Natalia Lacunza Sanabdón better known as Natalia Lacunza is a Spanish singer and songwriter. She first gained national recognition in 2018, placing as the third in Operación Triunfo of the Spanish reality television talent competition Operación Triunfo, behind :es:Alba Reche|Alba Reche and Famous Oberogo. While competing in Operación Triunfo, Lacunza tried to represent Spain at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and released "La Clave" as a solo song and "Nadie se Salva" alongisde fellow competitor Miki Núñez. In Spring 2019 she signed a record deal with Universal Music Spain and released her debut extended play "Otras Alas" in June 2019. The EP featured her debut single "Nana Triste", which features Spanish indie pop singer Guitarricadelafuente. The song reached the fourth position on the PROMUSICAE chart while the EP topped it for two consecutive weeks and earned a gold certification in less than a month. Her second EP, which she titled EP2, was released on March 13, 2020, topped the Spanish Albums chart for a week and spawned three singles.
Early life
Lacunza was born in Pamplona, Spain in January 1999. She began to show interest in music in her teenage years when she quit studying Audiovisual Communication at the University of Navarra to focus on her musical career. She started as a singer under the stage name Elian Bay which was inspired by James Bay, one of her biggest influences. In 2017 she auditioned for the musical television contest La Voz. She sand 'I Lived' by One Republic but was desqualified after the blind auditions. In June 2018 she audition for series ten of the Spanish reality television musical contest Operación Triunfo. In the summer she released a song in English titled "Don't Ask". She entered the show in September and made it to the final, which took place shortly before Christmas. She placed as the third. In January 2019 she was selected to represent Spain in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest but didn't make it. Although it would have been a great opportunity for her, she never showed interest in it and showed repulse in travelling to Israel due to the Palestinian conflict.
Career
2019-present: ''Otras Alas'' and ''EP2''
After the singer left Operación Triunfo in December 2018 and failed to represent Spain at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, the singer began working on her solo projects. In February a co-headlining tour with her talent show collages started in Madrid and ended in Cádiz in August comprising 13 concerts and reuniting over 120,000 fans. In Spring, Lacunza signed a record deal with Universal Music Spain to release an extended play. Thus, on June 4, 2019 the singer revealed that she would be releasing her debut single alongside Spanish guitarist and novel artist Guitarricadelafuente on June 14. "Nana Triste" received very positive reviews by press and general public and impulsed the careers of both artists. A week later, on June 21, she released her debut EP "Otras Alas" which features collaborations with Guitarricadelafuente and Marem Ladson and drew comparisons to Billie Eilish. The project was certified gold in Spain for selling over 20,000 copies after two weeks. The EP also topped the Spanish Album charts for two consecutive weeks. In July "Tarántula" was released as its second single. Throughout the year, the singer promoted her record at a special gala at Joy Eslava, at the Coca-Cola Music Experience or even at the 2019 New Year's Eve special TVE programme. in January 2020 Lacunza was nominated for 'Best New Artist', 'Best Female Act' and 'Best Album' for Otras Alas at the 2020 Premios Odeón. She also started teasing her next project. On January 24 she released its respective lead single "Olvídate de Mí" on streaming and music download platforms. She performed the song in Operación Triunfo's eleventh edition. In February she release its second single titled 'Algo Duele Más' featuring BRONQUIO and collaborated on "En Llamas" alongside 2018 X-Factor winner Pol Granch. The EP, which she titled EP2 was released on March 13, 2020 phisically and digitally. Lacunza was scheduled to do some signing parties in selected cities in Spain and to tour the country from March 26 to late summer but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all these plans were cancelled. The tour is set to begin in October 2020. EP2 debuted atop the Spanish Album chart. On June 19, Lacunza released a live extended play titled "En Casa", which includes four songs from EP2 performed in an acoustic version at her house. That same day a 2-side single vinyl that includes "Olvídate de Mí" and "Algo Duele Más" was commercialized in selected stores as part of the "Record Store Day" campaign, which hopes to save CD stores from closing.
