Rosalía and the Weeknd are capable of making drama and spectacle feel extraordinarily intimate. Rosalía’s rendition of bachata blends the genre’s sensuous roots with electronic pop to home in on the thrills of new love. Her feature on the remix to the Weeknd’s mega-hit “Blinding Lights” made perfect sense considering the Canadian singer-songwriter’s own penchant for emotionally charged pop hybrids. Their music revels in the all-consuming vortex of love and lust, of not just living in the moment but being overwhelmed by it.
“La Fama,” the lead single from Rosalía’s upcoming third studio album Motomami, explores the sinister nature of celebrity. Effortlessly gliding over hand drums and synths, the pair’s harmonized hook and intricate choreography personify how fame seduces and blinds: “Sabes que será celosa yo nunca le confiaré/Si quieres duerme con ella pero nunca la vayas a casar” (“You know she’s the jealous kind I’ll never trust/If you want, sleep with her but don’t tie the knot”). As global pop stars at the top of the game, these two understand fame’s fickle embrace better than most, and they render its double-edged sword with perverse beauty.
