Rosalía's surprise fan: Might Obama join Spanish star on world tour?

SPAIN'S most international new pop artist of the turn of the decade has an unexpected famous fan – former United States president Barack Obama.

Rosalía, the first Spanish woman in history ever to win an MTV Award, Brit comic James Corden's dream guest for his The Late Late Show, the mentor turned to by R&B star Alicia Keys for help with Spanish pronunciation on a forthcoming song, and cover girl for the summer 2020 edition of Elle USA went from near-obscurity to global household name in barely two years – all thanks to her final-year degree project.

Due to graduate in Flamenco Studies from Catalunya High School of Music, Rosalía's mandatory course assignment came in the form of her studio album El Mal Querer.

The first single release from it, Malamente, soared straight to the top of Los 40 Principales – Spain's top 40 music charts – and scooped up five Latin Grammy nominations.

For her home country and most of the world, this was the first they had heard of the mould-breaking talent from San Esteban de Sasrovira (Barcelona province), but El Mal Querer was in fact her second album – only, it contained a very different style of music from Rosalía's début collection, which was exclusively traditional, classic flamenco.

And with the second album, Rosalía effectively invented an entire new genre of music – 'flamenco-hip hop'.

Still only 28, Rosalía's long list of achievements and extra-curricular high-profile activities include creating a one-off clothing range for Inditex's cut-price casuals and streetwear chain Pull&Bear, and designing and modelling her own shade of M.A.C. lipstick for the global cosmetic brand's annual VIVA GLAM celebrity-endorsed charity campaign.

Now, to add to the string of names she could drop if she felt like it, Rosalía has attracted the attention of ex-POTUS Barack Obama.

She was only 15 when the nation's first-ever black president came into power, and was still at college and completely unknown even in Spain when Obama's eight years in the White House came to an end – but Rosalía has still managed to join such huge names as Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, Prince and Bruce Springsteen on his line-up of his favourite tunes for the summer.

“Every year, I get excited to share my summer playlist because I learn about so many new artists from your replies,” Obama tweeted.

“It's an example of how music really can bring us all together.

“Here's what I've been listening to this summer. What songs would you add?”

Seventh from top is Rosalía's recent hit Saoko, from her newly-released third album Motomami.

Fans queue in extreme heat as firefighters hose them down

Currently on tour to promote what has been dubbed by critics as 'the best album of 2022 so far', Rosalía's recent concert in Madrid saw fans queueing for hours outside in a heatwave, repeatedly doused by firemen's hoses to cool them down.

Even celebrities rushed to get tickets, including former Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo's partner Georgina Rodríguez, legendary TV presenter Belén Esteban, and cult film director Pedro Almodóvar.

After her opening night in Almería, she went on to perform in nine other venues in Spain including Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and Sevilla, and is set to cross the pond shortly for a lengthy schedule of live gigs across México, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Canada and the Dominican Republic.

And her surprise new fan Barack Obama might even wind up at one of her tour dates, given that Rosalía is set to perform at a dozen or so cities in the USA, including a two-night session at New York's Radio City Music Hall and at Los Angeles' YouTube Theatre.

She will then return to Europe for dates planned in Portugal, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and the UK, before completing her world tour on December 18 in Paris, France.

Obama's complete playlist

The former US president has tweeted 44 song titles and artists, with Rosalía and Saoko seventh on the list after Beyoncé (Break My Soul), Tems (Vibe Out), Harry Styles (Music for a Sushi Restaurant), The Spinners (Mighty Love), Joe Cocker (Feelin' Alright), and Sampa the Great featuring Nadeem Din-Gabisi (Energy).

After Rosalía are Lil Yachty (Split/Whole Time), Prince (Let's Go Crazy), Al Green (I Can't Get Next to You), Dr John (More Than You Know), Miles Davis (Blue in Green), Burna Boy (Last Last), Doechii (Persuasive), Hope Tala featuring Aminé (Cherries), Aretha Franklin (Save Me), Lyle Lovett (Nobody Knows Me), Bad Bunny & Bomba Estéreo (Ojitos Lindos), Koffee (Pull Up), Bruce Springsteen (Dancing in the Dark), Wet Leg (Angelica), Rakim (When I B on Tha Mic), Drake featuring Rihanna (Too Good), D'Angelo (Spanish Joint), Nina Simone (Do I Move You? Version II), Dave Brubeck (Take Five), Pheelz & BNXN featuring Buju (Finesse), Amber Mark (Bliss), Jacob Banks (Found), CAAMP (Apple Tree Blues), Otis Redding (I've Been Loving You), Wyclef Jean featuring Lauryn Hill (Guantanamera), Jack White (I'm Shakin'), Big John Hamilton (I Just Want to Thank You), Fatboy Slim (Praise You), Dijon (Many Times), The Foreign Exchange featuring Shana Tucker & Eric Roberson (Better), Omar Apollo (Tamagotchi), Maren Morris (The Furthest Thing), The Internet (Under Control), Kendrick Lamar (Die Hard), Vince Staples & Mustard (Magic), and Kacey Musgraves (Keep Looking Up).