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Spain: Eurovisionfun Reacts to Eurovision 2023 Entry ”Eaea” (video)

Spain’s national final, ‘Benidorm Fest 2023‘, has ended and Blanca Paloma and the song ‘Eaea‘ will represent the country in the upcoming song contest.

The Eurovisionfun team couldn’t help but comment on the Spanish entry for the upcoming Eurovision contest! Enjoy Matamis Apostolis, Bogiannos Apostolos and Stella Gialetzi in a delightful video, with detailed commentary on Spain’s next participation, for 2023!

Enjoy the live performance of Blanca Paloma from Benidorm Fest Final:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxuO0qZITko

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to enjoy interviews, reaction videos and Live streams for our favorite contest!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Spain’s participation in Eurovision 2023, in Liverpool!

 

Spain: 876 songs submitted for Benidorm Fest 2023

RTVE has announced that 876 songs have been submitted for Benidorm Fest 2023, the Spanish national selection.  The impressive number is 10 songs short from the songs submitted for last year’s Benidorm Fest.

Moreover, the Spanish broadcaster mentioned that the quality of the wishful candidates has improved for the second edition of Benidorm Fest.  Record labels have been actively involved in the process.  Not only that, but we will see more professional candidates among the songs submitted including well-known artists.

The selection process will continue with 16 songs making the final cut for the national selection.  Benidorm Fest 2023 will take place from January 29 until February 04.  These are the dates of the main events of the Spanish national selection:

  • January 29, 2023  Opening Ceremony
  • January 31, 2023 First Semi-final
  • February 02, 2023  Second Semi-final
  •  February 04, 2023 Grand Final

The final result will be determined by the combination of a 50/50 televote and public vote.  The jury vote will include national and international professionals.  On the other hand, the public vote is split in two groups: 25% demoscopic and 25% televote similar to last year edition.

Chanel won the first edition of Benidorm Fest.  She represented Spain in Turin with the song Slomo finishing in third place.  This is one of the best results for Spain in recent times setting the bar high for her successor!

Stay tuned to eurovisionfun for more news about Benidorm Fest 2023!

Source: RTVE

Spain: RTVE opens applications for Benidorm 2023 participants!

Right at the start of the new Eurovision 2023 season, this Thursday at September 1st, RTVE opens the applications for those interested in participating to Benidorm Fest 2023, the Spanish pre-selection for Eurovision. Participants will be able to apply at http://www.rtve.es/eurovisionfrom September 1st until October 10th 2022 11:59:59 p.m.

 

 

Like last year’s edition, the classic “artist + song” participations will be accepted, in addition to plain songs that do not have a performing artist yet. Parallel to this online casting, RTVE will also directly invite prestigious performers and songwriters from the current music scene to submit their proposals to the selection process.

As specified in the Benidorm Fest 2023 rules, once the deadline for submitting applications is over, RTVE will select a maximum of sixteen participants and six alternates.

Benidorm Fest 2023 will consist of two semi-finals and a Final:

  • First Semi-Final: Tuesday January 31st
  • Second Semi-Final: Thursday February 2nd
  • Final: Saturday February 4th

The winner of the first Benidorm fest was Chanel Terrero with the song “SloMo” and finished at the third place, achieving the best result for Spain since 1995.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSQYTt4xg3I

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Spain’s Participation in Eurovision 2023!

Source: rtve.es

Spain: All about Beniform fest Second semifinals

Rehearsals for Benidorm Fest continues as we get more details about what we are going to see onstage.  This time it was the turn for the acts competing in the second semifinal.  Seven acts  are competing in the second semifinal for the last four places in the national final.  In this semi-final early favorite Rayden will perform.  Furthermore, all eyes are on Rigoberta Bandini who is currently leading the betting odds.

Here are the first details from the Second semifinal rehearsals:

Xeinn:  Xeinn is planning to do some storytelling through his performance.  He will use the LED screens, the camera movements and light playing at the same time to represent the story of his song and “the nostalgia of past love”.

Marta Sango: Marta Sango’s stage will look retro.  Her performance has some 80s vibes with a glam, colorful style.  According to RTVE, the atmosphere of Marta Sango’s performance will indeed be glamorous.  There will be fireworks and a TikTok like choreography.

Javiera Mena: She will use lots of gadgets, lasers and light elements.  The performance will surely be very energetic.

Gonzalo Hermida: Sadly Gonzalo Hermida could not participate on the rehearsals.  He was tested positive for coronavirus and is isolated.  Following this update, his Quién lo diría music video will be played during his performance on the semifinal.

