Tenerife Orchestra Nueva Línea Achieves Viral Stardom, Spotify Success

The Tenerife orchestra Nueva Línea is enjoying huge success, going from performing at local festivals to earning praise from international singers like Quevedo and Tony Tun Tun. Their versions of "Un beso" and "Noche de copas" have even made it into the top three of Spain's 50 most viral songs on Spotify.

Thanks to their natural talent and knack for social media, the four vocalists – Alicia Padilla, Raquel González, Mayte Cabrera, and Sofía Marrero – along with the rest of the band, have connected with fans across Spain and Latin America. They have over 150,000 followers on Instagram and an impressive 737,500 on TikTok.

Their first big hit was "Noche de Copas," which has racked up over 40 million views and a million likes on TikTok. That's more than 20 times the population of the Canary Islands! More recently, their cover of Willy Calderón's "Un beso" has taken the internet by storm. Influencers like Xuso Jones, Lola Lolita, Fabiana Sevillano, and Anabel Pantoja have all joined in on the song's trend. Even the popular Instagram profile "El típico de Tenerife" has featured them. Artists like Quevedo have also commented on their TikTok videos, showing their excitement.

Sofía Marrero was the first to spot Quevedo's message. "At that moment, we realized how big we were getting," she recalls. "I was in class and couldn't help but get emotional and share the screenshot with the rest of my colleagues."

Many people are now discussing the "Nueva Línea phenomenon" and how they've mastered social media algorithms. Some are even predicting that their songs will be the biggest hits at the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival in 2026, much like Karol G's "Tusa" was six years ago.

Crucially, this online popularity is leading to real-world opportunities. "We've been getting up to four messages a day about future concerts, and we couldn't be happier," says Mayte Cabrera. Their latest achievement was performing at the Army Awards in Madrid, an event for the internet community organized by influencer Ceciarmy. This performance marks a new chapter for the orchestra, as they plan to take their music to other Spanish cities while still cherishing their home.

Nueva Línea's journey isn't a sudden one. To understand their roots, we need to go back 23 years. From the beginning, the idea was to create an all-female orchestra. Their manager and director, José Marrero, chose female voices to stand out, as 90% of orchestras in the Canary Islands were male. "There are also men who are part of the orchestra, but the commitment to this format has always been clear," he explains.

Many singers and musicians have been part of Nueva Línea over the years. However, it's the most recent lineup change that has propelled them to viral fame. "This boom for the group has happened in the last four years, coinciding with the new members joining," the founder explains. It's a relatively new group of vocalists: Alicia Padilla and Raquel González joined almost four years ago, Sofía Marrero a year ago, and Mayte Cabrera just six months ago. They will soon celebrate their first year performing together.

While the four vocalists are the most visible members on social media, the orchestra also includes five other musicians: José Marrero himself, saxophonists Carmen Hernández and Sergio Torres, Juan Carlos García on percussion and bass, and Sara Marrero on piano. The team is completed by sound technician Miguel Ángel Delgado and producer María Dolores Pérez.

The singers, all in their twenties, knew each other from various events and places – all are from Güimar, except Mayte Cabrera who is from Fasnia. "It's interesting to see how everything led us to succeed together," Alicia Padilla comments. Indeed, all four have been involved in music since childhood. "We were all practically born singing," Raquel González laughs.

Now, the young women find it amusing when people stop them in the street or show them their TikTok videos to confirm it's really them. "The other day I went to a birthday party for a woman from my town and they recognized me; I'm still processing it all," Mayte Cabrera shares. At their first concert of the year, for New Year's Eve in Arafo, they were amazed to see people recording them. "We've gone from seeing people dance at the front of the stage to hundreds of phones pointed at us," notes Sofía Marrero.

However, the flip side of Nueva Línea's virality is the increased scrutiny the vocalists face. "We've felt a bit judged and have received comments about our appearance," Raquel González reveals. They've also been criticized for singing "in a masculine way" – using lower tones – when covering an original song. "They ask us why we dress so revealingly or why we don't wear our hair down," Mayte Cabrera explains, highlighting criticisms a male performer would never receive.

Despite this, they acknowledge that most comments are positive. They prefer to focus on the support they receive and constructive feedback. For now, they are embracing this whirlwind of emotions and using the momentum to continue doing what they love most: making music.