Rosalía brought her visionary new era to late-night television on Sunday, November 16, delivering a striking performance and a rare glimpse into the creative depths behind her ambitious new album LUX. Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the Spanish star performed “La Perla,” one of the project’s most acclaimed tracks, and sat down for an in-depth conversation about the elaborate process that shaped the record. Her appearance comes during a milestone week, as LUX debuts at No. 4 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart—her highest-charting album to date.
During her interview, Rosalía revealed the extraordinary lengths she went to in order to bring the world of LUX to life. The singer explained that she learned elements of 13 different languages to perform the songs, each tied directly to stories, figures, and spiritual traditions she studied while conceptualizing the album. “I speak a little Catalan because it’s my mother tongue. I speak a little Spanish and barely any English,” she said. “But I love learning. I wanted to learn different languages for a long time. I’ve been practicing on Duolingo. But sometimes I’m like, ‘I need to do more.’”
Rosalía described a meticulous and deeply researched creative process. She spent months reading hagiographies and studying women saints and mythic figures from around the world. She then mapped their stories, connecting each track to a different cultural or spiritual perspective. “If I was making a song inspired by Joan of Arc, then I would do it in French,” she explained. “Depending on the story I wanted to reference, I would use one language or another.” Each track began with up to 20 verse drafts, which she sent to translators before refining pronunciation with native speakers. The result is one of the most linguistically and conceptually ambitious albums released by a mainstream pop artist in recent years.
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Her Fallon appearance arrives amid widespread speculation about whether Rosalía will tour in support of LUX. Earlier this month, on Spain’s La Revuelta, she spoke candidly about the pressures of touring and the toll of long periods away from home. While she emphasized her love for performing, she acknowledged that a major tour may not be immediate. Even so, she reiterated that performing remains central to her artistic identity: “I make music to share something, to make others feel. So why would I say, ‘I’m not going on tour’? No, I have to honor that.”
Whether or not a LUX tour materializes, the album’s impact has already reached new heights. Released on November 7, the project shattered multiple records, including the most first-day streams ever for a Spanish-speaking female artist on Spotify, with 42.3 million global streams. It more than doubled the opening of her acclaimed 2022 album Motomami and surpassed the benchmark set by Karol G’s 2023 blockbuster Mañana Será Bonito.
Photo: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/YouTube
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