The butterfly effect of Mafalda Cardenal: the business administration student who uploaded a song to TikTok in Alicante and is now a star in Mexico.

You're a 21-year-old woman from Alicante living a normal life. You're studying business administration and have broken up with your boyfriend. You feel very sad. No love song can help you unburden yourself, so you decide to write one as therapy. You post that song on TikTok in 2023, and overnight, it goes viral in Mexico. You now have a contract with the multinational record label Sony and, something you would never have dreamed of, you're releasing your first album. Congratulations: you are Mafalda Cardenal .

Right now, her viral song, "Tu fan ," has over 600,000 videos of people lip-syncing the song's audio. That's not even counting videos of Mafalda herself singing the song or versions sung by TikTok users. On the young woman from Alicante's profile on the Chinese social network, her most-viewed video is one that says: "You don't need therapy, you need to scream this at her." And what hundreds of thousands of users are chanting from their mobile phones on the short-video platform says: "And go, tell people that I was obsessed, that you never liked me, and that you and I were never anything, that I was wrong." A true anthem of heartbreak for Generation Z.

Mafalda Cardenal smiles frequently. She doesn't speak loudly or gesture much. She dresses discreetly and is quite tanned. She has just released her first album, full of songs that recount her experiences and emotions in her own words: Mis notas de voz (My Voice Notes ), which doesn't include her viral hit, but it doesn't need to. As she explains, it's a very country album. "We used real banjos, real pedal steel , and it was beautiful. I tell my producer, Milo, ' Tang, tan, tan,' and he does it for me." She also indicates that the album features a balance of "ballads and slightly more upbeat songs to make the live show more enjoyable. I don't contemplate doing a concert of sad, slow songs all the time because even I'd get bored," she says, laughing.

Regarding Tu fan, she explains: "I was so sad that I couldn't finish it, so I put it in a drawer. Eight or nine months later, I was listening to my voice notes and said, 'Hey, this song is really good.' When I got home, I finished it." What Mafalda Cardenal didn't suspect was that this song would not only change her life, but would also allow her to go to Mexico to present her music.

"When I released Tu Fan, I didn't pay any attention to it. Suddenly, a girl from Mexico uploaded a video of herself singing really mad, and it just exploded."

"I was already using TikTok before and advertising my songs. When I released Tu Fan , I was taking exams. I released it in May 2023 and I didn't pay any attention to it. Suddenly, a girl from Mexico uploaded a video singing super angry and it exploded. Every day 100, then 200 and 300 videos were shared with the song. It grew into a giant ball and until today, when it has I don't know how many videos on TikTok ," she explains.

Mafalda Cardenal hasn't stopped using the social media platform, although sometimes her team gets on her nerves. "They tell me I'm posting stuff about parties with my friends and that I shouldn't be." She explains that as a follower, she also gets "bored." "I like to see what an artist does in their life, not just post things when they have to sell something. I don't believe an artist is in the studio all day." Despite this, she tries to balance her personal and professional life, "although I'm not going to tell you what I had for breakfast, I'm not an influencer ."

The young singer "100%" recommends TikTok to young people who want to break into the music world. Although she specifies: "The music should come first. I'm a firm believer that if the music you make is good, you'll do well. But TikTok gives you exposure, a showcase, that nothing else can. No matter how much you pay or how much you get on the radio."

There's an almost magical or random element to the fortuitous success on the Chinese social network: "The TikTok algorithm arrives. And it made me go to Mexico." Using this social network can become tedious, "a bit of a pain, because it stops being a fun tool and becomes a work tool. Sometimes I get lazy and say, 'It feels like I'm selling, it's like a teleshopping store.' I'll release a song and upload three videos. I'm lazy, but it's necessary and much more positive than negative."

Using the social network in a professional setting can be boring, but in May, it will take Mafalda Cardenal to Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and back to Mexico, where she went last spring. "Before going to Mexico, I'd been on five stages in my life; we went there basically to do our military service . Those people are crazy; they're the best. They feel everything for a reason. I'm marrying these people."

Mafalda would never have imagined such sudden success. Her own managers were hesitant about releasing the song. They considered a ballad a very risky option, "but I insisted." The young woman doesn't deny that reggaeton and urban music are more prominent in the Spanish music scene. "Seeing a ballad garner 1.5 million followers on Spotify is crazy," she says. "Although I don't really look at that because they're just numbers."

The Alicante native is "impacted" by performing in concert: "I see the packed room and say, 'These people listen to me, invest time, money, and want to come see me.' That's what I think is the most important thing for an artist."

Mafalda doesn't consider herself a showwoman ; she confesses: "I'd never been on stage except for school musicals." Something changed her mind. Two years ago, her managers forced her to perform at the Moby Dick venue in Madrid in a rather unusual way: "They had to talk to my mother to convince me. From the moment I got on that stage, I didn't want to get off. Now it's what I love most in the world. It's very powerful to perform songs you wrote in your sad bed with people singing along ."

