“Si pudiera ser tu héroe, si pudiera ser tu dios” («If I could be a hero, if I could be your God)”. Rosalía lit up the stage singing this magical cover of Enrique Iglesias’ ‘Héroe’ to thousands of people in her Coachella performances. The public knew the melody very well: Enrique, who already made his way into the Anglo American music market, shaked the scene with this great single two decades ago.
With an almost divine aura thanks to the focus of the mobile phone lights of the audience and the last rays of the sun in the Colorado desert, the image of the Spanish star seems taken from a movie.
Rosalía’s voice, only accompanied by a beautiful keyboard melody, resonated throughout the venue, moving the spectators, regardless of whether they understood what she was saying. The Spanish diva made history delivering a dazzling show in the two weekends at the desert, becoming one of the best performers at the festival.
Rosalía and Enrique Iglesias: Parallel Paths to Stardom
It’s no coincidence that Rosalía, the most well-known Spanish star of the last decade, chose to sing ‘Héroes‘ at Coachella (and even at Lollapalooza). This song is one of the first hits with which Enrique Iglesias (Madrid, 1975), succedeed in the Anglo American market. It’s seems a clear nod to the Enrique who broke into the radios worldwide.
But to understand why it’s so important to us that Rosalía has chosen this song for her show, we have to go back to 2001, when a 22-year-old Enrique became the first Spanish artist of the millennium to enter the Anglo American music charts. He did it with ‘Escape’,» the first single from his eponymous album, which reached #2 on Billboard. Hero managed to sound from the #3 position.
Enrique Iglesias broke all the possible records, achieving with his album ‘Escape’ to be number 1 in sales in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. A feat that no one in our country has yet managed to surpass!
The heroes now sing in Spanish
But the rules of the musical game have changed. 22 years after the release of ‘Escape’, it’s no longer necessary to sing in English to become the most listened-to artist in the world, as the Latin music boom has evidenced. For example, Bad Bunny has been doing it for three consecutive years. And he hasn’t sung a single note in English.
When Enrique released ‘Hero’, he did it with two versions: one in Spanish for the Latin population and one in English for the Anglo American population. A technique that many of his contemporaries used in the early 2000s. Who hasn’t heard Christina Aguilera’s ‘Ven Conmigo’?
But now things have changed. English-speaking artists want to approach Spanish. The Weeknd didn’t want Rosalía to sing his verses in ‘Blinding Lights’ in English, he could have called any other artist for that! And Billie Eilish wanted to sing her lyrics in Spanish in ‘Lo Vas a Olvidar’. But for this whole new generation of artists to want to approach this language in such an organic way, they had to listen to artists like Enrique and realize that Spanish-speaking music (even if it’s translated into English) is not just folklore, rumba, and mariachis. It’s a whole range of possibilities.
And They Became Gods
Enrique adapted to his times, as Rosalía does in the present. That ‘s why the singer from Barcelona honors Enrique’s career with ‘Héroes’. She pays tribute to the whole trajectory of an artist that opened up the path for Spanish music in the global market, reaching several records in the 00s decade. He also made history in the reggaeton scene, delivering iconic anthems like ‘Bailando’ or ‘Súbeme la radio’.
Of course, there were other artists that did it before them: from Selena Quintanilla to Enrique’s father, Julio Iglesias, but their music was focused in the Latin market. However, Enrique broke down barriers in the same way that Rosalia is currently doing now. Two ‘héroes’ that, without pretending it, have already turned into gods.
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