Rigoberta Bandini: Rigoberta’s performance will be one of the biggest surprises of this semifinal.  Contrary to all expectations, Rigoberta is using a very theatrical staging.  Her band and a dancer will join Rigoberta onstage.  The dancer will help her show the feminist message she is bringing in this performance.

Rayden: Rayden’s performance will use lots of smoke as a visual resource.  The smoke is indeed an element representing hate.  Furthermore, in his choreography Rayden is fighting an enemy that represents his fears, insecurities and social control.

Sara Deop: Sara will have an outstanding choreography made by Vicky Gómez (Spain’s JESC 2020 and 2021). Moreover, there will be neon lights.  Sara’s stage is reminiscent to SuRie’s (United Kingdom 2018) staging.

Source: RTVE

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more updates of Benidorm Fest!

Spain: All about Benidorm Fest Semifinal 1 rehearsals

 

The acts competing in the first semifinal of the Benidorm Fest have made their first rehearsals and the first details are already here.  Six acts  are competing in the first semifinal after Luna Ki’s unexpected withdrawal from the competition.  However, the competition for the first spots to the final is far from settled.  Among the competitors we have fan favorites Tanxugueiras and Azúcar Moreno.

Here are the first details from the First semifinal rehearsals:

Varry Brava: The act is paying tribute to Raffaella Carrà in their performance.  According to the press the costumes and screens are inspired in the Italian diva.  However, rest assured that Varry Brava are not falling into clichés.  This will be a very colorful performance.

Azúcar Moreno:Azúcar Moreno will perform a revamp version of their song adding more guitarras and palmas.  The duo performance is very ‘old school’ and truthful to their rumba and flamenco roots.

Blanca Paloma: Blanca Paloma’s performance will be very minimalist.  She is not using the LED screens.  Her performance looks more like a theater show than a performance for TV.

Unique: On the opposite side of the spectrum we have the boys from unique.  During their performance there will be acrobatics, light tricks and fireworks.  The guys will include beatbox in their routine.

Tanxugueiras: One of the early favorites to represent Spain.  The scenario will look dark with Galician folk symbolism.  Tanxugueiras are paying tribute to pandereitas.  Further they took inspiration on traditional costumes.  The faces of the artists are displayed on the screens during their performance.  Moreover, the lyrics “there’s no borders” will appear in different languages.  Their backing singers will perform shirtless.

Chanel: Kyle Hanagami was in charge of the choreography for Chanel.  Five dancers support Chanel.  For Semifinal 1 we will have a revamped version of SloMo where percussion is emphasized.

Source: RTVE

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more updates of Benidorm Fest!

Spain: Rehearsals or Video Clips to be Used if Artists Test Positive for COVID-19!

Three different scenarios have been announced in case an artist tests positive for COVID-19 at Benidorm Fest.

In a recent article, RTVE unveiled the contingency plan in case a competing artist turns out positive before appearing in the upcoming Spanish selection process Benidorm Fest.

The producers, Boomerang TV and the broadcaster, RTVE, have come up with three different scenarios to ensure that every song and artist will be able to compete in this year’s Benidorm Fest.

  • The first scenario is that if the artist has already completed his first rehearsal, it will be broadcast during the live show instead of a live performance.
  • Second, if the artist comes out positive before his first rehearsal, then the official music video for the song will be played.
  • The final scenario is that, if there is no music video, the song will be played with montage of images and photos of the artist.

It was announced by Eva Mora, head of the Spanish delegation, that it was not possible to produce live performances, such as those created for this year’s ESCZ selection process and the expected process of Northern Macedonia, due to lack of time.

The Benidorm Fest will be held with two semifinals on January 26 and 27, leading to the Grand Final on January 29. The songs and the artists have been revealed and the order of the two semifinals has also been decided and announced.

The voting:

Only eight artists will make it to the grand final of the Benidorm Fest. The result will be done through a mixed voting system between a professional jury (national and international), televoting and a poll jury:

  • 50% of the grade will correspond to the professional jury consisting of five experts (three of Spanish nationality and two, international).
  • The remaining 50% will be in the hands of the public (where 25% will be by phone and SMS and the remaining 25% will be selected by a poll jury).
  • The artists will be given a phone number and as soon as everyone completes the show, the hotlines will be open for voting. The voting period will be approximately 15 or 20 minutes and the presenters, Alaska, Inés Hernand and Máximo Huerta, will be responsible for the announcement.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Benidorm Fest and the spanish representative at Eurovision 2022!

Source: RTVE

Will Ladilla Rusa represent Spain at Eurovision?

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

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