2021 Song Draft- Round 2 Pick 1 : Aphoristical selects- ‘Malamente’- Rosalia.
Rosalía Vila Tobella was born in Barcelona in 1993. She became interested in flamenco music, and studied at the Superior School of Music of Catalonia – by the age of 20 she was a flamenco teacher. Her first album was traditional flamenco, recorded with guitarist Raül Refree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfDEEyg3AdA
On her second album she mixed traditional flamenco with modern pop and urban sounds. El Mal Querer was released in 2018, and it’s based on the 19th century novel Romance of Flamenca. The lead single and lead-off track is ‘Malamente’, Spanish for “badly”.
There are recognisable flamenco elements in ‘Malamente’ – the handclaps and acoustic guitars. But at the same time, ‘Malamente’ is clearly contemporary, with its modern beats and synths it’s not out of place on top 40 radio. Rosalía and producer El Guincho both regard ‘Malamente’ as a 21st century version of a copla, “a dramatic Southern Spanish ballad style with flamenco flourishes.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rht7rBHuXW8
Rosalía hasn’t released another studio album since 2018, but she has released a string of singles, collaborating with artists like Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny.
slicethelife 
the song and artist- totally new to me! Interesting pick.
Thanks for posting it. I feel like it’s probably skirting too close to modern pop for most of your regular readers but I think it’s a great synthesis of pop and tradition.
The first song (at the youtube link) has a definite Middle Eastern sound to it. I can hear a Billie Eilish influence in the 2nd one (or vice versa.) Nice polished videos. I like her sound. She’s also gorgeous!
Thanks for listening- there’s a pretty good song she did with Eilish earlier this year called Lo Vas a Olvidar.
You’re very welcome, Graham.
I like that she is throwing in some of the traditional music. I think it makes it more relatable to more people…
She has been accused of cultural appropriation because she’s female and outside of the specific region of Spain that it originates from, but she’s pretty well-versed in flamenco.
You certainly have a wide range of tastes. I guess we all do. It’s a good thing..
I think having young daughters helps me to embrace the pop.
Absolutely. Hear it and see it with their eyes. I know exactly what you mean. You experience their vibe.
She is not familiar to me at all, but very listenable. I like being introduced to something new and current.
Glad you’re enjoying – I think she does a great job of bridging flamenco and modern sounds.
Thanks for posting Graham. Completely outside my wheelhouse but that’s the point of the draft right – to hear songs we might not otherwise. I like how she has incorporated some of the flamenco style into this – grounds it in tradition while sounding modern as well
I like her voice a lot too.
Another interesting pick Graham. I like her style, which reminds me a bit of Latina pop artists like Camila Cabello.
I hear the Kidzbop version of Havana a lot, because my younger daughter plays it all the time.