Rosalía Doesn’t Want to Take It Easy

On Lux, her intense and expansive new album, Rosalía pushes the boundaries of pop music. While many artists today embrace a polished pop persona, Rosalía stands apart with her unique background and artistic vision.

Pop Culture Landscape

Recently, many musicians have shifted toward accessible pop images and sounds. Last year, Taylor Swift transformed from a "tortured poet" to a self-described "showgirl," releasing a short album with hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback. The fictional girl group Huntr/x from the Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters became one of the year's major new acts.

Demi Lovato, the former Disney teen idol, revisited her roots with "Fast," a superficial club track from her album titled It’s Not That Deep. Even Machine Gun Kelly attempted a reinvention, dancing and lip-syncing like a boy bander in his video "Cliché," although he later clarified:

“It’s a pop song, man.”

Rosalía’s Distinctive Path

Rosalía is a flamenco-trained singer from Spain who gained international fame in 2018 with El Mal Querer, an album blending flamenco and pop. This project doubled as her thesis at the esteemed Catalonia College of Music.

Her music experiments freely, combining tradition and modernity in a way few pop artists do.

Unlike many peers seeking mainstream pop success, Rosalía embraces complexity and intensity in her sound, marking her as exceptional in today’s music scene.

Author’s Summary

Rosalía boldly redefines pop music by merging flamenco tradition with modern experimentation, setting herself apart in a landscape saturated with formulaic hits.

The New Yorker — 2025-11-07