To no one's surprise, Rosalía delivered an unforgettable performance at Coachella on Saturday.
One could have easily thought the Spanish sensation was headlining, based on how far back the crowd went back at her set. Opening with an electrifying rendition of her Motomami track "Saoko," Rosalía strutted down the stage with a glossy black Harley-Davidson motorcycle helmet atop her head and proceeded to commandeer the crowd with her crew of dancers for the remainder of her set.
As with the Motomami World Tour last year, the show wasn't fussy. Rosalía's outfit was pared back but intentional: a flowing pale pink ruffled blouse with leather pants from Acne Studios, her hair seemingly still wet and slicked back.
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After rousing renditions of her standout hits including "Despecha," "La Fama," and even a Spanish cover of Enrique Iglesias's "Hero," the singer was joined onstage by her fiancé and fellow musician, Rauw Alejandro. The couple performed two tracks ("Beso" and "Vampiros") from their new joint EP RR, sneaking kisses. and caresses between songs. This was only their second live performance together; they made their onstage debut at Alejandro's homecoming Saturno World Tour shows in Puerto Rico earlier this month. Truth be told, fans don't always want to see musical couples collaborate—the results can often fall flat (See: Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani). But Rosalía and Rauw appear to have an organic connection that makes their every moment together compelling. Love me like Rauw or don't love me at all, please!
Alejandro previously spoke to BAZAAR about collaborating alongside Rosalía and how she continues to inspire him, especially in a style sense.
“I saw all these motomamis with the concept of Rosi, the leather jackets, crazy makeup, these girls who were going to kill the night,” he explained. “When I did Saturno, I was like, ‘I don’t know if people are going to dress like an alien or an astronaut or these weird galactic outfits, but if they connect with it, maybe.’”
If people didn't recognize it before, they surely know it now, post-Coachella: Motomami is one of the most daring concept albums of the last decade and Rosalía's vocal ability continues to be unmatched. While the star still has a number of upcoming festival performances ahead of her this summer, her Coachella performance felt like the cherry on top of a career-defining era.
Bianca Betancourt is the culture editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she covers all things film, TV, music, and more. When she's not writing, she loves impulsively baking a batch of cookies, re-listening to the same early-2000s pop playlist, and stalking Mariah Carey's Twitter feed.
