Natalia Lafourcade snuck into the party of the sublimation of the urban genre. She won the Mexican three Latin Grammys (Singer-songwriter Album, Singer-songwriter Song and Record of the Year) for a job, Of all the flowers, of which she said: “It is my most personal album and I made it at a time when I felt completely broken. And music taught me…” That album, indeed, produces intoxicating spiritual healing for everyone who listens to it. Despite the overwhelming presence of urban music at the gala, the awards for Lafourcade show that a part of the industry appreciates other, perhaps more sensitive, proposals. The other winners of the night, also with three gramophones, were Shakira (Best Fusion in Urban Performance, Best Pop Song and Song of the Year), Karol G (Album of the Year, Best Urban Music Album and Best Urban Fusion Performance) and Bizarrap (Best Song of the Year with Shakira, Pop Song with Shakira and Best Urban Song with Quevedo). Spaniards who opted for large prizes only Quevedo and Niña Pastori won. The gala was held last night in Seville, for the first time in 24 editions outside the United States.
But the one who shone the most on stage was Rosalía. She with height, she flying over the Seville Exhibition and Congress Palace, always with a top-down view, observing, but doing her own thing. Rosalía came out first and transformed the Latin Grammy gala in Seville. She built bridges with the Catalan with an imaginary translucent membrane and enveloped the people with a performance of high emotional voltage. She chose Our love broke, that the maestro Manuel Alejandro wrote for Rocío Jurado and that the chipionera included in her album Brave pigeon. Rocío Jurado, a woman permanently living with emotional turbulence, and surviving, dominating. A completely thoughtful choice from the creator of Motomami. Rosalía did not win any award (she was only up for one), but she was one of those who shone the most on stage. Also Bizarrap, who set up three of his sessions with a playful, modern and colorful taste to show that he is the music producer of the moment.
Rosalía sang well, overcome by grief. Did she cry? It’s possible. She did it for flamenco, just on International Flamenco Day, yesterday, November 16. And above all, she showed that within that resounding modernity (or perhaps because of it) what she has inside is a brave folklorist willing to dedicate herself to art from the core. Wearing a black mourning dress, Rosalía sang with a dagger in her heart the most flamenco thing she felt. She was accompanied by a large flamenco group of guitarists and clappers, all on a plastic prop, creating that image between tradition (flamenco) and pop (plastic) that makes up the essence of this artist.
The Argentine selected three of his sessions more popular, but he gave them a spin. The first one he performed, with the lyrical talent that is Milo J, only 16 years old, full of colors and optimism. The surprise came with the second, a stay without Quevedo, replaced by a strong singer and to the rhythm of tango. Spectacular. And the third, his famous collaboration with Shakira, with the bossy and unleashed Colombian.
Rosalía and Bizarrap had it relatively easy, because the rest of the performers were conservative, not to say stingy, in a ceremony that was boring at times with continuous stops. Most of those who stepped on stage opted for their best-known or latest singles. Shakira also participated here, performing in two parts of the gala. She skirted the Colombian la astracabada when in an inane Acrostic He introduced, in a slapdash way, a video recording of his two children singing. And the fact is that the kids were in the audience, with their short white shorts.
The gala demonstrated the pending issue of young urban artists: the majority do not have optimal vocal conditions. The Colombian Sebastián Yatra, the Mexican Featherweight or the Puerto Rican Rauw Alejandro found themselves in trouble getting their performances afloat with the open microphone and without the resource of the play back. If you wonder why 80% of those who performed at the main gala were from the urban genre, you only have to look at the list of the most listened to on Spotify. Damn, these are some commercial awards, what did they think?
The flamenco number that was announced to support Flamenco Day, which was celebrated yesterday, was relegated to the pre-gala, where about forty awards were given, few of the categories considered important. It was not seen on the La 1 broadcast, then, and it was a shame, because it had its substance. All five nominees participated. It all began with the sound of a forge to give the rancid tone to Israel Fernández and Niña Pastora, who sang with poise and depth. There was curiosity to see how Omar Montes, also one of the nominees, fit in. And he didn’t come out badly. Accompanied by a wind section, Montes went into Ketama mode a little Mexicanized and, despite his short voice, he held his own. He has something about this kid (probably a lot of nose) and it’s going to be difficult to smooth his morals by putting him in front of purist postulates.
At the main gala, a memory of flamenco emerged, certainly insufficient and presented by artists little involved with the genre, such as David Bisbal and Paz Vega. “Flamenco is the Spanish music that is heard the most in the world,” we learned from the man from Almería while images of deceased flamenco artists such as Paco de Lucía, Enrique Morente, Lola Flores or Camarón were played in the background. No, it wasn’t the best idea.
Seeing Quevedo and Bizarrap on stage collecting an award produced good feelings. Two young people who, from humble surroundings (especially the Canary Islands) and in the solitude of their room at home, have already produced a generational anthem like Stay (Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52), which won the award for best Urban Song. The image of the two, behaving with that refreshing naivety of those who have rarely set foot on these royal stages, was touching. “Yes, you can come out of nowhere and fulfill a dream,” said the canary and one could not agree more.
But the one who smiled the most was Natalia Lafourcade, who unexpectedly found a place in a Grammy that has surrendered to urban music. And a shout of encouragement for Pablo Alborán: 29 nominations (this year he was the Spaniard with the most, five) in the history of the Latin Grammys and no awards.
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