Nebulossa: 10 Facts about Spain’s Eurovision 2024 representative

They are in a good moment, it was just a matter of time. Those lines from the “Zorra” chorus define what Benidorm Fest and Eurovision 2024 have brought to Nebulossa, the Spanish representatives. They were the underdogs at Benidorm Fest, with few more than 1,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and now they count views and streams by millions. 

10 Facts about Nebulossa

1. Who are Nebulossa?

First things first: Nebulossa is an electronic pop group consisting of María (Mery) Bas and Mark Dasousa, who are a married couple with two children. They hail from Ondara, in the Valencian Region, which is less than 30 minutes away from Benidorm. They are the second act from the region to win Benidorm Fest after Blanca Paloma.

Drummer Ana Villa joins them usually, and for Benidorm Fest they also lined up dancers César Ferrío and Iosu Martínez. 

2. You’ll never guess how they met

Mery (55) and Mark (47) grew in the same town, Ondara, which has around 7,000 inhabitants. She’s eight years older than him and actually… she was his nanny. That said, they didn’t start their relationship until later, when they were both adults and Mery married twice before Mark. 

They have two children: María (23) and Neo (11) and a dog named Ona. During Benidorm Fest, both Mery and Mark spoke often how they were missing their children, because it was the first time that Neo was not with them for so long.

3. A ‘Nebulossa’ from the Pyrenées

Their name ‘Nebulossa’, which means ‘nebula’ in English, was Mery’s idea. She thought of it during a trip to the Pyrenées in 2018. They added the double ‘s’ as a way to claim that they come from the Valencian Region and speak Valencian at home. The double ‘s’ is a common trait in that language, although the word ‘Nebulosa’ doesn’t have it. 

After dating for over 20 years, Mery told Mark that she wanted to create a music group. She had always been a fan of 80s music and enjoyed opera as well, so she decided to start learning how to sing herself. Mark, who works as a musical producer was keen about helping his wife fulfilling her dream… and look how far it took them!

4. A spa and a recording studio

For both Mery and Mark, Nebulossa was a project they developed parallel to their daily jobs. Mery owns a spa and wellness studio, inherited from her mother. She was still working there in the run up to Benidorm Fest. Now, her daughter María is about to take over it.

Mark, whose real name is Lorenzo Giner, is a music producer based in Ondara, where he established ‘Atomic Studio’. For over 20 years, he has been producing groups in the Valencian, Catalan and Basque music scene.

5. Party at Dasousa’s

What’s funny about Mark’s studio is that many people won’t know they have been listening to music he has produced for many years. Especially if you come from the Valencian Region, Catalonia or the Balearic Islands, you’ll have listened at least once to La Fúmiga, Zoo, Pupil·les or La Raíz.

Most of these groups sing in Valencian, and they have been getting more and more success recently, to the point that Mark has been dubbed “the creator behind Valencia’s alternative scene“. 

6. Una Voce per… Spagna

Before trying their luck at Benidorm Fest, Nebulossa entered Una Voce Per San Marino in 2023. In contrast with the success of “Zorra”, their entry “Anoche” didn’t even make it to the semi-finals.

7. A surprise for Mark

For Benidorm Fest 2024, Mery decided to send “Zorra” last minute… without telling her husband. Mark found out they had entered Benidorm Fest just days before knowing they were selected for it. 

Both of them were very cautious with the contest, and in the run up to Benidorm they weren’t even thinking they’d made it to the final. And the rest is history.

8. Duetting with Gloria Trevi

In the run up to Eurovision, RTVE has embarked Nebulossa on a promotional tour around the USA, in order to promote their entry among Latin American fans. 

And what a better way to do it than promoting “Zorra” in a duet with Mexican legend Gloria Trevi, who has been over 30 years in the music scene and 7,8 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

“Zorra” (Gloria Trevi remix) will be available to stream on April 5.

Nebulossa, representantes de España en Eurovisión, estrenaron la nueva versión de #ZORRA junto a Gloria Trevi este fin de semana en el Radio City Music Hall de Nueva York.

El fenómeno de 'Zorra' traspasa fronteras ?#Mañaneros18M

??https://t.co/eGcuDv9QhY pic.twitter.com/zQtIy8HQMx

— La 1 (@La1_tve) March 18, 2024

9. Polemic and resignations

“Zorra” winning Benidorm Fest was met with mixed reactions from the Spanish audience. On the one side, there were doubts about Mery’s vocal abilities and how adequate the performance was for the message of the song. 

And then there was a debate stirred by certain groups of self proclaimed feminists, who accused the song of disrespecting women and even laughing at the victims of sexist violence.

Despite the fact that Mery disregarded these claims and stated on numerous occasions that the song refers to her personal experience, the debate extended to the mainstream media and politics. Even Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez supported the song.

Meanwhile, RTVE’s delegate for Equity, Montserrat Boix, published a series of tweets stating she was stepping down as she could not defend the message of the song. However, it was later revealed that she had previously resigned to her position for other reasons, only it had not been made public. 

10. “We’re not 20 anymore, we don’t give a damn”

Mery and Mark have answered to the polemics surrounding the song in several occasions. However, they gave the most iconic response the day after winning Benidorm Fest.

In front of dozens of journalists and with the trophy in her hands, Mery expressed her position on those who criticise them: “We’re already of a certain age, and we handle things differently. So it is very easy. We’re not 20 anymore, and we don’t give a damn”. 

?? Spain’s Nebulossa are so effortlessly cool tonight in Barcelona ?#BCNEurovision #Eurovision @BCNeurovision pic.twitter.com/Ug9XwyxNJP

— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) April 5, 2024