Rosalía brought two songs from Lux to Saturday Night Live: one sung entirely en pointe, the other in a downpour.
Rosalía was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on Saturday night (October 10th), on the third episode of the show’s 52nd season, hosted by Shane Gillis. She performed two songs from her 2025 album Lux: ‘Reliquia’ first, and ‘Magnolias’, the album’s closing track, later in the episode. It was her second time as the show’s musical guest, after her 2022 debut.
‘Reliquia’, en pointe
For ‘Reliquia’ she wore a black tutu with a lace bodice and sang the whole song standing en pointe, barely moving for nearly four minutes. White curtains behind her carried the shadows of orchestral musicians, and towards the end lines of dancers appeared on either side of her as the lighting turned to strobes, with Rosalía holding her position throughout. Class and classy.
Saint Teresa of Ávila is the inspiration for ‘Reliquia’ with Rosalía comparing herself to female saints, listing the body parts and pieces of her life she has left behind in cities around the world, to be kept by others as relics. Teresa’s remains were scattered after her death in 1582, with her heart and left arm in Alba de Tormes, an arm in Málaga and a foot in Rome. Rosalía has said she read many hagiographies of women saints from around the world while making the album.
The ballet. The pointe work isn’t a one-off for SNL. The Lux tour opens with Rosalía emerging from a box dressed as a ballerina, and ‘Reliquia’ followed, also en pointe. According to the Irish Times, the choreographers (La)Horde say the ballet sequences were Rosalía’s own idea, and Billboard reports she trained with a professional ballerina for them.
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‘Magnolias’, in the rain
She came back for ‘Magnolias’ in a white, sheer gown on a dimly lit stage, with English translations of the lyrics projected onto her chest as she sang in Spanish. Halfway through, rain started falling on the stage and she finished the song drenched. ‘Magnolias’, is the closing track on LUX that imagines her own funeral.
On the tour, ‘Magnolias’ is the encore, stripped back, with Rosalía alone on stage before she disappears into dust and heavenly light.
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Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
