Why social networks have turned Rosalía and Quevedo into rivals

Quevedo’s first album, the new sensation on the urban scene, has been the last battlefield between his fans and Rosalía. The 21-year-old canary has surpassed the Catalan as the most listened to Spanish artist in 24 hours with 10.92 million views on Spotify. A record that has been the subject of discussion among the large entourage of followers that both gather on social networks and about which he himself has spoken with David Broncano on the La Resistencia program. Although both artists follow each other on Instagram and have never had a confrontation, social networks have turned them into rivals.

Comparisons are hateful, but in the history of music there have been many musical rivalries in which adversaries have maintained a constant fight to be crowned the best in a certain genre. And in many cases the protagonists have been the ones who have fueled the confrontation in interviews, public appearances and in their own songs. The older generations heard the word ‘beef’ for the first time after the controversy that arose with Shakira’s song, which “hid” various hints to her ex-partner, Gerard Piqué. But this term is closely tied to rap, where artists leave messages to their biggest rivals in the lyrics of their songs. And it is that they do not even need to belong to the same musical style. Very famous was the war between Taylor Swift and the rapper Kanye West that began in 2009 with the MTV awards ceremony and continued for years.

But this is not the case of Rosalía Vila Tobella and Pedro Domínguez Quevedo. Neither have they sent hints nor have they even spoken ill of each other, quite the opposite. The young author of the successful session with Bizarrap assured during a live performance with Ibai Llanos that one of the artists he listened to the most was Rosalía: “I listen to the songs, the productions, how everything sounds so incredible and the balls she has to experiment.”

‘Send off’ vs ‘Stay’

However, the success of both is harshly compared on social networks. Rosalía has been the most international Spanish singer since 2018 and an unstoppable phenomenon. She has not stopped reaping successes and has managed to unite critics and the public inside and outside of Spain. With ‘El mal querer’ she won praise and a multitude of awards. And although with the advances of her album ‘Motomami’ she won a multitude of detractors, her new project took the whole world by storm. In terms of numbers, awards and international fame, it seemed that she had no rival.

However, Quevedo unexpectedly made a worldwide ‘hit’ with his famous ‘Quédate’, becoming the first Spanish artist to reach number 1 on the Spotify global hit list. ‘BZRP Music Sessions 52’ was a firm candidate to be the song of the summer, but 21 days later he found Rosalía’s ‘Despechá’ that even Obama included in the list of her favorite songs. His dance on TikTok went viral and everyone learned the steps of this trend that went around the world. Both songs sounded at all parties and discos.

This scenario was the first great battle that fans of Rosalía and Quevedo fought. The followers of the author of ‘Malamente’ organized themselves on Twitter so that ‘Despechá’ would surpass ‘Quédate’. However, the first great success of the canary remained for weeks at the top of the Spotify list without a rival capable of taking its place. This song with the Argentine as producer is unprecedented on the streaming platform and catapulted it to the top.

As of today, as the singer of the song himself assured during his interview in La Resistencia, it must be about to reach “one billion” views on Spotify. A figure that impressed David Broncano, so he asked him if there was any Spanish artist who has achieved that number of ‘streams’. «Yes, recently I spoke with Ibai. Rosalía », he replied. “Ugh, Rosalía is always ahead,” said the presenter. “Well, she looks, she makes room for all of us,” said Quevedo. Broncano told him that the phrase “Rosalía has already done it before” is a response that is usually found in the rest of the guests when they talk about achievements and records. “It’s nice. But whenever someone comes here who is doing a lot of it, this always happens, “he said.

But David Broncano continued with the subject and wanted to know how he could have beaten the Catalan even if it was outside of music. “I play soccer better than her for sure.” Quevedo said that before he played as a midfielder and that there he was sure that he surpassed him. Although Rosalía also has a past linked to this sport, since in the podcast ‘La Pija y la Quinqui’ she recounted that both she and her sister Pili were in a futsal team from her town.

Quevedo’s new album unleashes another battle

The presenter continued to search among the singer’s achievements and found that it did exist. With the release of ‘Donde quiero estar’, she has managed to break the record held by Rosalía with ‘Motomami’ for the most listened to Spanish artist in 24 hours in the history of Spotify with 10.92 million views. “Just as we have praised Rosalía a lot, it is also good that she takes away a record,” said Broncano.

However, this record has reignited the war between fans of Rosalía and Quevedo on Twitter. After knowing these data, the followers of the newcomer to the music industry praised the 21-year-old as “the best Spanish artist.” Even many of them boasted before Rosalía’s ‘fandom’ and affirmed that he was a better composer. “Hello Motomamis, fucked up day” or “Quevedo is a much better ‘songwriter’ than Rosalía, I think it’s obvious” are some of the comments that can be read on Twitter.

Some statements to which Rosalía’s army responded by listing all their achievements. «Motomami’ was the most acclaimed album of the year, 5 Latin Grammys, album of the year, Grammy nominations, sold-out world tour, headliner of the biggest festivals this year, etc. Quevedo is not even 0.0% of what Rosalía is, “answered a user. Others highlighted that the latest album by the 30-year-old had achieved the biggest debut outside of Spain.

In this fight of data and comparisons, where it seems that you have to choose, you could opt for only one, other users raised their voices to state that they were fans of both and that both “are making history.” As EFE has published, according to the annual Promusicae sales charts, both Rosalía and Quevedo have occupied number 1 on the official music charts in Spain in 2022. What is clear is that they are currently the two most listened to Spanish artists within and outside our borders.