Amaia Montero has spoken for the first time since rejoining La Oreja de Van Gogh, describing her return to the Spanish pop band as feeling like no time had passed at all. The comments came in the group's first joint interview since their reunion, published by the Spanish outlet 20minutos.
La Oreja de Van Gogh, formed in San Sebastian in the 1990s, became one of Spain's best-known pop acts with songs including "Rosas," "La Playa" and "20 de enero." Montero was the band's original lead singer before leaving the group in 2007. Nearly two decades later, she has rejoined her former bandmates, and the tour marking their reunion has been drawing full arenas.
The first rehearsal
Band member Haritz Garde recalled exactly what it felt like to play with Montero again for the first time. He said it was as if no time had passed, as if they had rehearsed together only the day before, as if they had always stayed together.
The reunion came after close to 18 years apart, according to the interview, making the ease of that first rehearsal something none of them had expected.
"My bandmates are my home"
Montero was candid about what the reunion has meant to her personally. She said she had gone through very difficult years and needed to return to music from a place that truly felt like hers. She said she wanted to come back to the world from what she considers her home, and that her bandmates are that home.
She went further, describing the reunion in terms of recovery rather than just music. She said it has been her best cure, a form of therapy for everyone in the band.
Knowing the risk and diving in anyway
Montero acknowledged she was fully aware of what she was walking back into after so many years away from the group. She said she knew there were people waiting for her to fail.
Despite that, she chose to return without fixating on proving anything. She described throwing herself into it without any expectations, comparing it to diving into a pool.
Three generations, the same songs
One image repeats itself almost every night of the tour, according to the interview: parents who listened to "Rosas" two decades ago now bring their own children to the shows, with some concerts drawing three generations singing the same songs together.
Montero said this is one of the things that moves her most about this new stage, as it shows the songs have stayed part of people's lives and that her connection with the audience never really broke.
What comes next
Montero summed up how much has changed with time by saying the band still has the laughter and closeness they had at 20, but now with the calm of being close to 50.
The tour is continuing across Spain and is already looking ahead to dates in Latin America in 2027, according to the interview.
