It will be next Saturday when the representative of Spain in the next Eurovision Song Contest is known
We will still have to wait 48 more hours, but the siege is closing to meet the next representative of Spain in Eurovision. Blanca Paloma, Vicco, Karmento and José Otero join Agoney, Alice Wonder, Fusa Nocta and Megara to face the final of Benidorm Fest 2023 next Saturday. One of the eight will get the long-awaited ticket to represent Spain in Liverpool on May 13. But the second semifinal of the Benidorm Fest was lived in the Palacio de Deportes l’Illa de Benidorm as if it were a final.
And reason, in part, was not lacking. Rakky Rypper, E´Femme, Siderland and Alfred García, were eliminated from a gala that mixed different musical styles but chose to stay with the exciting rhythm and the interpretation that Blanca Paloma made of her song ‘EaEa’. It was the second time that he had gone on stage at the Benidorm Fest and this time he pulled from nostalgia to win the audience’s warmth with a lullaby that has been passed down from generation to generation. Quite a tribute that he managed to win over the jury since he was awarded the highest score (92). And it is that even when asking for the vote, she managed to sweeten the moment. Her voice, her rhythm and her emotion conquered a Benidorm Fest that did not stop cheering her on.
The gala that gave access to the final to four of the eight participants, adding to those already selected last Tuesday, had some special guests to give more emotion and life to a celebration of music recovered last year and that each time has fans in all parts of Spain -although the audience data from the last gala was not encouraging-. Miguel Poveda, Gloria Tevi and Álvaro Soler -in charge of lightening up the bad drink and the nerves of the voting minutes- took the stage of a Benidorm Fest devoted to their music as special guests. And with heartfelt tributes to past Eurovision candidacies. Specifically, Poveda opened the second semifinal with his version of ‘Eres tu’, by Mocedades on the occasion of his 50th anniversary.
But his performances did not leave in the background for what was there. Famous demonstrated it well by being the first of the participants to get on stage and get the audience moving, at certain times, to the rhythm of ‘La Lola’. And although he started with a certain advantage due to his experience, luck turned his back on him again. After winning Operación Triunfo in 2018 and trying to represent Spain at Eurovision 2019, Famous opted this time for a song that tried to bring out “that feminine side that we all have” but that failed to make an audience fall in love, and above all the popular vote that gave it the worst score (13 points). Something similar happened to Alfred García with his ‘Since you are here’ and its staging in black and white, recalling that Benidorm Fest in 1962, which until the last moment had the opportunity to win the Eurovision ticket again.
But that the ballad of José Otero took him away. ‘Winters on Mars’ managed to qualify. Like Karmento, that folklore from La Mancha that comes to Benidorm for the first time. And how. Once her performance was over, the audience cheered her on, which led her to get the love of demanding voters.
unknown bet
But at the Fest, not everything was seen yet. Although it was thought that all kinds of genres had already paraded, innovation did not stay aside. It was Rakky Ripper from Granada who made a different bet, and that some may not even know. Hyperpop, a genre that aims to speed up and exaggerate pop music to the point of absurdity. But who brought the party to the sports hall with ‘Tracción’, although without much success. She only got 24 points from the jury.
With these eight finalists, the selection of who can represent Spain is over. And it will not be for styles. The proposals, both for this gala and the one held on Tuesday, ranged from pop to rock, including trap, indie and flamenco. A whole mixture of genres that dream of achieving victory in Liverpool and bringing the next Eurovision festival to Spain, that of 2024. But first we will have to see which of the eight gets the plane ticket. It will be the popular vote who decides 50% who deserves to be the representative of Spain. The other half of the decision will correspond to the professional jury, as already happened in the edition that it chose, against what was bet, last year on Chanel.
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