On February 3rd 2024, Nebulossa were declared the winners of Benidorm Fest 2024, and will now go on to represent Spain at Eurovision with ‘Zorra’.
Here’s all you need to know about the duo & their song!
Who Are Nebulossa?
Nebulossa are a synthpop duo made up of singer & producer María Bas and keyboardist & producer Mark Dasousa. The pair have been married for 20 years, and have two children. They formed Nebulossa in Ondara, Alicante in 2018.
Music Career
Nebulossa began making music in 2020, releasing 5 singles – their debut being ‘La Colmena’. Inspired by sounds of the 80’s, they note their musical influences as O.M.D, Ultravox, Alphaville and Thomas Dolby. 2021 saw the release of their first album ‘Poliédrica de mí’, with further songs released in 2022 and 2023. They’ve toured across Spain, were nominated at the Pop Eye Awards as ‘Best New Group’ and won the Studio Mans Contest. Mark and María refer to their music as MPYMS (Mucho pop y mucho sinte // English: A lot of pop and a lot of synth). Currently, they’re working on their EP ‘Virturrosismo‘, set to be released sometime in 2024.
In 2023, they entered Una Voce Per San Marino, with hopes to represent the nation in Liverpool at Eurovision 2023, but didn’t progress to the final stages.
Benidorm Fest 2024
In November 2023, Nebulossa were announced as one of 16 acts taking part in Spain’s national final, Benidorm Fest. Initially not a favourite to win based off of the announced artists, it wasn’t until their song ‘Zorra’ was released in December that a win looked like it could be on the cards – shooting to the top of Spain’s ‘Viral 50’ playlist on Spotify and amassing over 1 million streams by the time of Semi Final 1. The song had reached 2 million streams by the final, and it looked to be a race between Nebulossa and St. Pedro as the votes came in – both received the same jury score, but with Nebulossa winning the televote and placing 3rd with the demoscopic jury, ‘Zorra’ was announced as the winner of Benidorm Fest 2024.
‘Zorra’ literally translates in English to ‘vixen’ but is used figuratively by Spaniards to mean ‘bitch’ or ‘slut’. The song was created to promote empowerment, fighting back against sexism and stereotypes – the translated lyrics stating at one point I’m in a good moment (Bitch, bitch, bitch) // Rebuilt from the inside (Bitch, bitch, bitch) // And that bitch that you feared so much // Became empowered // And now she’s a picture-perfect bitch. María explained the songs meaning to WECB Radio, stating:
Many times I have felt marginalised and discriminated against. The word ‘slut’, that feeling, is carried inside. Many women are going to feel identified because we are not on equal terms.
María Bas, WECB Radio
The music video for ‘Zorra’ references important and popular women in Spain, including actress Bibiana Fernández, Italian singer Raffaella Carrà and artist, singer and politician Manuela Trasobares (who was Spain’s first transgender local councillor) who was, according to this article by Wiwibloggs, one of the first trans-women to appear in Spanish mass media – sharing her story and raising awareness of the transphobia and sexism she and others have faced.
Eurovision 2024
Nebulossa is part of the Big 5 as Spain’s representative, so will go straight into the final alongside the other Big 5 entries (France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and Sweden). Viewers at home will be able to catch a snippet of Nebulossa’s performance at the contest during Semi Final 2 on May 9th 2024 and will see them perform in full during the Grand Final on May 11th 2024.
We wish Nebulossa & Spain the best of luck for this years contest!
Follow Nebulossa on Social Media!
Twitter – @nebulossa_off
Instagram – @nebulossa_oficial
