Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Participating broadcasterRadiotelevisión Española (RTVE)
Country Spain
National selection
Selection processOperación Triunfo 2017
Selection date(s)29 January 2018
Selected artist(s)Amaia and Alfred
Selected song"Tu canción"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Raúl Gómez
  • Sylvia Santoro
Finals performance
Final result23rd, 61 points
Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2017 • 2018 • 2019►

Spain was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Tu canción", written by Raúl Gómez and Sylvia Santoro, and performed by Amaia and Alfred. The Spanish participating broadcaster, Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE), selected its entry through the ninth series of the reality television music competition Operación Triunfo. Eight acts ultimately qualified to compete in the Eurovision selection show of the competition where a public vote exclusively selected "Tu canción" performed by Amaia and Alfred as the winner, receiving 43% of the votes.

As a member of the "Big Five", Spain automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 2, Spain placed twenty-third out of the 26 participating countries with 61 points.

Background

[edit]
Main article: Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2018 contest, Televisión Española (TVE) until 2006, and Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) since 2007, had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Spain fifty-seven times since TVE's first entry in 1961.[1] They have won the contest on two occasions: in 1968 with the song "La, la, la" performed by Massiel and in 1969 with the song "Vivo cantando" performed by Salomé, the latter having won in a four-way tie with France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. They have also finished second four times, with "En un mundo nuevo" by Karina in 1971, "Eres tú" by Mocedades in 1973, "Su canción" by Betty Missiego in 1979, and "Vuelve conmigo" by Anabel Conde in 1995. In 2017, RTVE placed twenty-sixth and last with the song "Do It for Your Lover" performed by Manel Navarro.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, RTVE organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. RTVE confirmed its intentions to participate at the 2018 contest on 1 September 2017.[2] In 2016 and 2017, RTVE organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to select both the artist and song. On 4 December 2017, the broadcaster announced that it would use the ongoing ninth series of the reality television singing competition Operación Triunfo, which returned to TVE after 13 years, to select their 2018 entry; the same selection method was used between 2002 and 2004.[3]

Before Eurovision

[edit]

Operación Triunfo 2017

[edit]
Main article: Operación Triunfo (series 9)

The Spanish entry for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest was selected through Operación Triunfo, a Spanish reality television music competition consisting of training sixteen contestants in a boarding academy in order to find new singing talent.[3][4] The ninth series, also known as Operación Triunfo 2017, took place from 23 October 2017 to 5 February 2018 at the Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya in Terrassa (Barcelona), hosted by Roberto Leal. The competition was broadcast on La 1 and TVE International as well as online via RTVE's official website rtve.es. The top five contestants (Aitana, Alfred, Amaia, Ana Guerra and Miriam) qualified to compete in the Eurovision selection show, Gala Eurovisión, that took place on 29 January 2018.[5][6] It was later announced that the contestant placed sixth (Agoney) would also compete in Gala Eurovisión.[7]

Nearly 200 songs were submitted for Gala Eurovisión by music publishers as well as independent and established artists and songwriters invited by RTVE.[8] The teaching staff of the academy as well as professionals at RTVE and the production company Gestmusic evaluated the songs received and selected nine songs, which were then allocated by the academy teachers to the six competing contestants. The top five classified contestants were each allocated a solo song, while three songs were allocated to duet combinations and the remaining song, a three-minute version of the Operación Triunfo 2017 theme song "Camina", was performed by the top five classified contestants as a group.[9][10][11] The competing songs and the allocations were announced on 23 January 2018. Prior to Gala Eurovisión, the competing songwriters together with the academy teachers coached the contestants in order to prepare their performances.[6][12][13]

  Contestant qualified to "Gala Eurovisión"

Contestant Age Residence Episode of elimination Place finished
(Overall ranking)
Amaia 19 Pamplona Gala Final 1st
Aitana 18 Barcelona 2nd
Miriam 21 A Coruña 3rd
Alfred 20 Barcelona 4th
Ana Guerra 23 Tenerife 5th
Agoney 21 Gala 12 6th
Roi 23 Santiago de Compostela Gala 11 7th
Nerea 18 Barcelona Gala 10 8th
Cepeda 28 Ourense Gala 9 9th
Raoul 20 Barcelona Gala 8 10th
Mireya Málaga Gala 7 11th
Ricky 31 Palma Gala 6 12th
Marina 19 Seville Gala 5 13th
Thalía 18 Cáceres Gala 4 14th
Juan Antonio 23 Bilbao Gala 3 15th
Mimi 25 Granada Gala 2 16th
Joao 21 Madrid Gala 0 Not selected
Mario

