Bad Gyal

Alba Farelo i Solé (born 7 March 1997),[1] known professionally as Bad Gyal, is a 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 interpretation of Rihanna's "Work" in the Catalan language.[2] She then continued to make music as an independent artist, releasing records like "Indapanden", "Jacaranda" or "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.[3]

In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Farelo and the second or maternal family name is Solé; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
Bad Gyal
Bad Gyal performing in 2018
Born
Alba Farelo i Solé

(1997-03-07) 7 March 1997
Vilassar de Mar, Barcelona, Spain
Occupation
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • model
  • DJ
Years active2016–present
Parent(s)
  • Eduard Farelo (father)
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Websiteakabadgyal.com

Farelo signed Interscope and Aftercluv a year later and saw mainstream acclaim with songs like "Santa María", "Zorra" or "Alocao", the latter becoming the number-one song in Spain in 2019.[4] 2021 saw the release of her first project as a signed artist Warm Up, as well as the three-side single Soundsystem: the Final Releases.[5][6]

Other ventures of Bad Gyal besides music include fashion and modelling. She made her modelling debut at Andrés Sardá's Spring/Summer 2022 show at Madrid Fashion Week.[7] As for social activism, Farelo has been an advocate for gender equality, LGBT rights and social justice.

Early life

Alba Farelo i Solé was born on 7 March 1997 in Vilassar de Mar, Barcelona. The eldest of five children,[8] Farelo is the daughter of Eduard Farelo, a voice actor[9][10] who worked for international productions such as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. After taking selectividad, Farelo studied a degree in fashion design at the University of Barcelona. While attending university and working at a call centre, she released "Pai" in April 2016, an adaptation of "Work" by Rihanna in the Catalan language.[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 Latin music genres in Catalan and was named one of the biggest musical promises in Spain after the cover was picked up by a local radio. 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 the province of Barcelona. She later became more interested in producing her own music and, with the money she made out of these gigs, she rented recording studios for limited hours and hired some 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. Through that era, she hit a page on 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. As "Fiebre" was having a lot of success, she was offered many record deals, which she turned down after some legal advises by lawyers and her dream to continue as an independent artist. 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 US.

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 was released in parallel with "Milionària" by Rosalía, in which some called "the biggest musical weekend celebration in recent Catalan music memory".[18] It marked Farelo's first charting song in Spain. It was later certified gold.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22] She also released "Aprendiendo el Sexo" later on, with a music video produced by Canada and filmed at the luxurious W Hotel Barcelona.[23] 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.[24]

Bad Gyal released her first extended play Warm Up on 19 March 2021 with her latest releases including the controversial Rauw Alejandro "Zorra" remix and the YouTube censored "Pussy".[25][26] The EP peaked at 5 in Spain.[27] She also collaborated with clothing brand Bershka and released an exclusive clothing line.[28] 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".[29][30] As tour season came to an end, Farelo published "Flow 2000" as well as the three-side single Soundsystem: the Final Releases featuring songs she had been performing live for years yet remained unreleased.[31] She parallelly released "A la Mía" exclusively for the Grand Theft Auto Online radio station Motomami Los Santos hosted by Rosalía and Arca.[32]

Influences

Influences include American rapper Lil Kim and Puerto Rican rapper Ivy Queen.[33]

Awards and nominations
List of awards and nominations received by Bad Gyal
Ceremony Year[upper-alpha 1] Recipient Category Result Ref.
Latin Music Italian Awards
2020
 "Alocao"
(with Omar Montes)		 Best Eurolatino Song Won
[34]
Odeón Awards
2021
 Best Urban Song Nominated
[35]
Herself Breakthrough Urban Artist Nominated
ARC Awards
2021
 Best Self-Titled Artist Tour Won
[36]
Odeón Awards
2022
 Urban Artist Nominated
[37]
Warm Up Album of the Year Nominated
Best Urban Album Nominated
"44"
(with Rema)		 Best Urban Song Nominated

Discography
Main article: Bad Gyal discography

Mixtapes

EPs

Filmography

Television
Title Year Role Ref.
La Hora Musa 2019 Performer [38]
Gaudir 2020 Co-protagonist [39]
Maestros de la Costura 2021 Guest appearance [40]
Drag Race España Guest judge [41]

Tours

Headlining
  • Bad Gyal Slow Wine Mixtape Tour (2017)
  • Bad Gyal Sound System (2019–2021)[42]

