Rosalía in BBC Sound Of 2019 longlist

Catalan singer makes it to top 10 and will know in January whether she is on top of British broadcaster's ranking of rising stars for next year

Rosalía performs at Sónar on June 15 2018 (by Pere Francesch)
Rosalía performs at Sónar on June 15 2018 (by Pere Francesch) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

December 10, 2018 02:10 PM

The Catalan singer Rosalía has been picked for the BBC Sound Of 2019 longlist.

The British broadcaster revealed on Monday its ranking of rising starts expected to succeed even more next year, and included the Catalan flamenco fusion artist.

For the BBC, Rosalía is "revolutionizing the sound of flamenco" and therefore she deserves to be in its top 10 picks –and on January 7 to 11, she will know whether she is on top of this ranking.

It is the first time that a Catalan artist makes it to this list, which in previous years was headed by the likes of Keane, Adele, Mika, Ellie Goulding, Jessie J and Sam Smith.

According to the British broadcaster, she "fuses traditional flamenco melodies and 'palmas' (hand-clapping) with the crisp beats and electronic basslines of Trap."

The other artists shortlisted include Dermot Kennedy, Ella Mai, Flohio, Grace Carter, King Princess, Mahalia, Octavian, Sea Girls, and Slowthai.

Rosalía has been successful in several awards recently, including the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards in the RnR/Urban category, alongside francophone Aya Nakumura singer, in November. The award organization 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, Rosalía ended up claiming the prizes for best urban fusion/performance, and best alternative song.

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