"I don't have a spectacular voice, nor am I Rihanna or Beyoncé. What sets me apart as an artist are my lyrics."

"I don't have a spectacular voice, nor am I Rihanna or Beyoncé. What sets me apart as an artist are my lyrics," she clarifies. "Before the first meeting with Sony, I had an image of the record label as Satan, and that's not true. I told them, 'Please, I don't want you to dress me up, or put me on a ball, or have dancers,' and they respected that 100%. I'd love to see an Aitana or Lola Índigo show, but I wouldn't be capable of doing that; I'd be dying of embarrassment."

The album Mis notas de voz features songs about heartbreak and disappointment. But what have men caused this young woman to feel this way? "My grandmother asks me this a lot, and my mother looks at me strangely," she explains, laughing. "But I'm a super happy person. I haven't been hurt that many times, but I'm dramatic. I get five songs out of something like that. Since you've done something wrong to me, I'm going to squeeze it out of you," she adds. "I haven't had that many boyfriends, and the breakups haven't been that traumatic. People ask me: 'But how old are you, and how many boyfriends have you had?' And I say: "Various traumas, not so many boyfriends."

Mafalda 's boyfriend isn't the subject of her lyrics. When asked if the love songs on her album, like "En mi balcón ," are dedicated to him, she laughs: "No! Because this one is new. But they're applicable to anyone. My most love-themed songs aren't dedicated to anyone. Maybe one day I'm super sad, but I write a song for the day I'm in love."

In My Voice Notes, there are also references to new girlfriends. Even with small tributes to great Spanish pop rock bands like M-Clan : "I thought Carolina wouldn't let me release it, but the copyright issue was resolved. It's also a bit of that, because it's not all: 'Guys are the worst.' I haven't been the Virgin Mary either; I've behaved badly at times. You have to reflect a bit and be self-critical and be able to confess that I've spoken quite badly about some of my ex-boyfriends, and I also have to speak a little badly about myself."

"My mother used to play three albums in the car: José Luis Perales, Alejandro Sanz, and La Pantoja."

The sound Mafalda is going for is reminiscent of Taylor Swift 's early albums, "when she was very country and very Nashville. That's always on our mood board ." She also likes Noah Kahan and Megan Moroney, "who are more country, country." She also turns to Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sabrina Carpenter. "But everything is very focused on the Nashville and country sound. Although the album was made in Madrid, it does have elements of that style."

A musical reference from Mafalda Cardenal may surprise anyone who has heard her music: "I love La Pantoja, of course I do! My mother used to play three albums for me in the car: José Luis Perales, Alejandro Sanz, and La Pantoja. I would like to go to one of her concerts because I'm not funny. I admire people who can sing flamenco because I think it's beautiful. When I was little, they signed me up for sevillana classes, and I'm terrible at it."

There's an artist who's being compared to the Alicante artist, even though she didn't intend for it. TikTok comments highlight the similarity between her voice and Aitana 's, something she finds "flattering," especially at first. "The fact that there are still people who confuse me with her makes me say, 'Oh no.' But our voices are similar. The other day, my dad was at Mercadona, heard Mon Amour by Aitana and Zzoilo, and called me like, 'You're playing at Mercadona!' And I said, 'Dad, it's Aitana, it's not me.' But hey, I get that it is what it is.

She confesses that she hasn't finished watching the documentary about the Formentera singer because she felt "sad." "I hope this girl gets over it all and that this is a bit exaggerated and that it's not really like that. I hope this never happens to me, because I don't want to stop loving music the way I do now. I don't know if I would continue; I value my peace of mind and tranquility. At 8:00 a.m. I drop my pen, turn off my phone, and go out with my friends."

"What if I've burned through all my money on this and it suddenly doesn't work? I'm left with nothing."

Fortunately, times change, and Mafalda has never felt discriminated against or "disrespected" for being a woman. However, she has due to her youth: "Suddenly, you go to a producer and they tell you: 'This is a nobody .' But I think it's very important to speak your mind and not keep quiet. Sometimes I've been embarrassed to say 'I don't like this' because I thought they were super-cool people. You learn from that and say: 'Well, next time it won't happen to me again.'"

Everything points to Mafalda Cardenal no longer being a "nobody," although it remains to be seen how the album will perform. Still, for now, she's making a living from her music. "It's possible, but it's very hard. You also have to manage everything yourself. I started out as an independent, and it's wonderful to be independent when you're making money. But it's not when you have to invest it all. When I finished ADE, I told my managers that for this leap we're about to take, I wanted to have a giant behind me, someone to support me and give me money. That's how it is." The young singer believes that taking risks all the time is "very dangerous" and you live "with constant stress." Therefore, she asks herself: "What if I've burned through all my money on this and suddenly it doesn't work out? I'm left with nothing. This was the time to sign with a record label; I'm quite happy with how it's going."

There's always a plan B if music doesn't work out: "I have a degree, a diploma, and I'll see what I do."