It’s Primavera and Dua Lipa shot her latest music video in Barcelona last month. The countdown begins for another season of music festivals, kicking off with Primavera Sound at the end of May.
The promo video for Primavera Sound this year is great, cleverly using well-known buildings and locations around the city, with the names of many artists in this year’s line-up inserted as neon signs, advertisements, or labels. It’s a great introductory video for this post, as it brings the artists into the city in many surprising places.
Primavera Sound’s promo video for 2024
That’s followed by Sonar, Cruilla and a series of festivals, which will draw in the crowds over summer.
Barcelona as a backdrop
Last month Dua Lipa was in Barcelona and shot her latest music video on the high board at Montjuic overlooking Barcelona.
Illusion was viewed almost 17 Million times in its first fortnight on YouTube In April 2024. There’s some suggestion that it honours Kylie Minogue’s video of Slow, which was shot in the same location and released more than 20 years earlier.
Dua Lipa – Illusion (2024)
Kylie Minogue – Slow (2003)
Behind the scenes – Filming of Slow
Another great music video shot in Barcelona was Shakira’s Loca. She captures the summer spirit racing through Barceloneta on the back of a motorbike.
Shakira – Loca (2010)
Local artists
Local artists like Rosalia and Bad Gyal have also used Barcelona as a backdrop when recording some of their music videos. Check out the Pitchfork articles on the two artists if you are interested in learning more about them and their music.
Pitchfork interview with Rosalia
Pitchfork article on Bad Gyal
One of Rosalia’s early videos (2015) is shot from the hills overlooking Barcelona.
Rosalia – Here with you (2015)
Other music videos include Despecha – set on an urban beach close to Barcelona or Vampiros recorded with Rauw Alejandro, set in a big old mansion, with street scenes in the old part of the city.
The city as a venue
Some music videos showcase specific streets.
Evanescence – My immortal is mostly set in Plaça Sant Felip Neri – and some nearby streets in the Gothic quarter.
JP Saxe – 25 in Barcelona shows the artist busking and exploring the city.
Max George – Barcelona
Transcending cultures – from Norway, Romania, Korea and more
Barcelona draws people from around the world and some choose to bring the spirit of the city back to their home. Others use the city as a backdrop to showcase their music.
The video Little Numbers from BOY, a Swiss-German pop duo, released this video in 2011, connecting with the city
A number of Kpop artists have chosen Barcelona as a setting for music videos, which is sure to have boosted the number of tourists visiting from South Korea.
The artist Kahi recorded It’s Me in 2014. There are a number of street scenes in the old part of Barcelona.
More recently the group NewJeans have recorded several songs such as Attention, Hype Boy, and Cool with you (if you like Side A, look for Side B)
NewJeans – Cool with you (Side A & B)
KMF – Young You
Otilla – Prisionera (Barcelona remix)
This could have been put together by the Barcelona Tourist Office. They must be very happy when musicians decide to promote the city.
INNA – Bad Boys
A group from Romania who use the skater scene and showcase another part of the city.
They also did some busking in the Gotic quarter, recording Take Me Higher amongst others for those who happened to be there.
