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Malamente
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Wikipedia article
"'Malamente'" (stylised in all caps; officially "'Malamente Cap 1: Augurio'") is a song recorded by Spanish singer and songwriter Rosala. Written by Rosala and Antn lvarez and produced by El Guincho, it was released on 30 May 2018 through Sony Music as the lead single of Rosala's album 'El Mal Querer' (2018).
"Malamente" mixes flamenco with contemporany urban and pop music. It received positive reviews, and was nominated for five Latin Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year, winning for Best Alternative Song and Best Urban Fusion/Performance. 'Billboard' and 'Pitchfork' named it one of the songs that defined the 2010s. Journalist and writer Leila Cobo included the song in her book 'La frmula 'Despacito', which gathers the most emblematic hits of Latin music of the last 50 years. With this release, media dubbed the artist as "Hurricane Rosala".
Background and release
At the end of April 2018, Rosala published a short documentary video to her social media accounts where she talked about her new album. She said: "Everything I have I am leaving it here; I'm in the red, I'm risking a lot. This project is what I've always wanted to do, I've been thinking for a long time about making an album like the one I'm going to release. The flamenco inspiration is still there but, at the same time, it is something else." Three days after the international release of the song "Brillo", composed by herself and in collaboration with J Balvin, the Barcelona-native singer announced in her social networks that she was going to release a new single in the coming days. Finally, on 29 May 2018 she unveiled the release date of this new single, as well as its title.
Composition and lyrics
The song was born in the small island of El Hierro and talks about a toxic relationship and how the woman knew that something wrong was going to happen in her life. The song forms the introductory part of its parent album's narrative arc, which is inspired by the 13th-century Occitan novel 'Flamenca'. The novel revolves around themes of gender violence and tragic romance; how a man falls in love with a woman and, because of jealousy, he locks her up in a tower. In the song, Rosala narrates that even though everyone is warning her that their relationship is doomed, she will continue with it to the point of getting married.
Critical reception
The American magazine 'Pitchfork' called the singer's voice "a soft liquid velvet" and wrote about the song that "'Malamente' consumes the listener with drums and soft synthesizers that drag you to their world completely". 'The Guardian' commented on the following about the Catalan singer: "Rosala is the most exciting thing that is going to happen to music this 2018". The single was nominated in five categories at the 2018 Latin Grammys. "Malamente" won two of these awards for Best Alternative Song and Best Urban Fusion/Performance.[https://www.marca.com/claro-mx/trending/2018/11/16/5bee2aa3268e3e814a8b4626.html Full winners list]
In September 2020, 'Billboard' named "Malamente" the 32nd best Latin song of all time and stated that "Rosala's contemporary, hip hop/electronic take on traditional flamenco was different from anything heard before. Released in tandem with a stunning, provocative video full of imagery and Spanish symbolism, 'Malamente' broke ranks, visually and musically, amalgamating Rosala's flamenco vocals with loops, beats, and raps, turning every preconception about her country's iconic musical tradition on its head". Also, 'Pitchfork' named "Malamente" the 23rd best song of the 2010s.
Commercial performance
The music video, produced by the audiovisual company Canada, was played more than a million times two days after its release and accumulated two million views for 3 June on YouTube, as well as a million streams on Spotify. The song debuted in the fourth position on the PROMUSICAE musical chart. "Malamente" was certified a Gold Record in Spain in the first week of July, as well as a platinum record in August 2018. Finally, in October of that same year it was certified double platinum. In November, the song reached the second position in the Spanish Song Charts thanks to the album release.
The track was included in many soundtracks of TV shows and movies and has been featured in their respective soundtracks. These include the first season of 'Elite', the second season of 'The OA', 'Euphoria' and 'Good Girls' as well as in the soundtrack of the 2019 movie 'Hellboy'.
Live performances
" and "Malamente" at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2018.
"Malamente" was performed for the first time at the Snar music festival, held at the Fira de Montjuc on 15 June of that year. A couple weeks later, Rosala presented it again at the Festival Cultura Inquieta held in the city of Getafe, near Madrid. At the end of July, "Malamente" was performed at the Plaza de Quintana in Santiago de Compostela and at Starlite Festival in Marbella, where she opened for Rozaln. On 5 September, the singer served as the opening act for Juanes at the Hollywood Bowl. A week later, Rosala presented "Malamente" for the first time in Miami to celebrate her five Latin Grammy nominations. At the end of September, Rosala performed at the Flamenco Biennial in Seville, where she played the theme. On 16 October, the Barcelonian went on the BBC program 'Later... with Jools Holland', where she sang "Malamente" and "Pienso en tu mir". A day later, Rosala offered a concert at the Village Underground in London, where she returned to perform the song for the second time. On 31 October 2018 she performed "Malamente" in front of 11,000 people at a free concert brought by Red Bull at the Plaza de Coln, in Madrid. Two days later she performed the song again at Los 40 Music Awards. On 4 November, Rosala performed the song at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards gala, held in the city of Bilbao. On 11 November, she performed "Malamente" at Casa Patas, Madrid, an iconic place for flamenco artists and lovers. On 15 November, she performed the song at the 2018 Latin Grammys ceremony in Las Vegas.
Music video
The music video for the song was released simultaneously with the single on digital platforms. It was directed and produced by the company Canada, marking the third time that they worked with the Spanish singer after videos for "De plata" and "Aunque es de noche", and filmed simultaneously with the "Pienso en tu Mir" video.
Marked by its poetic symbolism, the video is considered a "visual poem" interpreted as omens for the failure of a love relationship. The imagery includes a man in a typical Holy Week capirote riding a skateboard with nails, which spawned a certain controversy for its religious implications, or Rosala riding a motorbike that is bullfought by a man in a white studio set. Other alternated scenes show Rosala dancing inside the back of a truck or being hit by a car. The music video was filmed between Barcelona, Badalona, Barber del Valls and l'Hospitalet de Llobregat and despicts Rosalia in the industrial zone of the city, recreating the constant truck traffic and industries that there are in her hometown Sant Esteve Sesrovires.
"Malamente" was nominated for three UK Video Music Awards out of which won two: Best Pop Video and Best Direction. The video also received nominations for Best Music Video at the Latin Grammy Awards and Video of the Year at the Premio Lo Nuestro 2019.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
Category:2018 in Spanish music
Category:2018 songs
Category:Latin Grammy Award for Best Alternative Song
Category:Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Fusion/Performance
Category:Music videos shot in Spain
Category:Rosala songs
Category:Spanish-language songs
Category:Song recordings produced by el Guincho
Category:Songs written by el Guincho
Category:Songs written by Rosala
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