Free spirits from Spain: Get to know Nebulossa

After getting their song ZORRA all the way to the Benidorm Fest final, Nebulossa took home the win and got their golden ticket to represent Spain at Eurovision 2024. The Alicante-based couple competed against 7 other artists in the final, and came out on top. Since then, ZORRA has become a Top 5 hit on the Spanish music charts, and has charted in the upper echelons of the Viral Chart on Spotify Global. 

Mery and Mark put their musical minds together in 2019, and the rest is history. Nebulossa got underway, and they were soon combining 1980s sounds, pop melodies, and powerful lyrics. They released their debut album Poliédrica de mí in 2021, then toured their music around Spain. ZORRA is an empowering song for singer Mery, and so is the whole idea of Nebulossa. Why not start a musical career after the age of 50?

Nebulossa were busy working on something new when the Benidorm Fest win came along, but if there’s ever a good reason to press pause on a project, it’s the Eurovision Song Contest. You can take that as general life advice, Europe.

The couple have a dog called Ona, who they say is like their 3rd daughter. Ona sleeps in bed with them, and she gives them the calm they need when they come back home. Mery and Mark do say they wake up very early though, so let’s hope Ona doesn’t mind those early starts too.

Nebulossa are still reeling from their Benidorm Fest win, but they’ve packed in a lot of fun since. That includes recording a Spanish-language version of The Human League’s Don’t You Want Me, right on brand for the synthpop duo. They’ve also been travelling around Europe performing ZORRA and meeting the other Eurovision 2024 artists.

The pair’s top Eurovision hero is of course one of Spain’s entries, and takes us all the way back to 1970. Nebulossa look up to legendary Spanish singer and footballer, Julio Iglesias, who performed the song Gwendolyne and finished in a very respectable 4th place — he’s also considered one of Spain’s most successful singers ever.

ZORRA is all about being a liberal woman breaking free from labels. And when we asked Nebulossa to put together a playlist of their favourite tunes, it was clear where some of their musical influences have come from. For starters, there’s the seductive vibe in Air’s Sexy Boy, and then the empowering lyrics and 1980s sound from Talk Talk’s It’s My Life. They also love Blondie’s Heart Of Glass, Alphaville’s Big In Japan, and Madonna’s Hung Up.

Nebulossa have a dream that they might meet ABBA when they arrive in Malmö. We can’t promise that, but if ABBA have taught us anything, it’s that it’s good to have a dream (a song to sing…)

Hear more from Nebulossa on the Spanish-language episode 14 of the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast.

You can learn more about Nebulossa from Spain right here.