Bad Gyal Explained

Bad Gyal
Birth Name:Alba Farelo Solé
Birth Date:7 March 1997
Birth Place:Vilassar de Mar, Catalonia, Spain
Works:Discography
Years Active:2016–present
Module:
Embed:yes
Relatives:Irma Farelo i Solé (sister)

Alba Farelo Solé (born 7 March 1997), known professionally as Bad Gyal, is Spanish singer, songwriter, DJ and model. Known for her distinctive overall use of Auto-Tune, Bad Gyal has developed a strong cult following ever since her musical career began in 2016, with her uploading an interpretation of Rihanna's "Work", sung in Catalan, to YouTube.[1] She continued to make music as an independent artist, releasing records like "Indapanden", "Jacaranda" and the popular "Fiebre". Bad Gyal later released two mixtapes: Slow Wine Mixtape (2016) and Worldwide Angel (2018), which consecrated her as an emerging artist within the Spanish urban scene.[2]

Bad Gyal signed with Interscope Records and Aftercluv in 2019, and saw mainstream acclaim with songs like "Santa María", "Zorra" and "Alocao", the latter becoming the number-one song in Spain for 2019.[3] 2021 saw the release of her first project as a signed artist Warm Up, as well as .[4] [5] Her debut album La Joia was released in 2024.

Other ventures for Bad Gyal, besides music, include fashion and modeling; she made her runway debut at Andrés Sardá's Spring/Summer 2022 show at Madrid Fashion Week.[6] As for social activism, Farelo has been an advocate for gender equality, LGBT rights and social justice.

Early life

Alba Farelo Solé was born on 7 March 1997 in Vilassar de Mar, Barcelona. The eldest of five children,[7] Farelo is the daughter of, an actor and voice actor.[8] [9] Farelo's younger sister Irma has also pursue a musical career under the name Mushkaa.[10] After taking Spanish; Castilian: [[selectividad]], Farelo earned a degree in fashion design at the University of Barcelona. While attending university, and working at a call centre, she released "Pai" (2016), an adaptation of "Work" by Rihanna in Catalan.[11] She stated that she never meant for that song to become viral, and that she just did it to create a funny memory with her group of friends. However, with that video, Farelo became one of the first artists to sing typically Latino/Spanish-language music genres in Catalan. She was named one of the most promising young musicians in Spain after the cover was picked up by a local radio station. While working in a bakery in her hometown, she decided to drop out of college to pursue a serious career in the music industry. She began as an independent artist, singing covers and playing music in nightclubs in and around Barcelona. She later became more interested in producing her own music and, with the money she made from gigs, soon rented recording studios and hired new producers. She would then release "Indapanden" and "No Pierdo Nada", among other songs produced by Fakeguido.

Career

2016–2018: Slow Wine Mixtape and Worldwide Angel

"Pai" gained popularity on YouTube, and was picked up by a local radio, which led to the creation of a mixtape, Slow Wine Mixtape, with producer Pablo Martínez. The mixtape was released on 9 November 2016. During this era, she was featured in several professional music magazines and websites including Pitchfork and Fact. Fact named her song "Jacaranda" the number 1 single of 2017.[12] After releasing the mixtape's debut single "Fiebre", Bad Gyal started to grow exponentially in the areas of El Maresme, Barcelona, and other points of Spain. Throughout the years, the song has developed a cult following and has been catalogued as a must play at clubs and music festivals. Because of "Fiebre"'s success, she was offered many record deals, which she turned down after receiving legal advice from lawyers. The success of the mixtape and its critical acclaim led Farelo to perform at several festivals in Iceland and Japan, as well as the Red Bull Music Academy Festival in Los Angeles, and Sónar in Barcelona.[13] [14] In late 2017 she also toured Mexico and the United States.It was first known by the artist from Cádiz Ayesha Chanel.

In February 2018, she released her second mixtape to critical acclaim, which she titled Worldwide Angel. The album was licensed and distributed with Canada Editorial.[15] The mixtape was produced by Jam City, Dubbel Dutch, Florentino and el Guincho. It spawned many singles including "Blink", "Candela" and "Internationally". The last one was included in the digital soundtrack of the first season of the Netflix teen drama series Élite and was featured in an episode. To promote the album, she took part of international festivals such as SXSW and Lollapalooza and toured once again the United States. During winter season she embarked on her first Asian tour, which visited countries like Japan, China and the Philippines. She also released "Open the Door" featuring Jamaican singer Govana, "Yo sigo iual" and "Unknown Feeling".

