Rosalía hopeful to win at Latin Grammies

Catalan artist nominated for five awards at the 19th edition of the ceremony on Thursday

Rosalía performs at Sónar on June 15 2018 (by Pere Francesch)
Rosalía performs at Sónar on June 15 2018 (by Pere Francesch) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

November 15, 2018 02:49 PM

The Catalan genre-bending flamenco star Rosalía is set to find out the results of her five nominations at the 19th Latin Grammy Awards Ceremony, celebrated on Thursday, November 15 in Las Vegas.

The woman with the most nominations at the 19th edition of the awards, Rosalía is also the second-most nominated artist at the whole ceremony (behind J. Balvin): this, for Song of the Year, Recording of the Year, Best Short Form Music Video, Best Alternative Song, and Best Urban Fusion.

Her new album ‘El Mal Querer’ (roughly translated as The Bad Love) was released on November 2. The conceptual and visual project, translating a 14th-century manuscript into a soundtrack of new-flamenco fusion with, r&b, trap, and electronic music elements, has been hailed by the largest media outlets as nothing short of a masterpiece, with Rosalía a rising pop star.

Already a household name in Catalonia, Rosalía made even more of a splash with her single ‘Malamente,’ which also gained the attention of the Grammies themselves. Still, with the praise for her groundbreaking new approach to flamenco – the product of eight years of study – also comes criticism, including that of appropriating the otherwise marginalized ‘gitano’ culture (arguably the source of flamenco) for her lyrics and music video aesthetic.

The Catalan artist was born in the town of Sant Esteve Sesrovires to the west of Barcelona. Known simply by her first name, the 24-year old Rosalía Vila Tobella was also already nominated as Best New Artist in last year's Latin Grammies. The singer's last album, 'Los Ángeles,' was released in 2016 in collaboration with guitar player Raül Refree.