Madonna Says She ‘Can’t Stop Listening’ to Rosalía’s New ‘Lux’ Album

Rosalía‘s ambitious fourth album, Lux, doesn’t officially drop until Friday (Nov. 7), but the Barcelona-born singer has already gotten the co-sign of a lifetime from an artist who knows a thing or two about musical transformations.

On Wednesday morning (Nov. 5) Madonna posted an image of the album’s provocative cover — on which Rosalía wears a nun’s habit and hugs herself from under her white shirt — on her Instagram Story with the message, “Thank you @Rosalia. I can’t stop listening! You are a true visionary!!!

The high praise comes as Rosalía gears up to release the follow-up to 2022’s Motomami, which found her dipping into pop, reggaetón, hip-hop, electronic and other genres, landing the singer her first album to chart on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at No. 33. Lux is yet another hard turn into an experimental zone, an orchestral, operatic epic recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra that mashes together history and spirituality across 18 tracks on which the singer Rosalía sings in 13 different languages including her native Spanish, as well as Catalan, English, Latin, Sicilian, Ukrainian, Arabic and German, among others.

She spent three years on writing the LP’s lyrics and instrumentation, which reference notable women from Saint Rosalia of Palermo to Chinese Taoist master/poet Sun Bu’er, the biblical figure of Miriam, sister of Moses, and punk godmother Patti Smith. “In general, just to be in this world is a lot; sometimes it’s overwhelming,” she says in her new Billboard cover story. “In the best-case scenario, the idea would be that whoever hears it feels light and feels hope. Because that was how it was made and where it was made from.”

Fans got their first taste of the results last month when Rosalía dropped the single “Berghain,” which features Björk and Yves Tumor and a string orchestra introduction, followed by a Carmina Burana-esque chorus and Rosalía singing in an operatic soprano in three languages. “This album has a completely different sound than any of the projects that I’ve done before. It was a challenge for me to do a more orchestral project and learn how to use an orchestra, understand all the instruments, all the possibilities, and learn and study from amazing composers in history and say, ‘OK, that’s what’s been done. What can I do that feels personal and honest for me?,’” she says about the intensive recording and writing process.

The genre-hopping project has also earned high praise from “Berghain”collaborator Björk, who tweeted out her enthusiasm last week on X, writing, “so extremely honoured to be on this song with rosalía ! it is so thrilling to watch this woman grow : congratulations to her with this incredible album switching genre kung-fu style this concept is fierce !”