Rosalîa delivered a dramatic performance of her show-stopping single, ‘Berghain’ to a packed CO-OP Live Arena, this performance marks the very first time the song has been performed live, notably by both collaborators, it has undoubtedly set the standards high for future performances. A celebration of international artists in of itself, the performance is guaranteed to move anyone who watches it, if you haven’t watched it already its well worth your time.

Taking the breath of each attendee, Rosalîa was donned in a magnificent white dress singing alongside a supporting background of singers. The first half of the song highlighted the vocal abilities of the spanish singer-songwriter, homing in on the operatic elements of the song. The crowded stage of singers parted to reveal Bjork in cathartic blue attire, performing her section of ‘Berghain’ in the latter part of the song. Finalising the magnificent performance the crew of signers and dancers erupted into movement alongside both female vocalists displaying a pure celebration of joy and an international win.

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The performance came in support of Rosalîa’s latest body of work, ‘LUX.’ The record released on November 7, 2025, featuring the London Symphony Orchestra blends pop with wondrous classical elements, exploring heavy themes of transformation and spirituality. The record features generationally beautiful collaborations from Bjork, Pharrell Wlliams, Estelle Morenta and Caroline Shaw. Littered with songs inspired by a variety of female saints and Rosalîa’s own relationship with God, it is an incredible deep dive into the psyche of said artist.  The lead single, ‘Berghain’ received unanimous acclaim from multiple music critics citing its ambition and aromas use of orchestral sound. ‘Lux’ later became the second best-reviewed album of 2025 on Metacritic as well as being the website eighteenth best album of all time despite its recent release.

Winning her first BRIT award for international artist, Rosalia made history as the first spanish speaking act to take the award home. A presence of royalty in a room full of artists, there is not doubt we will be receiving more incredible bodies of work from Rosalîa in the near future.

Throughout the night, the BRITS also saw performances from Harry Styles, Olivia Dean, Alex Warren, Sombr and Mark Ronson. Rosalîa has far more tricks up of her sleeve in the wake of her worldwide fourth tour.

In support of ‘LUX,’ Rosalia announced she would embark on an arena world tour beginning in March of this year and finalising in September. 42 shows are currently scheduled across seventeen countries in Europe, North America and South America so make sure you catch her at one of the dates if you liked what you saw on display at the BRITS. Rosalîa is a spell bounding example of why it’s so important to highlight international voices not only in the BRITS but in the music scene all together.

Listen to ‘LUX’ here.

The woman is of course a proxy for Arca herself, though it’s important to note that being a trans woman means the insult – which deliberately uses a masculine word – has cruelly transphobic implications. It’s a testament to the Venezuelan producer that she not only withstands the attack, but belittles her abusers by wearing their slur as a badge of honour. 

First made available to stream digitally on the 17th, NME reported that Arca considered “Mequetrefe” to be a manifesto in “the tenderness behind expressing who you are without shame, and the confidence and bravery it requires”. As with previous singles “Time” and “Nonbinary”, the song has now received visual treatment with a video co-directed by Arca and her partner Carlos Sáez. 

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the Mequetrefe video is out now! the journey of making of this video with @carlossaez1 and @wifiovermybody has been one of the most alchemical transformative processes I’ve ever experienced making a video. Thank you to both of you for your vision, patience, boldness, and sensitivity! To all of you who watch it, please let us know if you enjoy the video :] <3 together we did our best to lovingly, and with care, conceive and produce the video over the course of lockdown, in times when creating sometimes felt like a leap of faith! so it has been a great pleasure and honor to be a part of this collaboration , I love the video so much! I hope you have fun watching it! In virtue of the evemorphing, shifting and ripping of selfstates in constant permutation in transition toward the unknown nurturing a faith love as a light in the face of change. <3 ya esta aqui el video de Mequetrefe ! el proceso de crear este video con @carlossaez1 y @wifiovermybody has sido de las experiencias mas alquímicas y transormativas q he vivido en crear un music video. Gracias a uds. dos por su visión, su paciencia, sus ganas de echarle pichón y por tener tanta sensibilidad. A todxs uds. q lo vean, avísanos si te gusta el video! <3 trabajamos juntxs con mucho esmero y cariño para concebir y producir el video durante la cuarantena para seguir nuestro instinto de crear algo, incluso en aquellos momentos de mayor incertidumbre, y es un placer y un honor se parte de esta colaboración, me encanta taaaaanto el video ! Gracias <3 En virtud de la transmutación y la mutación, el misterio de lo desconocido, en transición constante, nutriendo la fe en el amor como una luz en virtud del cambio. <3

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Dreamt up and filmed by the two of them whilst isolating together, Arca and Sáez approached the Shanghai-based animator Kynan Puru Watt who fed close to 10,000 frames of Arca into a computer program to create the shifting, mutating face-to-face shots that make up the video. In an Instagram that was posted today, she called the production of the video “one of the most alchemical transformative processes I’ve ever experienced”, thanking the “vision, patience, boldness, and sensitivity” of her two collaborators.

