"Malamente" is a song by Spanish singer

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish Pop music, pop and flamenco singer. She has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. After being enthral ...

. It was released on 30 May 2018 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as the lead single from her second studio album, '' El mal querer'' (2018). Written by Rosalía and El Guincho and produced by Rosalía and co-produced by El Guincho, it was released on 30 May 2018 through

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as the album's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

. "Malamente" mixes

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

with urban and pop music. It received positive reviews, and was nominated for five

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

s, including Song of the Year and

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

, winning for Best Alternative Song and Best Urban Fusion/Performance. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' and ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' named it one of the songs that defined the 2010s. Journalist and writer Leila Cobo included the song in her book ''La fórmula 'Despacito, which gathers the most emblematic hits of Latin music of the last 50 years. With this release, media dubbed the artist as "Hurricane Rosalía".

Background and release

At the end of April 2018, Rosalía published a short documentary video to her

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

accounts where she talked about her new album. She said: "Everything I have I am leaving it here; I'm in the red, I'm risking a lot. This project is what I've always wanted to do, I've been thinking for a long time about making an album like the one I'm going to release. The

inspiration is still there but, at the same time, it is something else." Three days after the international release of the song " Brillo", composed by herself and in collaboration with Colombian rapper

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to th ...

, the singer announced in her social networks that she was going to release a new single in the coming days. Finally, on 29 May 2018 she unveiled the release date of this new single, as well as its title.

Composition and lyrics

"Malamente" was written in the island of El Hierro and talks about a toxic relationship and how the woman knew that something wrong was going to happen in her life. The song forms the introductory part of its parent album's narrative arc, which is inspired by the 13th-century

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

novel '' Flamenca''. The novel revolves around themes of gender violence and tragic romance; how a man falls in love with a woman and, because of

jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of Emotional insecurity, insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, he ...

, he locks her up in a tower. In the song, Rosalía narrates that even though everyone is warning her that their relationship is doomed, she will continue with it to the point of getting married.

Critical reception

The American magazine ''

'' called the singer's voice "a soft liquid velvet" and wrote that "'Malamente' consumes the listener with

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s and soft

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s that drag you to their world completely". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' commented on the following about the Catalan singer: "Rosalía is the most exciting thing that is going to happen to music this 2018". The single was nominated in five categories at the 2018 Latin Grammys. "Malamente" won two of these awards for Best Alternative Song and Best Urban Fusion/Performance.Full winners list
/ref> In September 2020, ''Billboard'' named "Malamente" the 32nd best

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

song of all time and stated that "Rosalía's

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

/ electronic take on traditional flamenco was different from anything heard before. Released in tandem with a stunning, provocative video full of imagery and Spanish symbolism, 'Malamente' broke ranks, visually and musically, amalgamating Rosalía's flamenco vocals with loops, beats, and raps, turning every preconception about her country's iconic musical tradition on its head". Also, ''Pitchfork'' named "Malamente" the 23rd best song of the

2010s File:2010s collage v22.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was Death of Muammar Gad ...

Commercial performance

Spain

«Malamente» became Rosalía's first ever chart appearance in her native

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. In its first week the song debuted at number 74 on the PROMUSICAE chart, issued June 6, 2018. Jumping up 70 spots to number four in its second week of performance, it became her highest-climbing single, first top ten and top five single. The next weeks on the chart the single would start to decrease in popularity, slowly going down in the chart. Following the release of '' El mal querer'' the single would see a commercial boost that made the song jump 22 positions moving from 24 to its peak at number 2 in its 24th charting week on the issue dating November 11, 2018. After peaking at number two, «Malamente» stayed two more weeks, blocked by

's own «Di mi nombre», the first debut artist since the chart is published to occupy the chart's first two spots. The song had a 75-week run. Rosalía's longest appearance on the chart after «

Despechá "Despechá" is a song by Spanish singer and songwriter Rosalía. It was released on 28 July 2022 by Columbia Records as a single from ''Motomami +'', the deluxe edition of her third studio album ''Motomami'' (2022). The song was written by Rosal ...

