeted "fuck Vox". VOX is a far-right nationalist political party that had earned  a lot of seats at the Spanish Parliament and was constantly growing in popularity at the time. After being asked about politics at a press conference at the 2019 Latin Grammys, she said: "I think it is a very delicate topic and I don't think this is the place to talk about it since it requires a lot of time due to its sensitivity." In May 2020, Rosalía expressed anger for the murder of George Floyd and briefly attended a protest in Miami in defense of racial equality, leaving early in order to appear on a virtual benefit concert  organized by TeleHit. In October, she offered her song "A Palé" for a vote-encouraging campaign of Sony Music for the 2020 United States presidential election titled "Your Voice. Your Power. Your Vote". In May 2021, Rosalía expressed her support for the protesters during the 2021 Colombian protests, which were motivated by Iván Duque's tax reform proposal. She also denounced the inaction of Cuba's government in the midst of the humanitarian and health crisis during 2021 Cuban protests using the hashtag #SOSCUBA in social media. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rosalía performed at many virtual benefit concerts while locked  down in Miami like "Se Agradece" and "La Marató de TV3" in an effort to give economic support to the development of a vaccine and in "Música Solidària del Baix Llobregat", which was celebrated in benefit of the Botiga Solidària in Cornellà de Llobregat, a non-profit organization that distributes food to those who need it since the place was in danger of extinction due to the consequences of the pandemic. She also collaborated with Save the Children and Creu Roja Catalunya.