2019–2021: Commercial breakthrough and Warm Up

Formerly signed with the production company Canada Editorial, in April 2019 it was announced Farelo had signed with Interscope Records and Aftercluv Dance Lab.[16] The next month she was featured in Spanish Vogue.[17] As a signed artist, Farelo moved to a more mainstream field with her first release being the long-anticipated "Santa María" featuring Busy Signal. It marked Farelo's first charting song in Spain. It was later certified gold.[18] A couple weeks later she released its B-side track, "Hookah", which peaked at 55 in Spain. During the summer she embarked on her third solo tour Bad Gyal Soundsystem, which visited many festivals including Sónar, Jameson Urban Routes, Hellow, Arenal Sound and Ceremonia, among others. In October 2019 Farelo collaborated with Omar Montes on "Alocao", which eventually became huge in Spain and selected parts of Latin America. The song peaked at number one in Spain for several weeks and was certified five times platinum.[19] Two months later, she released her biggest commercial solo track to date, "Zorra", which peaked at number two and was certified three times platinum in Spain. Bad Gyal offered two major solo sold-out concerts at Razzmatazz and another sold-out one at La Riviera.[20] The Soundsystem show was expected to begin a major Spanish and Latin American leg starting 8 March 2020, but could only do three shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Appearances at festivals like Estéreo Picnic and Primavera Sound were cancelled while the whole tour was postponed to 2021.

During the pandemic, Farelo was featured on Kafu Banton's "Tú eres un bom bom", which would later be remixed in collaboration with Guaynaa.[21] She also released "Aprendiendo el sexo" later on, with a music video produced by Canada and filmed at the luxurious W Hotel Barcelona.[22] In November, she paired with Juanka and released "Blin blin" to commercial success and the acclaim of the general public. The track became viral in her home country and had a significant use on TikTok. She also partnered with Vodafone and offered a unique virtual concert.[23]

Bad Gyal released her first extended play Warm Up on 19 March 2021 with her latest releases including Rauw Alejandro "Zorra" remix and the YouTube censored "Pussy".[24] [25] The EP peaked at 5 in Spain. She also collaborated with clothing brand Bershka and released an exclusive clothing line.[26] On 25 June, she collaborated with Mariah Angeliq and María Becerra on "BOBO", which sampled TLC's "No Scrubs" and sparked controversy due to similarity with Luchy DR's "Bufón".[27] [28] As tour season came to an end, Farelo published "Flow 2000" as well as her second extended play featuring songs she had been performing live for years yet remained unreleased.[29] She parallelly released "A la mía" exclusively for the Grand Theft Auto Online radio station Motomami Los Santos hosted by Rosalía and Arca.[30]

Discography

See main article: article and Bad Gyal discography.

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRole
2019data-sort-value="Hora Musa, La" Performer[31]
2020GaudirCo-protagonist[32]
2021Guest appearance[33]
Drag Race EspañaGuest judge[34]

Tours

Headlining

Supporting

Awards and nominations

Award! width=3%
YearRecipientCategoryResult Ref.
Heat Latin Music Awards2024HerselfBest New Artist[36]
iHeartRadio Music Awards2024Best Latin New Artist[37]
Los 40 Music Awards2022Best Urban Act[38]
2023Best Spanish Urban Act[39]
ARC Awards2021Best Self-Titled Artist Tour[40]
Latin American Music Awards2024New Artist of the Year[41]
Latin Music Italian Awards2020data-sort-value="Alocao" "Alocao" Best Eurolatino Song[42]
MTV Europe Music Awards2022HerselfBest Spanish Act[43]
MTV Millennial Awards2024Celebrity Crush[44]
Crack Artist
Bellakeo Supremo"Bota Niña"
Premios Juventud2022HerselfNew Female Artist[45]
2023Female Artist – On The Rise[46]
Premios Lo Nuestro2023Breakthrough Female Artist[47]
Premios Odeón2021"Alocao" Best Urban Song[48]
HerselfBreakthrough Urban Artist
2022Urban Artist[49]
Warm UpAlbum of the Year
Best Urban Album
data-sort-value="44" "44" Best Urban Song
Premios Tu Música Urbano2022HerselfTop New Artist – Female[50]
2023Top Rising Star — Female[51]
Rolling Stone en Español Awards2023Voice of the Audience[52]