Born in Caracas 31 years ago as Alejandro Ghersi, transition has been a recurring motif in Arca’s life. Moving from Connecticut back to Caracas during her childhood, the Venezuelan began to make a name for herself by producing avant-garde electropop from her bedroom, before returning to the US to study at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU. As her following grew, she gained high-profile production credits on Kanye West’s wildly experimental Yeezus album, as well as several early FKA twigs EPs. In 2014 she moved to Dalston in East London where she has since lived, and turned more heads by producing three of the songs on FKA twigs’ debut album, as well as much of the programming for Björk’s Vulnicura (who provides vocals on the KiCK i track “Afterwards”). In 2018, Arca came out as a trans woman, and has since been known privately by the feminine form of her name ‘Alejandra’.

KiCK i will be Arca’s first new album since her 2017 self-titled project, though earlier this month she released the hour long single “@@@@@” as well as the charity single “unconditional” with another guest on her new album, Shygirl. KiCK i is available to stream and download now, with a vinyl release coming next month via XL Recordings. Watch the video for “Mequetrefe” below:

Speaking to the BBC, about making the longlist, Rosalía said: “Thank you so much! I’m really happy. I’ve discovered a lot of music by listening to the BBC – but it was a big surprise that I could have a space on this list, you know?”

The 25-year-old is revolutionising flamenco by, turning it on its head and giving it a modern twist, combining its melismas and palmas, otherwise known as hand clapping, to the sounds and attitude of hip-hop. This has earned the singer fifth place in the BBC Music Sound of 2019, which celebrates acts that have been tipped for success in the forthcoming year.

James Stirling, the head of BBC Music and BBC Music Introducing, said: “For 17 years the BBC Music Sound Of list has been celebrating exciting up-and-coming talent and this year we are proud to recognise the work of such an eclectic mix of musicians. There’s a wealth of talent coming through and I look forward to seeing the artists build their reputations in 2019”.

Rosalía, who was born Rosalía Vila Tobella, in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, Spain, is already a big star in her home country. It was her 2017 debut ‘Los Ángeles’ that got people taking notice. The track spent 67 weeks in the Spanish album chart, with Spain’s ‘La Vanguardia’ describing it as a fusion of old and new world traditions, which has “revolutionised flamenco”.

Meanwhile, her striking video for ‘De Plata’, in which Rosalía performs intricate flamenco moves against a series of Instagram-friendly backdrops, racked up four million views on YouTube. The star soon caught the eye of Pharrell Williams, who invited her to record with him in LA, and Oscar-winning writer-director Pedro Almodóvar, who cast her alongside Penélope Cruz in his next film, Dolor y Gloria.

However, it wasn’t until the release of her second album ‘El Mal Querer’, that she was introduced to a global audience. ‘El Mal Querer’ is a concept record about a toxic relationship retold for the modern day, which was inspired by a 13th Century novel, ‘Flamenca’.

“I had the title before anything else, during the last year of my university degree. I wanted to explore this bad love – las pasiones. You know, like domination, the dark side of love. I wanted to make a record where every song could be a chapter, almost so you could “read” the album. Like, when you hear the third song, maybe you hear it in a different way because you know what happened in chapter two. So I just started looking for references, digging through books to find traditional lyrics,” says Rosalía, speaking about the album and the inspiration behind it.

The album earned her five nominations at the Latin Grammys, where the ominous, bass-busting single ‘Malamente’ won best alternative song and best urban track. Latin pop is continuing to rise, and a major label fighting her corner, 2019 could be a breakthrough year for the rising star, Rosalía.

Now in its 17th year, the list showcases the hottest rising stars, that we should keep our eye on in 2019. Mahalia and Slowthai, flamenco singer Rosalía, R&B star Ella Mai, and pop artist King Princess are all among the rising stars, who have made it onto the BBC’s Sound of 2019 longlist.