Spain: Jorge Gonzalez in the studio of Dimitris Kontopoulos to record his song for Benidorm! EXCLUSIVE

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Jorge Gonzalez is in Athens where in the coming days, according to our safe and exclusive information, he will record in the studio of Dimitris Kontopoulos, the song that he will submit to the Spanish public television for Benidorm, the festival through which the representative of the country will emerge at Eurovision 2022.

The 33-year-old singer became famous in Spain through his participation in Operacion Triunfo in 2006. Although he failed to be the winner of the talent show, he gained great popularity, which gave him the opportunity to sign a record deal with Universal Vale Music.

In 2009 she participated in the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Si yo vengo a enamorarte, occupying the ninth place.

Since 2006 he has released two complete albums and several singles. This year he participated in the New Wave Festival, finishing in third place, but receiving very positive reviews.

Jorge Gonzalez will be in Athens in the coming days in order to work with Dimitris Kontopoulos on the song, with which he hopes to be in Turin in May!

The Benidorm Song Festival is expected to feature 12 artists with 12 separate songs. The system provides for the existence of two semifinals, in which 6 songs will take part respectively. Three artists from each semifinal will advance to the Benidorm Grand Final.

The big winner and representative of Spain in Eurovision 2022 will be selected by 50% by the preference of two juries and by 50% by the will of the Spanish viewers. Both juries will be composed of professionals in the field, with one consisting only of natives and the other being an international one. The results of the juries will come from 60% of the Spanish jury and 40% of the international ones.

Would you like to see Jorge Gonzalez represent Spain in the 66th Eurovision Song Contest?

Will Ladilla Rusa represent Spain at Eurovision?

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Ladilla Rusa (Spanish for Russian pubic louse) are a music duo.  They want to represent Spain in Eurovision 2022 and have already written their song.  Although the band started as a comedy act, they are taking this participation very seriously.  In August 5, Tania Lozano from Ladilla Rusa took Twitter to announce her group had just “written a hit for Eurovision”.  They even captioned their video stating “this is not a joke”.

If Ladilla Rusa wants to represent Spain in Italy, their song has to compete at the Benidorm Festival.  RTVE decided to bring back the Benidorm Festival as their national selection.

https://twitter.com/LadillaRusa/status/1423347972318711808

Who Are Ladilla Rusa?

Tania Lozano and Víctor Clares make Ladilla Rusa.  They are both journalists and created the group initially “as a joke”.  However, they continued their project after a positive reception from the public.  Their songs have been viral on Spotify in their home country.  Not only that, they already have more than 58000 subscribers on YouTube.

The music duo mixes electropop with traditional music.  Their lyrics are satirical and talk about trivial subjects such as partying or having a hangover but they also have elements of social critique in their work.

Ladilla Rusa is not completely strange to Eurovision.  They recently collaborated with Ruth Lorenzo (Spain 2014) in their single Todos los días lo mismo

Do you think Ladilla Rusa would give Spain a good result in Eurovision? Let us know in the comments

Spain 2021: Benidorm Song Festival returns as national final

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Spanish broadcaster RTVE announced the revival of the Benidorm Song Festival.  The historical music festival took place in the city of Benidorm from 1959 until its last edition in 2006.  Moreover, the new Benidorm Song Festival will be the Spanish national selection for Eurovision.

The revamped contest will take place in February, 2022.  Three main shows will make the festival: two semi-finals and a grand final.  RTVE will broadcast the show via La 1 and RTVE Play.  More details will be available soon.  However, we already know that a split jury/public vote will decide who will represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

RTVE president José Manuel Pérez Tornero; the president of the Valencian Government, Ximo Puig; and the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez announced the news in front of the beach.  In addition to this, Ruth Lorenzo performed for the audience her 2014 entry Dancing In The Rain and Waterloo.

We want Benidorm to be a meeting point for what we need most now: music, Europe and diversity. With the ‘Benidorm Festival’ we intend to achieve an emotional and tourist reactivation of the Valencian Community.’

