Rosalía is setting the record straight. The Spanish artist has addressed the backlash surrounding her recent interview, clarifying that she holds nothing but “love and respect” for Bad Bunny and that her words were taken out of context.
The controversy began after Rosalía appeared on The New York Times’s Popcast, where she discussed the creative process behind her upcoming album 'LUX,' a project sung in thirteen languages. During the conversation, she reflected on her artistic philosophy and approach to language in music.
“I think I’m the opposite of Benito. I think I care. I care so much that I’m definitely going to make the effort to sing in a language that’s not my language. It’s not my comfort zone," she said.
The remark quickly went viral, with some fans interpreting it as a slight toward Bad Bunny’s comments earlier this year that he doesn’t mind if listeners don’t understand his Spanish lyrics.
While the reggaeton star’s statement was widely seen as a political and cultural affirmation of the Spanish language in global pop, Rosalía’s phrasing struck a nerve among some Latin American listeners who felt she was undermining that perspective.
As the discussion spread online, Rosalía stepped in to clarify her intentions. In a heartfelt comment shared on social media, the 'Motomami' singer addressed the situation directly.
“Hey, I understand your point of view, but I think this is being taken out of context. I have nothing but love and respect for Benito," she said, "He’s a great colleague whom I admire and have been lucky enough to collaborate with,” she wrote.
“I’ve always been grateful to Latin America because, even though I come from another place, Latin people have supported me so much throughout my career… It makes me sad that this is being misunderstood, because that was never my intention.”
Rosalía also explained that her decision to sing in multiple languages, including Catalan, the language of her native region in Spain, comes from a place of curiosity and respect for cultural diversity. “In one of the songs, I’ll sing in Catalan because it’s the language of where I come from, and I do it because it’s important to me,” she added.
Her upcoming album 'LUX,' which she spent two years crafting, includes songs in Spanish, Catalan, Arabic, Ukrainian, Latin, Sicilian, and German, among others. The ambitious project blends classical composition, opera, and experimental pop, and features collaborations with the London Symphony Orchestra, Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Caroline Shaw, and producers Noah Goldstein and Dylan Wiggins.
“It’s because of the love and curiosity,” Rosalía said of her multilingual approach. “It’s all human, very much human… a lot of trying to understand how other languages work. Constant back and forth for years, just dedicated to lyrics.”