Notes
  1. Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References
  1. Lines, Esteban (13 April 2018). "La cantante Bad Gyal presenta sus nuevas canciones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  2. "Bad Gyal Is a Rihanna-Loving Dancehall Badass From Barcelona". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  3. 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]. La Razón (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  4. "Bad Gyal da el salto a una multinacional y firma por Interscope y Aftercluv". jenesaispop.com (in Spanish). 1 May 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  5. "Bad Gyal estrena su nuevo EP "Warm Up"". Billboard (in Spanish). 22 March 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  6. "Bad Gyal viaja de Barcelona a "Nueva York" en su nuevo single". Billboard (in Spanish). 30 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  7. Periódico, El (16 September 2021). "Bad Gyal debuta como modelo de la mano de Andrés Sardà". elperiodico (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  8. Martin, Felicity (2 August 2018). "A Little Bit International: Bad Gyal Interviewed". Clash. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  9. Joshi, Tara (23 February 2018). "The Catalan reggaeton queen growing angel wings". Dazed. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  10. Sherburne, Philip (5 October 2017). "Bad Gyal Is a Rihanna-Loving Dancehall Badass From Barcelona". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  11. Aroesti, Rachel (5 July 2018). "Bad Gyal: 'Young people feel really represented by reggaeton'". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  12. Bowe, Miles; Horner, Al; Lobenfeld, Claire; Twells, John; Clare Welsh, April; Wilson, Scott (15 December 2017). "The 50 Best Tracks of 2017". Fact. Retrieved 28 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "Bad Gyal - Access All Areas". FACT Magazine. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  14. "Bad Gyal presenta en Estados Unidos su nuevo disco recopilatorio". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  15. Myers, Owen (Summer 2018). "The dazzling melancholy of Bad Gyal's dancehall-inspired party music". The Fader. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  16. Madeleine, Fernando (30 April 2019). "Bad Gyal Signs With Interscope and Aftercluv: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  17. Blanco, Eva (May 2019). "Bad Gyal: "Todo lo decido yo..."" [Bad Gyal: "Everything I decide..."]. Vogue.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  18. Busquets, Jordi Pueyo; Pous, Ariadna (4 July 2019). "Rosalía canta en catalán en su nueva canción 'Milionària'". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  19. "Rosalía suma su cuarto top 1 en España con 'Milionària'; Bad Gyal, top 14 con 'Santa María'". jenesaispop.com (in Spanish). 16 July 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  20. "BAD GYAL AND OMAR MONTES TEAM UP ON STEAMY NEW RECORD "ALOCAO" – Skope Entertainment Inc". Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  21. "Bad Gyal: El underground es el nuevo mainstream". Qualsevol Nit (in Spanish). 4 December 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  22. "Guaynaa se suma a Bad Gyal & Kafu Banton en BOM BOM". Periódico Digital Centroamericano y del Caribe (in Spanish). 17 May 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  23. "Bad Gyal retoza con su chico en un hotel de lujo en 'Aprendiendo el sexo'". jenesaispop.com (in Spanish). 29 July 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  24. "Bad Gyal : concierto en streaming 5G con "Vodafone yu Music Shows" 15 diciembre, 2020". Qué! (in Spanish). 15 December 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  25. LOS40 (20 November 2020). "Bad Gyal: "No tiene sentido cantar una canción de empoderamiento femenino escrita por un hombre"". LOS40 (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  26. "El puertorriqueño Rauw Alejandro colabora en remezcla de española Bad Gyal • Hola News". Hola News. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  27. Música, El portal de, WARM UP - BAD GYAL | EPDM, retrieved 27 June 2021
  28. Baró, Mar. "Bad Gyal inspira una nueva colección para Bershka". Time Out Barcelona (in European Spanish). Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  29. "Bad Gyal, Mariah Angeliq y María Becerra juntas en BOBO". Neo2 Magazine (in Spanish). 25 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  30. "La artista Luchy DR acusa a Mariah Angeliq de plagio por su tema 'BOBO'". Los de la Música (in Spanish). 26 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  31. "Bad Gyal empieza su calendario de adviento con "Nueva York (Tot*)"". YOUNG España (in Spanish). 26 November 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  32. "Todas las canciones de Motomami Los Santos, la emisora de GTA V presentada por Rosalía". Marca (in Spanish). 17 December 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  33. "Bad Gyal on Lil Kim's legacy and the power of pussy". Interview. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  34. "Latin Music Official Italian Awards 2020: lista completa dei vincitori" (in English and Italian). Latin Music Official. 23 January 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  35. "Ganadores 2021 – Premios Odeón" (in Spanish). Odeón Awards. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  36. "Guanyadors als Premis ARC 2021" (in Catalan). Associació Professional de Representants, Promotors i Mànagers de Catalunya [Professional Association of Representatives, Promoters and Managers of Catalonia]. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  37. "Ganadores 2022 – Premios Odeón" (in Spanish). Odeón Awards. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  38. "The Cat Empire, Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Bad Gyal y Flamingo Tours, esta semana en 'La Hora Musa'". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 14 November 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  39. "Bad Gyal protagoniza el spot de los Premis Gaudí junto a su padre". Mondo Sonoro (in Spanish). 10 January 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  40. "Bad Gyal lleva la moda TRAP a Maestros de la Costura". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 16 February 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  41. "Así será la cuarta gala de 'Drag Race España', con Bad Gyal como nueva invitada". Vertele (in Spanish). 16 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  42. Palao Murcia, Alberto (19 November 2021). "Nueva música: "Voy a lanzar temas que lleváis pidiendo tres años"". Los 40 (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2022.
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