‘It’s gonna be crazy’: Primavera Sound braces for Rosalía’s homecoming show

As Primavera Sound entered its last day on Saturday, no upcoming performance by any artist seemed more transcendent than Rosalía’s much-anticipated homecoming show.

“It’s going to be crazy,” said Laura De Oliveira Bastos, a festival-goer from Brazil, who described her music as “amazing.”

“I love Rosalía,” said Inés Richard, from France. “It’s amazing how she makes me feel, all the emotions… Not many singers manage to do this, but she does.”

The Catalan superstar is scheduled to perform in the early hours of Sunday, from 2 am to 3:15 am, and will be the last headliner to perform at the main stage on the festival’s final night.

30-year-old Rosalía is also poised to become the only local artist to headline the Barcelona festival twice, after her 2019 show, thus cementing her status as a pop heavyweight at one of the world’s biggest music events.

“As a Catalan person, I’m really happy that Rosalía is so famous,” said Aina Orduña, from Barcelona, who became a fan of her following Rosalía’s breakthrough concept album ‘El Mal Querer’ in 2018. “Honestly, it’s just like Catalan pride,” she added.

From Sant Esteve Sesrovires to global stardom

Born and raised in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, in the outskirts of Barcelona, Rosalía studied flamenco at Catalonia’s College of Music (ESMUC), and rose to stardom with her genre-bending albums, iconic music videos, and viral hits in collaboration with top artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Ozuna, The Weeknd, Billie Eillish, and Travis Scott, among others.

With two Grammy Awards and twelve Latin Grammy Awards under her belt, Rosalía has both earned commercial success and critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone magazine praising ‘El Mal Querer’ as one of the best concept albums of all time, and The Washington Post picking ‘Motomami’ as the best album of 2022.

"Stunning fashion sense" and "queer icon"

However, Rosalía’s appeal transcends her music. Thanks to a huge social media presence, the artist has become a global celebrity with millions of followers across different platforms. 

“Her fashion sense is stunning,” said Chloe Ann Wikes, a Primavera Sound from the United Kingdom. “I follow Rosalía more for her fashion sense than for her music, because I don’t speak Spanish and I don’t understand the language, but I can appreciate her vibe, her brand, her styling.”

Chloe Ann Wikes added: “She encapsulates the whole of the Gen Z audience, she knows exactly what’s on trend, but she knows how to make it part of her energy, and part of her performance.”

Chris Grave, also from the UK, called Rosalía a “queer icon,” and said that “she capitalizes off the trends, but she does it in such a tasteful way that it doesn’t feel tacky, it feels authentic to her.”