The Benidorm International Song Festival took place from 1959 to 2006.  The contest was modeled after the Italian Sanremo Music Festival.  The winner of the Benidorm Festival received the Golden Mermaid Trophy.  RTVE used to broadcast the event.  Further, RVTE President José Manuel Pérez Tornero said that the Spanish broadcaster would take their participation “very seriously”.

Spain’s last results on Eurovision have been far from satisfactory, being outside of the top 20 since 2015.  In addition to this, their best achievements in recent times have been two top 10s in 2014 and 2012.  Spain came in the top 5 for the last time in 1995 with Anabel Conde who ended in second place.

Hopefully their new national selection process will help Spain make a turning point on Eurovision.

Source: Eurovision.tv

 

Historical Benidorm Festival returns as the Spanish national selection

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Spain has made an important announcement about their selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.  In July 16, the president of RTVE stated there will be an official announcement on July 22.  Further, the announcement will take place in the city of Benidorm, Alicante (Spain).  The big 5 country last results have been far from satisfactory, being outside of the top 20 since 2015.  In addition to this, their best achievements in recent times have been two top 10s in 2014 and 2012.  Spain came in the top 5 for the last time in 1995 with Anabel Conde who ended in second place.

 

However, the Spanish broadcaster is looking forward to reverse the current trend with a new format.  The news came as a surprise for many fans because it is not usual that Spain starts her Eurovision plans so early.  The first speculations pointed to the possibility of bringing back the Benidorm International Song Festival as a national final.

“We are going to take the Eurovision Song Contest very seriously.  (…) (RTV) is the only Spanish public broadcaster that is part of the EBU.  We are interested in the contest and its contact with the youth in a European context”. José Pérez Tornero, RTVE president

 

Moreover, the president of the Valencian government announced that he is working with RTVE on a big musical event.

“We are working together with RTVE to make Benidorm a meeting place for what we need more than ever: music, Europe and diversity.  We will communicate all the details on thurday”.  Ximo Puig, president of the Valencian government

What was the Benidorm International Song Festival

The Benidorm International Song Festival took place from 1959 to 2006.  The contest was modeled after the Italian Sanremo Music Festival.  The winner of the Benidorm Festival received the Golden Mermaid Trophy.  RTVE used to broadcast the event.  However, the public broadcaster withdrew their support due to a lack of interest from the public.

Among the winners of the Benidorm Festival we have Raphael (Spain 1966, 1967) and La Década (Spain 1988).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thV-vhOQHvQ

Source: ABC

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more news about the Spanish national selection for Eurovision 2022.

Spain: National final with two songs for Blas Canto!

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Spanish public television recently announced that the selection of the song with which Blas Canto will represent the country at Eurovision 2021, will take place in February between two songs!

In this national final, Blas Canto will perform the two songs live, while famous guests will be present, performing a duet with him. The final choice of the song will be made exclusively by the public and even for free!

The two candidate songs will be announced soon. They were chosen by Spanish public television, Warner Music and Blas Canto himself. The goal was to see the two sides of Blas Canto on stage through these two songs that are completely different from each other.

We will present two completely different songs. […] These are two things I’m on stage for that I can defend perfectly!

Blas Canto

Blas Canto would represent Spain at Eurovision 2020 with the song Universo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuDdex1st-Y

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Spanish entry in the contest!

Source: RTVE

Spain: Blas Canto will sing “Estrellita Fugaz” at Eurovision 2021!

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Spanish public broadcaster recently revealed the title of the song, with which Blas Canto will represent the country at Eurovision 2021. The song is entitled, Estrellita Fugaz, and is signed by the well-known Swedish composer, Thomas G: Son . Read more

Editorial: How fair will the “live on tape video” be for Eurovision 2021?

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The announcement of the EBU and the Dutch organizers for the live on tape video that will be made by the 41 participants of Eurovision 2021, although it ensures that the contest will take place even in the worst case scenario regarding the course of the pandemic, but leaves many questions in the part of justice and equal conditions that should govern the competition.

What exactly is live on tape video?

