Bagdad (song)

"Bagdad" (stylised in all caps, officially "Bagdad – Cap 7: Liturgia") is a Spanish-language song recorded by Spanish singer and songwriter Rosalía. A fan favourite, the song was released on 4 December 2018 as the fourth single from her second studio album El Mal Querer (2018).[1] The track was co-produced by Rosalía and Spanish musician El Guincho and contains an interpolation of "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake.

"Bagdad"
Single by Rosalía
from the album El mal querer
LanguageSpanish
Released4 December 2018 (2018-12-04)
StudioEl Guincho Studio (Barcelona, Spain)
GenreNew flamenco · synth pop
Length3:03
LabelSony
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Rosalía singles chronology
"Di mi nombre"
(2018)		 "Bagdad"
(2018)		 "De aquí no sales"
(2019)
Music video
"Bagdad" on YouTube

Background

In an interview with Beats 1, Rosalía said she was inspired by an erotic club in Barcelona called Bagdad and by Timberlake's "Cry Me a River": "He heard the song and said, "Yes, you can use the melody"; I was so excited because he never approves anything."[2]

In this song, Rosalía represents a woman drowned by her anguish and grief due to a bad love. The woman does nothing to prevent it, but flooded by her own tears she finds salvation. The liturgy, a worship ceremony, ends with a rebirth.[3] The song's lyrics, part of a narrative arc that spans the whole album, revolve around the main character of the story being seen alone crying in the streets at night, clapping her hands in sorrow "like she's praying to the rhythm of bulerías", and then being rescued by a "fallen angel".

Music video

The music video for "Bagdad", directed by Helmi, was filmed in Paris and released on December 4, 2018 on YouTube. It features Rosalía as a strip-club dancer, dancing in a pole wearing a blonde wig and a red latex mono similar to the one Britney Spears used in the music video for "Oops!... I Did It Again" in 2000.[4] She goes to the place's bathroom after having a heated up phone conversation, where she starts crying to the point that the water from her tears fills up the whole room, drowning her. The singer tweeted that the music video is "For all those who were heartbroken and drowned in their sorrow."[5] A portion of an unreleased track "Lo Presiento", initially intended for El Mal Querer, can be spotted at the beginning of the video.[6]

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[7] 7

Year-end charts
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Portugal (AFP)[8] 1978

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[9] Gold 20,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Rámirez, Lucía (5 December 2018). "Qué se esconde detrás de 'Bagdad', el último single de Rosalía". Metropoli Abierta. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  2. Yglesias, Ana (6 December 2018). "Rosalía Cries A Literal River In "Bagdad"". The Recording Academy. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  3. "Qué se esconde detrás de 'Bagdad', lo último de Rosalía". www.metropoliabierta.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. "¿Qué tiene en común Rosalía en 'Bagdad' con la Britney Spears de los 2000?". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 5 December 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  5. Kim, Michelle (4 December 2018). "Rosalía Shares New Video for "BAGDAD (Cap.7: Liturgia)": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  6. "Rosalía estrena el videoclip de 'Bagdad' y en Twitter no paran de hablar de ello". AS.com (in Spanish). 4 December 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. "spanishcharts.com - Spanish charts portal". spanishcharts.com. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. AFP, AFP (28 December 2019). "TOP AFP/AUDIOGEST" (PDF). AFP.
  9. "Bagdad – Rosalía". Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 16 April 2019.



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