Rosalía shines bright in hometown Palau Sant Jordi debut

Rosalía passionate concert on Saturday in Barcelona dazzled fans and press alike. The Catalan superstar debut at the Palau Sant Jordi was her first large-scale solo performance in her homeland. And she didn't disappoint.

Flanked by her high-tech choreographers and dressed all in red, Rosalía's modern interpretation of flamenco, mixing Latin, trap and electronic music, won her an enthusiastic reaction from the crowds.

She repeated the show on Sunday, with another sold-out concert, gathering some 30,000 fans throughout the weekend. 

The 26-year-old star, clearly moved, thanked fans for an amazing year. "I want to confess something: this has been the best year of my life," she said.

And it's true. Rosalía, from the Catalan town of Sant Esteve Sesrovires, saw her album 'El Mal Querer' win Album of the Year at the Latin Grammys.

That made her the first female solo act to win an award in the album of the year category since Colombian singer Shakira first achieved the feat in 2006.

And she has now two main Grammy nominations, with the awards ceremony on January 26, 2020.

Presented by the US' Recording Academy to recognize achievements in the music industry, Rosalía will vie for Best New Artist and Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album.

Yet, the most recent prizes and nominations are just the latest in a long list of accolades that have taken pride of place in Rosalía's trophy cabinet this year.

She won two awards for her song 'Con Altura' at the European MTV awards at the start of November, as well as two more for the same tune at the global MTV awards.

Her first single from the album 'El mal querer' also picked up two awards at last year's Latin Grammys, while she was ranked fifth in the BBC's Sound of 2019 rankings in January.

Emotional Rosalía

Rosalía started her Barcelona concert with 'Pienso en tu mirá' and 'A Palé'. She then welcomed the crowds, and she couldn't help it but to be moved. She covered her face with her hands, crying of happiness. "It's so full!" she said.

Rosalía didn’t want to disappoint her devoted fans and performed all her hits, including 'Milionària', 'Brillo', 'Con altura' or 'Yo x ti, tu x mi'. 'Malamente', the song that made her famous worldwide, was the chosen one to close the concert. On Sunday, she will do it all over again. Tra-tra!

'Caganers' sell out

Coinciding with her concerts this weekend, Rosalía-inspired 'caganers' sold out at Barcelona's Santa Llúcia Christmas market, but caganer.com says not to worry as new one should be out by Wednesday.