by Juan Mari Montes - July 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 dancefloors 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, Lucía and Pilar Muñoz, the three multi-talented daughters of Tomate, a renowned traditional flamenco guitarist from Córdoba, Spain.
Born and raised in a Spanish region noted for its Andalusian traditions, including flamenco and bullfighting, Lola, Lucía 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 Córdoban producer/composer Manuel Ruíz "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: "Aserejé ja de jé de jebe tu de jebere seibiunouva/Majavi an de bugui an de buididipi/Aserejé ja de jé de jebe tu de jebere seibiunouva/Majavi an de bugui an de buididipi/Aserejé…"
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.
Source: http://www.theketchupsong.com/