According to what was announced, all participating broadcasters were asked to record a live performance of their entry in their country. This recording will be delivered before the contest and will take place in a studio. The recording will take place in real time (as it would in the Contest) without making changes to the vocals or any part of the show itself after the recording.

There will be freedom in the delegations, to present as they consider their entries better, but instructions will be given which will ensure the fairness and integrity of the competition. There will be no audience and the recording should be unique and not be published before the event in May.

Delegations are allowed to use similar technical capabilities and dimensions that would be available on stage in Rotterdam, but are also free to choose a more limited production facility. Video recordings must not contain augmented or virtual reality, overlays, confetti, drone shots, water, color use or green screen.

How to ensure meritocracy and fairness in the contest?

In addition to the above, the EBU also announced a series of safety valves, which will ensure that the 41 live video tapes will have been made under the same conditions. Indicatively, we mention that those present in the video recording will be a representative of the Dutch public broadcaster, while the shooting will be watched by the executive supervisor of the contest, as well as a representative from an independent voting observer (E&Y). The duration of the shooting will be one hour and at this time the participants will be able to videotape up to three times their appearance. The selection of the shot will be made by the Head of Delegation and another authorized representative.

Our doubts about live on tape video

First of all, let’s say that even under normal conditions, not everyone competes on equal terms. What do we mean by that? We see in recent years on the eurovision stage, impressive appearances, with the help of the use of technology. Technology that not all broadcasters can use. Fro example Serbian public broadcaster cannot spend the money that Swedish public broadcaster spends. Albanian television cannot spend the money spent by Russian or Azerbaijani television and so on.

So, many times the countries participating in the contest can start from different points of view, but what mitigates the above a bit is that they share the same stage and it is ensured that everyone sings live. With the advancement of technology, and given that each country can use any studio it wants, even that is in question.

We read that Russia uses virtual reality in its appearance for Junior Eurovision 2020, where the contest will take place via live on tape video. An effect that other countries probably will not have at their disposal, for economic and technical reasons.

Of course for the live on tape videos of Eurovision 2021 the EBU has banned such special effects. However, LEDs are not prohibited and it is possible for different sized scenes, something that, as you understand, will differentiate the final result.

What we all hope is that everything you read remains on a theoretical level only. The situation with the pandemic to improve and to have a Eurovision as close to normal as possible, with the 41 artists performing their songs on the stage of the Ahoy Arena!

What is your opinion about the live on tape video? Are equal conditions guaranteed for all?

Eurovision 2021: Participants will record their songs “live-on-tape” to ensure Contest will happen!

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The EBU recently revealed how to ensure that Eurovision 2021 will happen, even in the worst case scenario with the course of the coronary pandemic.

Eurovision 2021 will take place in every way

After yesterday’s announcement that the distribution of countries in the two semifinals remains the same as that of Eurovision 2020, but also the presentation of the four possible scenarios for the conduct of Eurovision 2021, now another detail is given, concerning scenario D. In the new announcement of the EBU, concern the case in which in May the situation with the pandemic will be such that it will not allow air travel and reconnaissance, having a contest as Junior Eurovision 2020 will happen in a few days . With video appearances of the participants!

What is the process

All participating broadcasters were asked to record a live performance of their entries in their country. This recording will be delivered before the contest and will take place in a studio. The recording will take place in real time (as it would in the contest) without making changes to the vocals or any part of the show itself after the recording.

There will be freedom in the delegations, to present as they consider their participations better, but instructions will be given which will ensure the fairness and integrity of the competition. There will be no audience and the recording should be unique and not be published before the event in May.

Delegations are allowed to use similar technical capabilities and dimensions that would be available on stage in Rotterdam, but are also free to choose a more limited production facility. Video recordings must not contain augmented or virtual reality, overlays, confetti, drone shots, water, color use or green screen.

How will it be fair?

Normally in the Eurovision Song Contest all the artists would appear on the same stage under the same conditions giving everyone the same opportunity to shine. For the live recordings, the Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest approved additional measures to guarantee the fairness of the contest.

Prior to the recording, each participating broadcaster will meet with a representative from Host Broadcasters and submit a recording session schedule, studio setup and camera schedule.

