Rosalía fifth in BBC's Sound of 2019 ranking
Catalan singer joins list of rising stars for coming months for "turning flamenco on its head"
The Catalan singer Rosalía has come fifth in the BBC's Sound of 2019 ranking, a list of rising stars expected to reach even greater success this year.
According to the BBC, the singer "is turning flamenco on its head by tethering its vocal 'melismas' and 'palmas' [hand clapping] to the sounds and attitude of hip-hop," and this has earned her a place in a ranking that also includes Dermot Kennedy, Ella Mai, Flohio, Grace Carter, King Princess, Mahalia, Octavian, Sea Girls, and Slowthai.
Rosalía was longlisted in December and this Friday the best in this ranking will be revealed.
"Flamenco music has never troubled the UK charts –but that looks set to change with the arrival of Rosalía," said the British public corporation.
Meteoric rise
Rosalía has been successful in several awards recently, including the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards in the RnR/Urban category, alongside francophone singer Aya Nakumura, in November. The award's organizers called her “an empowered and urban, modern and theatrical woman.”
She won two more awards at the Latin Grammys, also in November, for 'Malamente', the genre-bending hit that brought her stardom, with Rosalía claiming the prizes for best urban fusion/performance and best alternative song.
She will be performing in a number of shows in 2019, including Barcelona's Primavera Sound festival.