In the year since the release of her breakthrough album album “El Mal Querer,” Spanish singer Rosalia has been touring and releasing new songs at a furious clip — and yet another new single and video arrived today.
“A Pale,” another tag-team between Rosalia, her longtime collaborator El Guincho and Drake/Camila Cabello producer Frank Dukes, is harder and more hip-hop leaning than most of the singer’s past work (she’s even wearing a grill in the video), with a grinding sub-bass and a slowed-down vocal on the hook. It’s yet another stylistic shift for the innovative singer, and miles away from the modern take on flamenco that has marked much of her past work, and shows yet again that she’s unafraid to reinvent her image and her sound.The singer has made major strides toward global superstardom over the past year.
According to the press release accompanying the video, “A Pale” takes its name from the wooden shipping pallets Rosalía was surrounded by for years growing up in an area outside Barcelona that was dominated by trucking industry. “But the spirit of the song centers around ‘Doing it big,’” it continues, “our ability to be strong and carry a lot of weight.”
Directed by Jora Frantzis, the “A Pale” music video continues Rosalia’s trademark of industrial trucking imagery, with more of her video hallmarks such as an empowering female lead, precise choreography, gold accents and other fashion touches.
The song is one of several Rosalia has released this year independently of the “El Mal Querer” album, which include her “Con Altura” with J Balvin — which was recently certified RIAA Gold in the US, passed 1 billion views YouTube and last week won an MTV EMA for Best Collaboration — as well as her “F—ing Money Man” EP and the songs “Aute Cuture” and the Ozuna collaboration “Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi.”
Rosalía will perform at the Latin Grammys in Las Vegas on November 14, where she is nominated for five awards.