Las Ketchup; Hijas del Tomate

PRNewswire
NEW YORK
09/24/2002

"The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)" by Las Ketchup is the surprise hit of 2002. Not since the rise of the fabled "Macarena" in 1996 has a dance, a song, and a sound captivated the dance floors and imagination of the world like "The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)."

"The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)" is an international sensation, reaching at #1 in Belgium (platinum), Finland, France, Germany (gold), Holland (platinum), Italy (platinum), Portugal, Spain (platinum), Sweden (gold), and Switzerland (platinum). The song has achieved #1 status in Central America and South America.

"The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)" knocked Eminem from the #1 slot on the European Music and Media single sales chart, which represents all of Europe combined.

The members of the Spanish pop sensation Las Ketchup are Lola, Lucia and Pilar Munoz, the three multi-talented daughters of Tomate, a renowned traditional flamenco guitarist from Cordoba, Spain. The title of the group's debut album, Hijas del Tomate, may be translated as "Daughters of Tomate."

Born and raised in a Spanish region noted for its Andalusian traditions, including flamenco and bullfighting, Lola, Lucia and Pilar have created an infectious highly original sound combining elements of Spanish rumba, Latin pop, Jamaican reggae, and old-school hip-hop.

The song's chorus takes its lyrics from the 1979 old school rap classic "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang. Written and arranged by the Cordoban producer/composer Manuel Ruiz "Queco," "The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)" tells the story of Diego, a young fashion-conscious gypsy with Rastafarian leanings who loves dancing and hip-hop and sings his own Andalusian rap: "Aserejr ja de je de jebe tu de jebere seibiunouva/Majavi an de bugui an de buididipi/Asereje ja de je de jebe tu de jebere seibiunouva/Majavi an de bugui an de buididipi/Asereje ... "

Having ignited an international dance craze over the summer, Las Ketchup and "The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)" are beginning to take over the American airwaves. First picked up by WKTU in New York, the song quickly became the station's #1 Most Requested and #5 Most Played and is sweeping American radio coast-to-coast.

Drawing the kind of listener response not heard since the "Macarena," the track was recently featured on Z100 New York on the station's Friday "5 O'Clock Whistle" and has been added on stations coast-to-coast including WBLI (Long Island), KIIS (Los Angeles), KHTS (San Diego), KRBV (Dallas), Y100 (Miami), KXXM (San Antonio), WAPE (Jacksonville), KBFM (McAllen), KZFM (Corpus Christi), WFHN (Providence), KFMB (San Diego), and WPLJ (New York City). The song can also be heard on KTFM and KCJZ (San Antonio), WKDI (West Palm Beach), KZZP (Phoenix), WXSS (Milwaukee), WPRO (Providence) and many more.

Already #1 in Mexico and charting in European (Holland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland) and Latin markets (Argentina, Sony Discos), Hijas del Tomate will be available in the U.S. -- in three different color covers -- on Tuesday, October 22 on Columbia Records.

MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here
http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X35104417

SOURCE: Columbia Records

CONTACT: Claire Mercuri, Columbia Records, Media, New York,
+1-212-833-5121, or claire_mercuri@sonymusic.com, for information on Las
Ketchup, "The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)," and Las Hijas del Tomate

Web site: http://www.columbiarecords.com/
http://www.theketchupsong.com/
http://www.lasketchup.com/