The scene in Williamsburg may have looked a bit like German-nightclub Berghain the night after Halloween as fans flocked to get the first taste of Rosalía’s forthcoming album, Lux, out on November 7th. On All Hallows’ day, the Grammy-winning Spanish popstar held a private listening party for her fourth studio album at the former bank turned event-space Weylin, where fans and a few of her famous friends would become the first to listen to the “Bizzochito” singer’s fourth studio album.
Inside the VIP section of the event, attendees could enjoy a glass of wine and light bites as they waited to listen to Rosalia’s first album since her critically acclaimed 2022 album, Motomami. While most attendees were dressed in downtown black, some Rosalía super fans wore fashion-forward wimples, all white ensembles, and even halos to celebrate Lux, in which Rosalia explores the feminine divine and sainthood.
Fellow pop star Dua Lipa and her fiancé, actor Callum Turner, were in attendance in the VIP section, with the “Physical” singer wearing a floor length snake print coat and the actor in a black leather shearling jacket. Other artists including Emily Ratawjkoski, playwright Jeremy O. Harris, and photographer Tyler Mitchell were also present to experience Rosalía’s highly anticipated new body of work.
Around 7:30 p.m., fans were ushered from the cocktail hour to their seats, on white benches in front of a massive white sheet. All recording devices including phones were confiscated and placed in Yondr pouches, so the attendees could be fully present when the album began. “When was the last time you were in complete darkness,” read text projected onto the sheet before the album listening began. “Sometimes being in complete darkness is the best way to find the light.”
And with that, the Lux listening commenced, with the hundred or so attendees sitting in silence as Rosalia’s powerful voice enveloped the space. The lyrics of the Lux album enveloped the space with lyrics projected at the head of the room. The orchestral, genre-bending album finds Rosalía singing in 13 different languages over 18 tracks, from her native Spanish to English, as well as Catalan, Hebrew, Mandarin, Italian, Arabic, Latin, and more.
“Berghain,” Rosalía’s lead single in which she sings in German, features Bjork and Yves Tumor, and received a roar from the audience. The spicy, anti-fuck boy anthem “La Perla” also got the audience going with its incessant jabs at a former lover. “The local disappointment /National heartbreaker /An emotional terrorist /The biggest global disaster,” she sings of her ex.
In true Rosalía fashion, the album turned out to be a unique musical amalgam—an ingenious mix of lush string and operatic and classical influences as well as Latin club beats you’d likely hear on a Bad Bunny album, was a sonic delight for those in attendance.
As the final track played, the woman of the hour surprised an audience that had just spent a little over an hour immersed in her world. Wearing a white chiffon dress, Rosalía thanked those who attended, saying that she made the album “with as much love as she could.” She also shared that the 13 different languages each had a specific function on the album.
“It’s not random, okay,” she said, causing the audience to laugh. “Each language corresponds to stories of different saints—women who are saints from around the world. Everytime I would reference one of the stories, it would be in one of the languages.” After the event, fans were given Lux branded yellow Bic lighters—I guess you can’t have a saint without a little sinning.
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