Gala Eurovisión

[edit]

Gala Eurovisión took place on 29 January 2018. The winner was selected over two rounds of public voting via telephone, SMS and the official Operación Triunfo app. In the first round, the top three entries qualified for the second round. In the second round, the winner, "Tu canción" performed by Alfred and Amaia was selected.[7]

The four members of the expert panel that commented on the entries were:[14]

In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included Luísa Sobral performing "Cupido", winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 for Austria Conchita Wurst performing "Rise Like a Phoenix", J Balvin performing a medley of "Machika" and "Mi Gente", and the eliminated contestants of Operación Triunfo 2017 performing the Eurovision winning songs for Spain: "La, la, la" and "Vivo cantando". Manel Navarro who represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was also present to announce the winner.[14] Gala Eurovisión was watched by 3.086 million viewers in Spain with a market share of 23.6%, making it the most watched Spanish national final since 2004.[15][16]

First Round – 29 January 2018
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Televote Place
1 Aitana, Alfred, Amaia, Ana Guerra and Miriam "Camina" Operación Triunfo 2017 contestants, Manu Guix 1% 9
2 Aitana "Arde" Alba Reig, María Peláe — 2-3
3 Agoney and Miriam "Magia" David Otero, Diego Cantero, Tato Latorre 7% 5
4 Alfred "Que nos sigan las luces" Nil Moliner 3% 8
5 Aitana and Ana Guerra "Lo malo" Jess Morgan, Will Simms, Brisa Fenoy — 2-3
6 Amaia "Al cantar" Rozalén 4% 7
7 Miriam "Lejos de tu piel" Steve Robson, Ina Wroldsen, Diego Cantero 8% 4
8 Ana Guerra "El remedio" Nabález 5% 6
9 Alfred and Amaia "Tu canción" Raúl Gómez, Sylvia Santoro — 1
Second Round – 29 January 2018
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Aitana "Arde" 31% 2
2 Alfred and Amaia "Tu canción" 43% 1
3 Aitana and Ana Guerra "Lo malo" 26% 3

Preparation

[edit]

The official video of the song, directed by Gus Carballo, was filmed in February 2018 at studio in Madrid. The video premiered on 9 March 2018 on a special prime time broadcast on La 1, hosted by Roberto Leal.[17][18] The music video served as the official preview video for the Spanish entry.

Promotion

[edit]

Amaia y Alfred made appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Tu canción" as the Spanish Eurovision entry. On 5 April, they performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom. They also performed during the Israel Calling event which was held at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, Israel on 10 April. On 14 April, Amaia y Alfred performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the AFAS Live venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands.[19]

In addition to their international appearances, on 26 February, Amaia y Alfred performed an acoustic version of the song on talk show El Hormiguero on Antena 3, where they were guest interviewed.[20] On 11 March, they performed the acoustic version on talk show Viva la vida on Telecinco, where they were likewise guest interviewed.[21] On 15 March, they performed the song on the Premios Dial awards show at the Auditorio de Tenerife in Santa Cruz, aired live on Divinity.[22] On 24 March, they performed the song on the La noche de Cadena 100 charity concert at the WiZink Center in Madrid, aired live on Divinity.[23] On 25 March, they performed as guests on competitive dance reality television series Fama, a bailar, aired on #0.[24] On 21 April, they performed during the Eurovision-Spain Pre-Party event which was held at the Sala La Riviera venue in Madrid.[19] On 26 April, the special live concert event Amaia, Alfred y amigos, which aired on RTVE's official website and the web platform Playz, centered on them, accompanied by guest performers Zahara and Love of Lesbian, among others.[25] During the concert, Amaia y Alfred performed "Your Song", an English version of their entry.[26]

At Eurovision

[edit]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 took place at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal and consisted of two semi-finals on 8 and 10 May and the final on 12 May 2018.[27] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Five", Spain automatically qualifies to compete in the final. In addition to their participation in the final, Spain is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. At the semi-final allocation draw on 29 January 2018, Spain was drawn to vote in the first semi-final on 8 May; the country also performed in the first semi-final jury show on 7 May, and an extended clip of the performance was broadcast in the televised semi-final show the following evening.

