Spanish singer Blanca Paloma, 37, who was born in Elche, has released her debut studio album, "Trenza mía" ("My Braid"), following her 2023 victory at the Benidorm Fest and her subsequent appearance for Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest, where she finished 17th.
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper La Razón, Blanca Paloma said she considers herself the least competitive person in the world, even though the Benidorm Fest, Spain's national final to choose its Eurovision entry, changed her life.
She explained that her first released song was the theme for a docuseries on Spanish public broadcaster TVE, and that the broadcaster was closing its casting call for the Benidorm Fest at the same time. She said her sound fit the range of styles organisers were looking for, so they invited her to take part.
Blanca Paloma said she thought hard about whether she belonged there, in part because the dream of competing at Eurovision had originally belonged to her sister, who took part in Eurojunior, the junior version of the contest, with a song that went viral and earned a gold record. She said she initially hoped her sister would record the TVE track and enter herself, but her sister was unable to record it, so Blanca Paloma took her place. She said she has no regrets, adding that without that decision she might now be a civil servant, still combining music with another job, since making a living from music alone is very difficult.
Cutting the Braid
Blanca Paloma said the album's title is built around the idea of detachment, and that cutting off a braid is a powerful symbol of that because it means amputating part of your own body. She said every strand of a braid carries the memory of what has been lived and loved, so cutting it feels like a small death, even though hair grows back.
She said the record marks both a beginning and a farewell, since her Eurovision experience opened a clear before-and-after in her life and ended her anonymity, given the scale of exposure the contest brought.
She recalled that 14 years ago she cut off her braid as an act of personal transformation, wanting to leave fears and insecurities behind and step onto stage as a performer. She said that gesture, which she compared to psychomagic or a placebo, coincided with the end of a relationship, and that cutting the braid felt like starting with a blank canvas, ending one version of herself to become the Blanca Paloma she is today. With this new record, she said she is reaching for the Blanca Paloma she wants to become next.
Fame as Wings and an Anchor
Asked whether fame felt more like wings or an anchor, Blanca Paloma said it was both. She said it gave her wings by letting her build a personal project that became the focus of her career, but that it also acted as an anchor when she signed with a major label at a time she was not ready for that formula and still needed to find her own genuine voice rather than one shaped by outside expectations. She said external feedback had been valuable throughout the writing process, but that record labels are businesses focused on making money, whereas music has always been a space of liberation for her. She said she has never made music thinking about numbers or impact.
Blending Genres and Musical Influences
On the fusion of musical genres, Blanca Paloma said what was once a novelty has become the norm, and that today's artists treat genres as infinite rather than limiting. She said she could never make purely traditional flamenco, arguing that even flamenco itself is a confluence of cultures and sounds, and that the most honest thing an artist can do today is bring whatever genre they choose into their own territory. She said one track on the new album has bachata-style arrangements, because that tempo and rhythm were what the story of the song needed.
Asked about being compared to Spanish singing icons such as Rocío Jurado and Isabel Pantoja, Blanca Paloma said she found the comparison flattering, and confirmed that both women are references who form part of the country's collective imagination as well as her own artistic background. She said she never had the chance to meet Lola Flores or Rocío Jurado, but has been able to meet singers Estrella Morente and Silvia Pérez Cruz, and has collaborated with Rocío Márquez as well as with Ruth Lorenzo. She said the stage is where she judges herself least, feels most free, and where all her fears disappear.
Comparing Her Show to Eurovision's Spectacle
Blanca Paloma agreed that Eurovision, which she called the most watched music event in the world after the Super Bowl, has shifted from being purely a song contest toward a competition of stage effects and visual spectacle. She said her current live format will go in the opposite direction, stripped back so that the music, voice and instruments remain the absolute protagonists. She said lighting will be her main tool for creating atmosphere on stage, producing an effect audiences feel rather than see.
What's Next
Asked about the title of the interview series, "Do you have fire?", Blanca Paloma referred to a line from her song "Tiene tu nombre," in which she describes fire that burns her without consuming her, guided by its own pulse. She said that captures what being an artist means: knowing something could burn you, and choosing to stay close to it anyway.
