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Motomami (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía, released on 18 March 2022 through Columbia Records. The concept album features guest vocals from the Weeknd and Tokischa, and is presented as Rosalía's "most personal and confessional album so far."
Four singles were released from the album, with the lead single "La Fama" (featuring the Weeknd) peaking at number two on the US Hot Latin Songs chart, and reaching the top spot on the Spanish charts, marking Rosalía's eighth number-one single in the country. She promoted the album with a Grand Theft Auto Online radio station and a performance on Saturday Night Live, becoming the first Spanish solo act to serve as the show's musical guest. Rosalía plans to further support the album with a world tour.
Background and recording
In November 2018, Rosalía released her second studio album El Mal Querer to critical acclaim and commercial success. The concept album, inspired by the 13th-century anonymous Occitan Romance of Flamenca, launched the singer into mainstream stardom. The album received critical acclaim for its avant-garde production, which fused flamenco music with pop and urbano. El Mal Querer was listed in many year-end publications as well as in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It was also awarded Album of the Year at the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards and Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Recording sessions for the singer's next project began in Los Angeles as early as 2019. While on tour that year, Rosalía released a collection of singles. In March, the first of eight, "Con Altura", featuring J Balvin and El Guincho, was released on digital platforms. It topped the charts in Argentina, Venezuela, Spain and Colombia among others and was the second most-watched music video released in 2019 on YouTube as well as the most-watched female music video that year. May saw the release of "Aute Cuture" whereas "Milionària" and "Dios Nos Libre del Dinero" were released in July. In August, a collaboration with Ozuna, "Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi", was released to great commercial success. The singer continued releasing standalone singles such as "A Palé", "Dolerme" and "Juro Que" throughout 2019 and 2020. Rosalía also collaborated twice with Travis Scott; at first on the remix of his track "Highest in the Room" alongside Lil Baby and then on "TKN", the latter of which became her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.
When Dutch radio station 3VOOR12 asked the singer through a Zoom press conference about a possible single compilation or box set, Rosalía expressed total rejection to the idea explaining that "I don't really enjoy records that are just a collection of singles. I usually enjoy records that tell a story and that are alive and involve a lot of thinking." She also revealed that she was "trying really hard to release a new project in 2020" but all of the independent singles released so far wouldn't be included. She continued by saying that "as a musician I feel the responsibility to release a cohesive album, one that makes sense; one in where the songs are linked and share an essence". Rosalía was later seen in the recording studio with Michael Uzowuru, Mike Dean, the Neptunes and Playboi Carti among others.
During 2021, Rosalía released more standalone singles such as "Lo Vas a Olvidar" and "Linda" alongside Billie Eilish and Tokischa, respectively. In May, talent manager Rebecca León confirmed that Rosalía wouldn't release an album in 2021. In August, the singer revealed to Santiago Matías that the album "was already taking shape" yet the number of songs was still unknown. She later admitted that she had troubled times with deadlines, as the recording process lasted two years plus the mixing stage being over nine months. Motomami was completed on April 15, 2021. Rosalía also revealed she suffered from writer's block while on tour, with isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and partly moving with Frank Ocean to New York City helping the process flow despite being homesick. The recording process of Motomami was registered on the singer's private Instagram account 'holamotomami'. In October, the singer teased on TikTok that the project will be released "soon" and premiered 30 seconds of the album's lead single. During a fan meet and greet in Mexico in partnership with Exa FM, Rosalía revealed that her new album would be "very different" from its predecessor and that the lead single would be released in November.
Motomami was officially announced on 2 November 2021, the third anniversary of El Mal Querer, along with a 15-second trailer directed by Daniel Sannwald which contained a snippet of one of the album's songs as well as a tentative 2022 release date. Sannwald also pictured the album cover, which was revealed on social media on 31 January 2022. On 8 November 2021, Rosalía announced the album's lead single, "La Fama" featuring the Weeknd. It was released on 11 November.
Composition
Primarily a pop record, Motomami explores experimental pop and reggaeton genres. In an interview with Diego Ortiz for Rolling Stone, Rosalía described the album as a "brave" record that is heavily influenced by reggaeton. She then expressed that the album is the "most personal and confessional album that I've made so far", revolving around lyrical themes of transformation, sexuality, heartbreak, celebration, spirituality, self-respect and isolation. Motomami is largely inspired by the Latin music she danced to with her cousins as a child, and encountered again traveling the world as a budding pop star. During the album's creation, Rosalía drew influences from artists such as Héctor Lavoe, Nina Simone, Patti Smith, Bach, Michèle Lamy, Pedro Almodóvar and Andrei Tarkovsky. Ortiz praised the experimental nature of Motomami, stating that "there's room for everything here. Every element has been hand-sewn to form a skeleton of what modern music should be: art and flavor, dembow, champeta, flamenco, bachata, hip-hop, piano melodies, etc." He then compared "the degree of lyrical, rhythmic and sonic experimentation" to Beastie Boys' Ill Communication (1994) and Moby's Play (1999), and found similarities in Lorde's Pure Heroine (2013) and Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral (1994).
Motomami begins with "Saoko", an alternative reggaeton and experimental track with industrial and avant-jazz elements. The song features heavy synthesizers, distorted pianos and traditional reggaeton drums; while its lyrics celebrate transformation and change. Its third track, "La Fama" featuring Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, is a midtempo bachata influenced by electropop that details the downsides of fame. The fifth track "Chicken Teriyaki" has been described as a "TikTok dance-ready" reggaeton track where Rosalía raps about a trip to New York City. The song is highlighted for its use of "ironic" and humorous lyricism. The sixth track "Hentai" is a "delicate" piano ballad with pulsing electronic beats that explores the pleasures of sexual intercourse and female sexuality.
Conception
During an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, Rosalía described Motomami as a loose concept album that paints a self-portrait of herself. She also revealed that the album is more playful than her previous albums, explaining: "I feel like I haven't done that in the other albums. Also, they were much more serious if that makes sense. And I think that in this one, I was like, 'I really want to find a way to allow my sense of humor to be present.'"
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