Las Ketchup is a Spanish girl group, founded by flamencorecord producer :es:Manuel Ruiz "Queco"|Manuel "Queco" Ruiz. The group is best known for the 2002 hit single, "The Ketchup Song ", a single that sold over 7 million copies worldwide. The group's debut studio album, Hijas del Tomate, has sold over 2 million copies worldwide, but the second did not achieve the same success. They represented Spain at Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens with the song "Un Blodymary". The group has not released any singles since 2006, but still performs together publicly around Spain and other countries.
History
2001–02: Formation
Las Ketchup were originally discovered by the flamenco record producer Manuel "Queco" Ruiz, who signed them to his newly formed, independent Córdoba label Shaketown Music, that he ran together with Manuel Illán.
2002–05: ''Hijas del Tomate''
In the middle of 2002 they had a major flamenco Europop fusion hit with "Aserejé", which reached the top of the charts in many countries, including: Spain, Portugal, Colombia, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Albania, France, Finland, Turkey, Syria, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, 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 studio album, titled Un Blodymary. The album release was delayed until the beginning of 2006. They planned to release one million copies and their record 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 twenty-first with only 18 points.
2006–present
In 2016, the group performed their hit "The Ketchup Song " as an interval during the first semi final of the Swedish pre-selection to the Eurovision Song Contest, Melodifestivalen. In 2017, they performed at the Pal Norte in Monterrey, Mexico.