The Head of Delegation will be on site during the registration period of 60 minutes and up to three authorized expirations, either alone or with an appropriate mandate, to make the final decision on the selection of the final receipt (from three).

A live link will be created during the recording to allow the Eurovision Executive Supervisor and a representative from an independent voting observer (E&Y) and Host Broadcaster to monitor the recording, provide assistance and support, and ensure the integrity and fairness of the contest.

No videos of the appearances from the national finals can be submitted, but each country can record on the same stage. The “live-on-tape” recordings must be delivered by the end of March.

Of course, as we mentioned at the beginning of the article, all of the above will apply in the case of contestants who will not be able to attend Rotterdam in May. The 65th Eurovision Song Contest will take place anyway!

Source: Eurovision.tv

Eurovision 2021: Allocation draw in semi-finals remains the same as in 2020!

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A little while ago through the official social networks of the contest, it was announced that the draw of the semi-finals of this year’s contest will also apply to Eurovision 2021. Read more

Eurovision 2021: 41 countries to participate!!

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A few moments ago, the EBU revealed the list of the participating countries at the upcoming contest of Eurovision 2021, on 18th, 20th and 22nd of May in Rotterdam the Netherlands. Actually they are the same 41 nations that were about to take part in the 2020 contest that was canceled due to the COVID19 pandemic.

EBU and the Dutch host broadcasters NPO, NOS and AVROTROS have already revealed the 4 scenarios which their are focused on, and they abide by the restrictions and the facts of the pandemic and according to which the Eurovision 2021 will take place. The scenario, which will be chosen, will be announced in due time.

Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, said:

“We are grateful for the commitment of the 41 participating broadcasters in helping us bring the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2021.”

“We have the exact same line up of countries that would have competed in 2020 and we are thrilled that they will all return next year. Together with our host broadcasters we are continuing to develop the 4 different scenarios and maintaining a dialogue with all participants. The team from NPO, NOS and AVROTROS are working hard on ensuring the Eurovision Song Contest will provide the excitement and innovation expected by over 180 million viewers, despite the challenging circumstances.”

 

Of the 41 nations taking part, 35 will compete in two Semi-Finals with 10 successful acts from each Semi-Final joining the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom) and hosts the Netherlands in the Grand Final.

Sietse Bakker, Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, said:

“It is fantastic that the same 41 countries that would have taken part this year still want to come to the Netherlands in May 2021. This demonstrates their confidence in our country still being able to organize a successful Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam next year, after the cancellation of the 2020 edition.”

“We have set the bar high to create 3 amazing live shows for an audience of 180 million people, even in these challenging times. To achieve this, we are working on an extensive protocol that guarantees the health of employees, participants, the press and visitors as much as possible.”

 

Participating broadcasters
The following countries (and EBU Member broadcasters) will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam:

Albania (RTSH)

Armenia (AMPTV)

Australia (SBS)*

Austria (ORF)

Azerbaijan (Ictimai TV)

Belarus (BTRC)

Belgium (VRT)

Bulgaria (BNT)

Croatia (HRT)

Cyprus (CyBC)

Czech Republic (CT)

Denmark (DR)

Estonia (ERR)

Finland (YLE)

France (FT)

Germany (ARD/NDR)

Georgia (GPB)

Greece (ERT)

Iceland (RUV)

Ireland (RTE)

Israel (KAN)

Italy (RAI)

Latvia (LTV)

Lithuania (LRT)

Malta (PBS)

Moldova (TRM)

The Netherlands (AVROTROS)

North Macedonia (MKRTV)

Norway (NRK)

Poland (TVP)

Portugal (RTP)

Romania (TVR)

Russia (Channel One)

San Marino (RTV)

Serbia (RTS)

Slovenia (RTVSLO)

Spain (TVE)

Sweden (SVT)

Switzerland (SRG SSR)

Ukraine (UA:PBC)

United Kingdom (BBC)

*EBU Associate

 

It is worth to be mentioned this is the first time since 1990 that we have the same amount of participating countries in two consecutive years.

Source: Eurovision.tv