In Spain, both semi-finals were broadcast on La 2, while the final was televised on La 1 with commentary by Tony Aguilar and Julia Varela.[28][29] RTVE appointed Nieves Álvarez as its spokesperson to announce during the final the top 12-point score awarded by the Spanish jury, for the second year in a row.[29] For the first time, the final of the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast live in cinemas across the country due to an agreement with cinema chain Cinesa.[30] The Spanish song placed 23rd in the final with 61 points.[31]

Staging and performance

[edit]

The staging director for the Spanish performance was Tinet Rubira, and Jordi Vives was the multi-camera director.[32]

Voting

[edit]

Points awarded to Spain

[edit]
Points awarded to Spain (Final)[33]
Score Televote Jury
12 points  Portugal
10 points  Romania
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points  France
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point   Switzerland

Points awarded by Spain

[edit]

Detailed voting results

[edit]

The following members comprised the Spanish jury:[35]

Detailed voting results from Spain (Semi-final 1)[34]
Draw Country Jury Televote
R. Cano B. Fenoy Miriam Roi Conchita Rank Points Rank Points
01  Azerbaijan 8 18 13 17 12 13 17
02  Iceland 16 13 18 18 19 18 15
03  Albania 10 12 4 4 4 7 4 6 5
04  Belgium 9 10 14 16 13 12 13
05  Czech Republic 3 5 9 5 5 4 7 7 4
06  Lithuania 17 9 15 14 14 14 8 3
07  Israel 2 1 2 1 2 1 12 4 7
08  Belarus 12 11 19 15 16 16 16
09  Estonia 4 15 6 3 6 5 6 9 2
10  Bulgaria 14 3 8 12 8 8 3 3 8
11  Macedonia 13 16 16 13 17 17 18
12  Croatia 7 14 12 11 11 11 19
13  Austria 5 4 3 2 3 3 8 11
14  Greece 18 19 17 19 18 19 12
15  Finland 6 8 10 9 10 10 1 5 6
16  Armenia 19 17 11 10 15 15 14
17   Switzerland 15 2 5 7 7 6 5 10 1
18  Ireland 11 6 7 8 9 9 2 1 12
19  Cyprus 1 7 1 6 1 2 10 2 10
Detailed voting results from Spain (Final)[33]
Draw Country Jury Televote
R. Cano B. Fenoy Miriam Roi Conchita Rank Points Rank Points
01  Ukraine 22 13 19 19 21 21 16
02  Spain
03  Slovenia 20 6 17 23 19 17 24
04  Lithuania 16 21 11 15 17 19 14
05  Austria 5 12 2 5 2 3 8 15
06  Estonia 8 19 6 12 7 10 1 9 2
07  Norway 3 11 16 16 11 11 8 3
08  Portugal 24 4 13 17 22 15 13
09  United Kingdom 9 16 9 14 15 16 21
10  Serbia 25 17 23 24 25 23 25
11  Germany 10 5 5 3 4 4 7 5 6
12  Albania 19 18 7 7 10 12 23
13  France 11 1 14 8 6 5 6 7 4
14  Czech Republic 4 9 12 6 13 7 4 2 10
15  Denmark 23 24 24 18 23 24 17
16  Australia 6 23 15 13 9 14 22
17  Finland 12 20 20 21 18 20 20
18  Bulgaria 18 10 22 20 14 18 6 5
19  Moldova 13 22 21 22 20 22 12
20  Sweden 7 8 8 10 12 9 2 11
21  Hungary 21 25 25 25 24 25 18
22  Israel 2 2 3 1 5 2 10 1 12
23  Netherlands 17 14 18 4 16 13 19
24  Ireland 14 7 4 9 8 6 5 10 1
25  Cyprus 1 3 1 2 1 1 12 3 8
26  Italy 15 15 10 11 3 8 3 4 7

