Las Ketchup

Las Ketchup
Origin	Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain
Genres	Flamenco pop chill-out
Years active	2002–2006
Labels	Altra Moda Sony
Members	Lucía Muñoz Lola Muñoz Pilar Muñoz Rocío Muñoz

Las Ketchup was a short-lived Spanish family pop girl group, founded by flamenco producer, Manuel "Queco" Ruiz. The group is best known for the 2002 song, "The Ketchup Song" ("Aserejé"), a single that sold over 7 million copies. The group's first album sold over 12 million copies, but the second did not achieve the same success. The group have not released any singles since 2006, but still perform together publicly around Spain and other countries.

Career

2001–02: Formation

Las Ketchup were originally discovered by the flamenco producer Manuel "Queco" Ruiz, who signed them to his newly formed, independent Córdoba label Shaketown Music, that he ran together with Manuel Illán.^[1]

2002–05: Hijas del Tomate

In the summer of 2002 they had a major flamenco Europop fusion hit with "Aserejé" (released as "The Ketchup Song" in the UK and other countries), which reached the top of the charts in many countries, including: Spain, Portugal, Colombia, the UK, Italy, Albania, France, Finland, Turkey, Syria, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Philippines, Switzerland, Germany, Romania, and Australia. However, it failed to hit the Top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The title and part of the lyrics were in Spanish. The hit also had an accompanying dance. The second single was "Kusha Las Payas" and garnered moderate success. The group re-released "The Ketchup Song" later in the same year, with a new video, as a Christmas song.

2006: Un Blodymary and addition of Rocío

The group took an extended absence from the public eye to write songs for a new album and, during the same period, Pilar had a baby. In 2006, they were joined by Rocío, a fourth sister, and came back as a four girl group to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The girls said themselves that Rocío had always been a member of Las Ketchup, but that had not appeared in the promo material or performances because she was pregnant. They released their second album titled Un Blodymary. The album release was delayed until the beginning of 2006. They planned to release 1 million copies and their producer Queco, who also produced and wrote their worldwide single "Aserejé", indicated that the album displayed their original sound. Their first single from the album was also titled "Un Blodymary" for the Spanish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The song finished 21st with only 18 points.

Discography

Albums

• Hijas del Tomate (2002)
• Un Blodymary (2006)

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		AUS [2]	AUT [3]	FRA [4]	GER [5]	NOR [6]	NZ [7]	SWE [8]	SWI [9]	UK [10]	US [11]
"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)"	2002	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	54	ARIA: 3× Platinum[12] BPI: Platinum[13] BVMI: 2× Platinum[14] IFPI AUT: 2× Platinum[15] IFPI NOR: 6× Platinum[16] IFPI SWE: 4× Platinum[17] IFPI SWI: 3× Platinum[18] RIANZ: 2× Platinum[19] SNEP: Diamond[20]	Hijas del Tomate
"Kusha Las Payas"		—	36	38	76	—	—	—	29	—	—
"Un Blodymary"	2006	—	—	—	—	—	—	38	82	—	—		Un Blodymary
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards

• 2002 Ondas Awards

– Best New Artist/Group

• 2004 Billboard Latin Music Awards

– Best Pop Album from the New Generation (Hijas del Tomate)

– Most Played Tropical-Salsa Song by a Duo or Group ("The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)")

• 2003 Latin Grammy Award

– Best Pop Album By a Duo or Group with Vocals Hijas del Tomate (Nominated, lost to Bacilos' Caraluna.)

• 2003 MIDEM (Cannes)

– Best New Artist/Group

• 2003 Amigo Awards

– Best New Group

– Best New Artist

• 2004 MIDEM (Cannes)

– Border Breakers (Best-selling Album out of its country and within Europe with Hijas del Tomate)

Parody

In 2002, the German comedian Elmar Brandt wrote (using the tune of Aserejé) a Gerhard Schröder parody called "Der Steuersong" (The Tax Song)^[21] for the radio program The Gerd Show.

In 2002, a satirical version to the tune of Aserejé by El Grupo Mayonesa circulated in Gibraltar prior to the referendum on a proposal of joint sovereignty, entitled 'Vota Que No, Que No, Que No No No'^[22]

See also

• Son de Sol

References

1. "Interview With Javier Portugués". HitQuarters. 11 Nov 2002. Retrieved 3 Jun 2011.
2. "Discography Las Ketchup". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
3. "Discographie Las Ketchup". austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
4. "Discographie Las Ketchup". lescharts.com (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
5. "Chartverfolgung / Las Ketchup / Single". musicline.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
6. "Discography Las Ketchup". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
7. "Discography Las Ketchup". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
8. "Discography Las Ketchup". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
9. "Discografie Las Ketchup". hitparade.ch (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
10. "Las Ketchup" (select "Singles" tab). The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
11. "Las Ketchup Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
12. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
13. "BPI Certified Awards Search" (insert "Las Ketchup" into the "Search" box, and then select "Go"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
14. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank: Las Ketchup" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
15. "Austrian single certifications – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Asereje)" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 19 August 2012. Enter Las Ketchup in the field Interpret. Enter The Ketchup Song (Asereje) in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
16. "Norwegian single certifications – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Asereje)" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
17. "(Guld & Platina) ÅR 2003" [(Gold & Platinum) Year 2003] (PDF) (in Swedish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. p. 1. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
18. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards 2002". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
19. "Top 50 Singles Chart: Chart #1351 (Sunday 30 March 2003)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
20. "Certifications Singles Diamant – année 2001". disqueenfrance.com (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
21. "'Der Steuersong'". german.about.com (in German). Retrieved 12 July 2010.
22. "El Groupo Mayonessa". gibinquirer.net (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 July 2010.