». And was certified as 5× platinum for shipments of 300.000 equivalent units. The music video, produced by the audiovisual company

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, was played more than a million times two days after its release and accumulated two million views for 3 June on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, as well as a million streams on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

. The song debuted in the fourth position on the PROMUSICAE musical chart. "Malamente" was certified a

Gold Record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in Spain in the first week of July, as well as a platinum record in August 2018. Finally, in October of that same year it was certified double platinum. In November, the song reached the second position in the Spanish Song Charts thanks to the album release. The track was included in many soundtracks of TV shows and movies and has been featured in their respective soundtracks. These include the first season of ''

Elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...

'', the second season of '' The OA'', ''

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

'' and '' Good Girls'' as well as in the soundtrack of the 2019 movie ''Hellboy''.

Live performances

"Malamente" was performed in a great quantity of festivals and award shows during its promotion period. Its first performance happened at

Sónar Sónar is a festival dedicated to music, creativity and technology, founded in Barcelona in 1994 by Ricard Robles, Enric Palau, and Sergi Caballero. The festival has been divided into two parts since its inception: Sónar by Day and Sónar b ...

music festival, held at the Fira de Montjuïc on 15 June 2018. Rosalía later performed at Festival Cultura Inquieta in

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

, near

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, at the Flamenco Biennial in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, and in

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

. She also served as the opening act for Rozalén at Starlite Festival, in

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...

and for

Juanes Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (born 9 August 1972), known professionally as Juanes, is a Colombian musician who was a member of the Rock music, rock band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. Since releasing his solo debut album ''Fíjate B ...

at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In September, Rosalía presented "Malamente" for the first time in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

to celebrate her five Latin Grammy nominations. Televised performances of "Malamente" include an appearance on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

program '' Later... with Jools Holland'', where she sang "Malamente" and " Pienso en tu mirá". On 31 October 2018 she offered a free concert sponsored by

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

at the Plaza de Colón, in Madrid in front of 11,000 people. It was livestreamed through YouTube. Two days later she performed "Malamente" at LOS40 Music Awards and, on 4 November, at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards gala, in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

. On 11 November, she performed "Malamente" at Casa Patas, Madrid, an iconic place for flamenco artists and lovers. On 15 November, she performed the song at the 2018 Latin Grammys ceremony in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. "Malamente" was included in the setlist of her Mal Querer Tour (2019) and in the Motomami World Tour (2022).

Music video

The music video for the song was released simultaneously with the single on digital platforms. It was directed and produced by the company

, marking the third time that they worked with the Spanish singer after videos for "De plata" and "Aunque es de noche", and filmed simultaneously with the " Pienso en tu Mirá" video. Marked by its poetic symbolism, the video is considered a "visual poem" interpreted as omens for the failure of a love relationship. The imagery includes a man in a typical

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

capirote A capirote is a Christianity, Christian pointed hat of conical form that is used in Italy, Spain and Hispanic countries by members of a confraternity of penitents, particularly those of the Catholic Church. It is part of the uniform of such br ...

riding a skateboard with nails, which spawned a certain controversy for its religious implications, or Rosalía riding a motorbike that is bullfought by a man in a white studio set. Other alternated scenes show Rosalía dancing inside the back of a truck or being hit by a car. The music video was filmed between

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Badalona Badalona (, , , ) is a municipality in Barcelonès county, in Catalonia (Spain). It is located to the north east of Barcelona, on the left bank of the Besòs River and on the Mediterranean Sea, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. By population, ...

, Barberà del Vallès and

l'Hospitalet de Llobregat L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (; ), often shortened to L'Hospitalet or just L'H, is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Barcelonès Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'', in Catalonia (Spain). It is part of the Barcelona metropolitan area, ...

and depicts Rosalia in the industrial zone of the city, recreating the constant truck traffic and industries that there are in her hometown

Sant Esteve Sesrovires Sant Esteve Sesrovires (; , ) is a municipality in the northern part of the ''comarca'' of Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the left bank of the Anoia river, close to the A-2 highway, and is served by the FGC railway line R ...

. "Malamente" was nominated for three UK Video Music Awards out of which won two: Best Pop Video and Best Direction. The video also received nominations for Best Music Video at the Latin Grammy Awards and Video of the Year at the Premio Lo Nuestro 2019.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2018 in Spanish music 2018 songs Latin Grammy Award for Best Alternative Song Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Fusion/Performance Music videos shot in Spain Rosalía songs Songs in Spanish Song recordings produced by el Guincho Songs written by el Guincho Songs written by Rosalía