Notes and References

  1. News: Sherburne . Philip . Philip Sherburne . 5 October 2017 . Bad Gyal Is a Rihanna-Loving Dancehall Badass from Barcelona . 25 May 2022 . Pitchfork.
  2. Web site: Diez-Garde. Jose Luis. 28 November 2019. Bad Gyal, la bomba sexual que quiere el trono de Rosalía. Bad Gyal, the sex bomb that wants Rosalía's throne. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210122020227/https://www.larazon.es/gente/20191128/3etc4gsywvgspmvxfpbyimgkce.html . 22 January 2021 . 17 January 2021. La Razón. es.
  3. Web site: 2019-05-01. Bad Gyal da el salto a una multinacional y firma por Interscope y Aftercluv. 2021-01-17. jenesaispop.com. es.
  4. 2021-03-22. Bad Gyal estrena su nuevo EP "Warm Up". 2021-12-04. Billboard. es.
  5. 2021-11-30. Bad Gyal viaja de Barcelona a "Nueva York" en su nuevo single. 2021-12-15. Billboard. es.
  6. Web site: Periódico. El. 2021-09-16. Bad Gyal debuta como modelo de la mano de Andrés Sardà. 2021-12-30. elperiodico. es.
  7. News: Martin . Felicity . 2 August 2018 . A Little Bit International: Bad Gyal Interviewed . . 26 September 2018.
  8. News: Joshi . Tara . 23 February 2018 . The Catalan reggaeton queen growing angel wings . . 19 June 2018.
  9. News: Sherburne . Philip . Philip Sherburne . 5 October 2017 . Bad Gyal Is a Rihanna-Loving Dancehall Badass From Barcelona . . 13 October 2017.
  10. Web site: Mushkaa, algo más que la hermana de Bad Gyal: reguetón para ellas y portentosa sensibilidad juvenil. El Periódico de Catalunya. 20 January 2023. Ignasi. Fortuny.
  11. News: Aroesti . Rachel . 5 July 2018 . Bad Gyal: 'Young people feel really represented by reggaeton' . . 28 July 2018.
  12. Web site: Bowe . Miles . Horner . Al . Lobenfeld . Claire . Twells . John . Clare Welsh . April . Wilson . Scott . 15 December 2017 . The 50 Best Tracks of 2017 . 28 March 2022 . Fact.
  13. News: Bad Gyal - Access All Areas. 9 September 2017. FACT Magazine. 29 July 2018.
  14. News: Bad Gyal presenta en Estados Unidos su nuevo disco recopilatorio. 29 January 2018. La Vanguardia. 29 July 2018. es.
  15. News: The dazzling melancholy of Bad Gyal's dancehall-inspired party music. Myers. Owen. Summer 2018. The Fader. 27 July 2018.
  16. Bad Gyal Signs With Interscope and Aftercluv: Exclusive. Madeleine. Fernando. 30 April 2019. Billboard. 26 May 2019.
  17. Web site: Bad Gyal: "Todo lo decido yo...". Blanco. Eva. May 2019. Vogue.es. es. Bad Gyal: "Everything I decide...". 26 May 2019.
  18. Web site: 2019-07-16. Rosalía suma su cuarto top 1 en España con 'Milionària'; Bad Gyal, top 14 con 'Santa María'. 2021-01-17. jenesaispop.com. es.
  19. Web site: BAD GYAL AND OMAR MONTES TEAM UP ON STEAMY NEW RECORD "ALOCAO" – Skope Entertainment Inc. 26 October 2019 . 2021-01-17.
  20. Web site: 2019-12-04. Bad Gyal: El underground es el nuevo mainstream. 2021-01-17. Qualsevol Nit. es. 22 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210122030942/https://qualsevolnit.com/2019/12/bad-gyal-concierto-razzmatazz/. dead.
  21. Web site: 2020-05-17. Guaynaa se suma a Bad Gyal & Kafu Banton en BOM BOM. 2021-01-17. Periódico Digital Centroamericano y del Caribe. es. 22 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210122051958/https://newsinamerica.com/pdcc/gente/espectaculos/2020/guaynaa-se-suma-a-bad-gyal-kafu-banton-en-bom-bom/. dead.
  22. Web site: 2020-07-29. Bad Gyal retoza con su chico en un hotel de lujo en 'Aprendiendo el sexo'. 2021-01-17. jenesaispop.com. es.
  23. Web site: 2020-12-15. Bad Gyal : concierto en streaming 5G con "Vodafone yu Music Shows" 15 diciembre, 2020. 2021-01-17. Qué!. es.
  24. Web site: LOS40. 2020-11-20. Bad Gyal: "No tiene sentido cantar una canción de empoderamiento femenino escrita por un hombre". 2021-01-17. LOS40. es.
  25. Web site: 2021-01-22. El puertorriqueño Rauw Alejandro colabora en remezcla de española Bad Gyal • Hola News. 2021-01-23. Hola News. 29 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210129211342/https://holanews.com/el-puertorriqueno-rauw-alejandro-colabora-en-remezcla-de-espanola-bad-gyal/. dead.
