Rosalía sings in 13 different languages on her upcoming album LUX.
The lead single, Berghain, a collaboration with Björk and Yves Tumor, sees the Spanish star sing in English, German and Spanish.
Rosalía used a mix of Google Translate, real-life translators, and teachers to ensure the words she rhymed together made sense.
She told The New York Times: “It’s a lot of trying to understand how other languages work … it’s a lot of intuition and trying to be like, ‘I’m going to just write and let’s see how these will sound in another language.’”
The 33-year-old Flamenco star says singing in different dialects enables her to “expand” her artistry.
She said: “I love travelling, I love learning from other humans. Why would I not try to learn another language and try to sing in another language and expand the way I can be a singer or a musician or an artist? The world is so connected.”
The Con Altura hitmaker also spoke about her first meeting with Icelandic singer Björk, 59, and how it was an “instant crush of admiration”.
Rosalía recounted: “She is my favourite woman and artist. I think we met through Pablo, El Guincho [Rosalía’s former producing partner]. We went to have some tapas in Barcelona. And I thought that she was the most fascinating human I’ve ever met because her train of thought was so different than I’ve ever seen before. It was just an instant crush of admiration.
“We stayed in touch and I just felt like with this album, if this was such a strong, demanding musical exercise, if I was doing it good enough, maybe, I would send it to her, and if it was in the right level, maybe then she couldn’t say no.”
The Grammy winner previously spoke about her growth and evolution since her last studio effort and noted that she has “changed a lot” since 2022’s predecessor Motomami.
In a September 2024 interview with Highsnobiety magazine, she said: “It’s been a process. I’ve changed a lot, but at the same time, I’m still wrapping my head around the same things. It’s like I still have the same questions and the same desire to answer them. I still have the same love for the past and the same curiosity for the future.”
Motomami scooped Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album at the Grammys and a slew of Latin Grammys, including Album of the Year.
A deluxe edition of the album, titled Motomami +, was later released, featuring five additional tracks, including the hit single Despechá, which received a Cardi B-assisted remix.
LUX is released on November 7.