/David Otero visited the island of Phi Phi (Thailand) in March 2005, where he saw the damage caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Along with other artists he decided to found an organisation called Kuarkx with the objective of collecting money for those affected by the disaster.[21] Otero, with the help of his cousin Dani, wrote the song Despiértame (Wake me up!) and made it available over the Internet where it could be downloaded for 1.15 euros.[21] When El Canto del Loco were recording their new album they decided to include the song and dedicate a proportion of the album's profits to the same cause.[22] Their new album, which was called Zapatillas (Sneakers), was released on 21 June. The group released their first album outside Spain in September of the same year. It was aimed at the United States and Latin America and was called 12 estados de ánimo (12 States of Mind), it is a compilation album containing the best songs from the three albums they had so far released in Spain. That same month the group was nominated for the third time in the MTV Europe Music Awards category for "Best Spanish Artist".The group gained second prize in the event celebrated in November in Lisbon. In July 2006, while they were touring with Hombres G, they released a collection of their concerts in indoor venues. The collection was called Pequeños grandes directos (Great Little Gigs) and included recordings of performances in the Sala Caracol in Madrid (22-11-2002); Sala Bikini in Barcelona (30-12-03) and Sala Oasis in Zaragoza. The collection was released in a limited edition of 50,000 copies. After finishing the Zapatillas tour and before Dani Martín started filming Yo soy la Juani (I am the Juani) directed by Bigas Luna rumours started to circulate regarding the possible break up of the group. The group denied these rumours and simply stated that after a long break they would return with new songs. The group also participated in the recording of a compilation album in aid of a Telethon held by TV3. The album, which went on sale on 10 December 2006, was sold for 9 euros with the proceeds going to charities working with people suffering from chronic pain. It sold in conjunction with a number of Catalan newspapers (Avui, El Punt, La Vanguardia and El Periódico de Catalunya). The song chosen by the group was "Puede ser" (It Can Be), from their second studio album A Contracorriente, but with the difference that it was sung in Catalan under the title Pot ser. The song was later included on the compilation album Arriba el telón (Raise the curtain). In 2007, Dani and David, along with the manager of El Canto del Loco, Carlos Vázquez, created the record label El Manicomio (Madhouse) Records, which was supported by the multinational Sony BMG and which released the debut album of the group Sin Rumbo (Without Direction).