  26. Web site: Baró. Mar. Bad Gyal inspira una nueva colección para Bershka. 2021-06-27. Time Out Barcelona. 3 June 2021 . es-ES.
  27. Web site: 2021-06-25. Bad Gyal, Mariah Angeliq y María Becerra juntas en BOBO. 2021-06-27. Neo2 Magazine. es.
  28. Web site: 2021-06-26. La artista Luchy DR acusa a Mariah Angeliq de plagio por su tema 'BOBO'. 2021-06-27. Los de la Música. es.
  29. Web site: 2021-11-26. Bad Gyal empieza su calendario de adviento con "Nueva York (tot*)". 2021-12-29. YOUNG España. es.
  30. News: 2021-12-17 . Todas las canciones de Motomami Los Santos, la emisora de GTA V presentada por Rosalía . es . . 2021-03-31.
  31. Web site: 14 November 2019. The Cat Empire, Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Bad Gyal y Flamingo Tours, esta semana en 'La Hora Musa'. 12 March 2021. RTVE.es. es.
  32. Web site: 10 January 2020. Bad Gyal protagoniza el spot de los Premis Gaudí junto a su padre. 12 March 2021. Mondo Sonoro. es.
  33. Web site: 16 February 2021. Bad Gyal lleva la moda TRAP a Maestros de la Costura. 12 March 2021. RTVE.es. es.
  34. Web site: 16 June 2021. Así será la cuarta gala de 'Drag Race España', con Bad Gyal como nueva invitada. 17 June 2021. Vertele. es.
  35. News: Palao Murcia . Alberto . 19 November 2021 . Nueva música: "Voy a lanzar temas que lleváis pidiendo tres años" . es . . 18 March 2022.
  36. Roiz . Jessica . 2024-05-10 . Karol G & Feid Lead 2024 Heat Latin Music Awards Nominations: Complete List . 2024-05-11 . Billboard . en-US.
  37. Web site: Grein . Paul . January 18, 2024 . Taylor Swift Leads 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nods, With Jelly Roll, 21 Savage & SZA Close Behind: Full List. February 11, 2024 . Billboard.
  38. Web site: NOMINADOS LOS40 MUSIC AWARDS 2022: ROSALÍA LIDERA CON 7 CANDIDATURAS EN UNA EDICIÓN MUY FEMENINA ©copyright los40.com. Los40. Cristina. Zavala. November 5, 2022. January 25, 2023. es.
  39. Web site: Nominados a LOS40 Music Awards 2023: lista completa. El Mundo. 17 October 2023. 18 October 2023. es.
  40. News: 13 December 2021. Guanyadors als Premis ARC 2021. ca. Associació Professional de Representants, Promotors i Mànagers de Catalunya [Professional Association of Representatives, Promoters and Managers of Catalonia]. 6 March 2022. 6 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220306125728/https://www.arcatalunya.cat/guanyadors-als-premis-arc-2021/. dead.
  41. Web site: FEID & PESO PLUMA TOP NOMINEES FOR THE 2024 LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS. TelevisaUnivision. March 19, 2024. March 19, 2024.
  42. News: 23 January 2021. Latin Music Official Italian Awards 2020: lista completa dei vincitori. en, it. Latin Music Official. 13 March 2022.
  43. News: 13 November 2022 . Bad Gyal, mejor artista española en premios europeos de MTV . es . . 13 November 2022.
  44. Web site: MTV MIAW 2024 revelan nominados: destacan Peso Pluma, Danna, Yeri Mua y Young Miko. El Siglo de Torreón. Enrique. Tinajero. June 11, 2024. August 13, 2024. es.
  45. Web site: Moral . Selene . 22 July 2022 . Lista de ganadores de los Premios Juventud: del triunfo de Karol G al 'casi vacío' de J Balvin . 24 July 2022 . . es.
  46. 2023 Premios Juventud Nominations: See the Complete List. Billboard. Griselda. Flores. June 13, 2023. June 13, 2023.
  47. Web site: Nominados a Premio Lo Nuestro 2023: lista completa y cómo votar. Univision. January 23, 2023. January 24, 2023. es.
  48. Web site: Ganadores 2021 – Premios Odeón. es. Odeón Awards. 29 March 2022.
  49. Web site: Ganadores 2022 – Premios Odeón. es. Odeón Awards. 29 March 2022.
  50. Mauro . Florencia . 23 June 2022 . Premios Tu Música Urbano 2022: Nominados y ganadores . 30 June 2022 . . es.
  51. Rauw Alejandro lidera nominaciones a Premios Tu Música Urbano 2023: Lista completa. Billboard. Jessica. Roiz. May 2, 2023. May 3, 2023. es.
  52. Web site: Vota por tu artista favorito en los Premios ROLLING STONE en ESPAÑOL. Rolling Stone. September 29, 2023. May 23, 2024. es.