Naiara was the winner of Operación Triunfo 2023. Standing out for her very powerful voice, the artist from Zaragoza gave one of the most memorable performances of the edition with her version of ‘Gata Bajo La Lluvia’, by Rocío Dúrcal. Precisely, tomorrow she releases ‘La Española’, her first EP with Universal, in which she pays tribute to the greats of Spanish music, from Las Grecas to Rocío Jurado. With this one, he dares to cover one of his greatest anthems.
Since leaving the contest, Naiara has released several singles with which she has tried different styles within contemporary pop, from the electropop of ‘You Have to Know’ to the urban pop of ‘Enlokiá’ or ‘Veneno’. However, with the release of this EP, she assures that she has found the sound that best defines her.
We spoke with Naiara about the “long and hard” process of creating ‘La Española’, the role of folkloricas in her life, finding her own sound and the tour she canceled last year.
Since we are here at Candela, I wanted to ask you what such an iconic place conveys to you.
Yes, to think that so many artists that I admire have passed through here… I don’t know, it’s an accumulation of incredible emotions and sensations, really.
Your first EP, your first project as such, is coming out. What are the sensations?
I have a lot of desire and a lot of enthusiasm. We have put all the love, delicacy and affection, both my team and I. In the end, this path has been a little long, a little hard, but rewarding at the same time. I think I have something in my hands that represents me and defines me as an artist, that has weight. I think the whole of everything that is ‘La Española’ identifies me more than anything.
Why do you say it has been long and hard? What have been the complications?
More than complications, let’s say that the difficult thing has been the fact of finding myself artistically. I come from an orchestra in which I have sung absolutely all styles. So, okay, I’ve sung everything, but what do I want to project as an artist? To reach success there have been many errors. I have made many songs that will never see the light of day. It’s been hard for me to find myself, really. I have needed my times, I have needed to remove layers of myself, silence all the outside, the noise and simply focus on what I want to be. Look back, where I come from, my origins, my roots…
The singles you have released so far range from Italian pop to bachata. Do you mean this process?
The singles that I have been releasing are also part of me. They are songs that I love and that I do not rule out continuing to make, because for me music is fun, it is playing with it. I don’t want to close myself to just one thing. For me, it would be super boring to do just one thing. The singles that I have been releasing… There they are. Let’s say that I wanted my project to be something more solid, with a different weight, with a story, with a why. Then, as for the singles, I don’t rule out doing a reggaeton, I don’t rule out doing a bachata again. I mean, I’m completely open to that.
«I consider myself a super Spanish woman and super proud of where I come from»
Where does that grandiose title come from?
The title is powerful. I consider myself a super Spanish woman, I am super proud of where I come from, of the country in which I was born, of our customs, of Spanish women, who are the best, and of the way we have of doing things with so much passion and so much power. The title comes from a studio session I had a long time ago with a composer called Yassir and he sang a piece of a song we were writing and the phrase was like: “The club comes in and they stare because everyone wants to play the Spanish one.” So, we said: “Wow, the Spanish one” and there it stayed. At the time, I thought it was a name that I would love for a project, because I couldn’t feel more Spanish.
So, it was your first option.
It has always been ‘La Española’, always.
It is a tribute to Spanish women but also to their music. You sample Las Grecas, you cover Rocío Jurado… What role has this music played in your life?
Since I have a reason to exist, in my house I listened to Isabel Pantoja, Rocío Jurado, Las Grecas… I watched them on TV and imitated them. I would put myself on a blanket pretending to be a bata de cola and I would start dancing. And in this creation process, by being able to remove those layers and listen to myself and know where I want to take my project, I said that this is the music that has really fulfilled me. I wanted to be a folk girl with tattoos.
How do you approach making a cover of a song as great as Rocío Jurado’s, ‘Como Yo Te Amo’?
With a lot of pride and a lot of love. In the end, I feel that I want to dedicate that song to all Spanish women and specifically to Rocío, who I feel has opened a lot of ground for the following ones who have arrived later. It’s like a love song towards women, towards me and towards all Spanish women.
How has it been working with Alba Morena on the composition and Rico Rosa on the production?
They are super easy to work with. I always bring the sketch of the song, with something written and such, and from there we develop the ideas. Alba is an incredible songwriter and Rico is a wonderful producer. Really, with him we find the sound of everything. It has been a turning point in my project.
Do you think an artist should find their sound?
I think in some way it’s important, because many times, or I at least, you listen to a song for three seconds and you already know who it’s from by the way it sounds. That’s what I would like to achieve, for people to know what one of my songs sounds like. I think it’s important to find it, but it’s complicated. I’ve been looking for it for a long time, but oh well. With work, effort and desire, anything is possible.
It’s a difficult thing to force, isn’t it?
More than difficult, it is a matter of perseverance. It is to put yourself, and put yourself, and put yourself, and guide yourself by what you like, what you don’t like… Trying. To get right you have to go through many mistakes.
«Spanish women are the best»
All of you who have left OT 2023 and subsequent editions have faced a very different industry than a few years ago. What surprised you most when you left the contest?
Everything in general. Going hand in hand with a company as large as Universal is a very great support. Honestly, I don’t have any complaints. They have helped me a lot, they listen to me, they support me and… I don’t know. There are a lot of things to deal with, obviously, but I’m happy.
If there are no complaints, everything is fine.
And if there are, I’m not going to tell you (laughs).
When you came out, you also came out as the winner of the contest. It sure has a complicated side.
Is it difficult to win a contest with 14,000 people? Win 100,000 euros? For me, the complicated thing has been managing more of what your whole life is like, which is so different to you, but the opportunity for me has been wonderful. It has been a turning point in my career. I mean, if I hadn’t gone through OT, maybe I wouldn’t be here right now.
Obviously, many people would tell you that you have nothing to complain about, but managing all that sure isn’t easy.
It changes your life so much that there are many things to deal with, many things to learn to manage, many stimuli in a very short time… But hey, we are made for everything that comes.
How do you focus when you leave OT, when you encounter all this?
For me, the best way to be calm, happy and for everything to be in order is to be with my usual people. My lifelong friends, my family, my sisters, my mother, my grandmother, going to the park to eat pipes with my friends, doing the usual things… I don’t do anything different from what I did before.
«The orchestra has been the stage in which I have been happiest in my entire life»
I found it funny what you said on Ana Milan’s program, when you said that you didn’t go to the performance at the Paris Olympic Games with OT because you had sworn to go to the fairs in your town to see the orchestra in which you worked.
What do I know? Sometimes, I let myself be guided by what my heart tells me and I feel very responsible for my work, but that was something that was decided in a way that for me was not the best or correct. I think the work is discussed in private, not in front of cameras like in the contest. I would have said no if they had asked me from behind, of course. I would have said no, but not for anything, but because we were fresh out of the contest and I needed some air, to be with my people and I also made a promise. And when I promise something, I keep it.
I imagine it was worth it.
I don’t regret it in the slightest.
What is the life of an orchestra singer like?
Very chaotic. You have to travel all day, from here to there, and there are many hours on stage. It’s hard, but it’s a lot of fun. The orchestra gave me everything I have learned. It was like my school. There were 150 performances a year, imagine. And I was there almost 10 years. It’s my family. I say it many times, that if I had to return, I would return proud and with my head held high, because I have been very happy. I think it has been the happiest stage I have been in my entire life.
You canceled a tour because you said you didn’t want to do it without an album. Will there be a tour of ‘La Española’?
For now, ‘La Española’ comes out today. What comes in the future, I don’t even know.