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Spain Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Spain: RTVE Confirms Eurovision 2018 Participation - Eurovoix". Eurovoix. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b "La representación de España en Eurovisión 2018 saldrá de 'Operación Triunfo'". RTVE.es. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  4. ^ RTVE.es. "Concursantes" (in Spanish).
  5. ^ Rico, Vicente (16 January 2018). "Amaia, Alfred, Miriam y Aitana, ¡primeros finalistas de OT y candidatos a Eurovisión!". Eurovision-Spain.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Los cinco finalistas de OT competirán por ir a Eurovisión 2018". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 20 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Agoney, Ana Guerra y 'Camina' podrían ir a Eurovisión 2018". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 22 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  8. ^ Carro, David (17 January 2018). "'OT 2017': TVE y Gestmusic trabajan en Eurovisión 2018 con más de 200 canciones para solistas y dúos". FormulaTV.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  9. ^ Hernández, José García (26 December 2017). "TVE y Gestmusic seleccionarán sólo temas en castellano para Lisboa". eurovision-spain.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  10. ^ Farren, Neil (23 January 2018). "Spain: Songs for National Final Allocated and Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  11. ^ García, Borja Abelleira (29 January 2018). "'OT 2017': Alfred y Amaia representarán a España en Eurovisión 2018". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  12. ^ Mahía, Manu (8 January 2018). "España escogerá el 29 de enero su candidatura para Eurovisión entre los finalistas de OT". Eurovision-Spain.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  13. ^ Mahía, Manu (23 January 2018). "¡OT presenta las nueve canciones candidatas de España para Eurovisión!". Eurovision-Spain.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  14. ^ a b "El público elige el lunes la candidatura española para Eurovisión 2018 entre nueve temas" (in Spanish). RTVE. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  15. ^ "La Gala de Eurovisión de 'OT 2017' brilla y un impresionante 23,6% es testigo del triunfo de Alfred y Amaia". formulatv.com (in Spanish). FórmulaTV. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  16. ^ "'OT 2017' (23,6%) se convierte en la preselección eurovisiva más vista desde 'Operación Triunfo 3'". formulatv.com (in Spanish). FórmulaTV. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  17. ^ García Hernández, José (18 February 2018). "El videoclip de Tu canción se estrenará en marzo ¡Así es el making of!". eurovision-spain.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  18. ^ Ortiz, Laura (5 March 2018). "Eurovisión 2018: TVE estrena el videoclip de "Tu canción", de Amaia y Alfred, el viernes 9 de marzo". formulatv.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  19. ^ a b "Amaia y Alfred se van de gira por Europa". www.rtve.es (in Spanish). RTVE. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  20. ^ "En directo: Amaia y Alfred visitan 'El Hormiguero' (con susto a Pablo Motos incluido)". www.lecturas.com (in Spanish). Lecturas. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  21. ^ "Amaia y Alfred enamoran a Toñi Moreno y nos regalan 6 momentazos en 'Viva la vida'". www.telecinco.es (in Spanish). Telecinco. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  22. ^ "¡Amaia y Alfred cantarán por primera vez Tu canción en los Premios Dial!". www.cadenadial.com (in Spanish). Cadena Dial. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  23. ^ "Amaia y Alfred, artistas confirmados para La noche de CADENA 100 2018". www.cadena100.es (in Spanish). Cadena 100. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  24. ^ "Amaia y Alfred llevarán 'Tu canción' a la academia de 'Fama, a bailar'". www.lavanguardia.com (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  25. ^ "Amaia, Alfred y amigos: pop, jazz e indie en concierto homenaje, este jueves RTVE.es y Playz". www.rtve.es (in Spanish). RTVE. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  26. ^ Macías, Fernando (27 April 2018). "Amaia y Alfred sacan 'Your song', la versión en inglés de 'Tu canción' para terminar de enamorar a Europa" (in Spanish). RTVE. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  27. ^ Jordan, Paul (25 July 2017). "Lisbon revealed as Host City of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  28. ^ Mahía, Manu (30 January 2018). "España confirma que emitirá las dos semifinales de Eurovisión 2018" (in Spanish). eurovision-spain.com. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  29. ^ a b "Tony Aguilar comentará junto a Julia Varela Eurovisión 2018" (in Spanish). RTVE. 14 March 2018.
  30. ^ Granger, Anthony (27 March 2018). "Spain: Eurovision 2018 Final to Be Broadcast in Cinemas". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  31. ^ "Grand Final of Lisbon 2018". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  32. ^ Macías, Fernando (7 March 2018). "Alfred y Amaia: "La puesta en escena de "Tu canción" habla sobre un amor universal"". www.rtve.es. RTVE. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  33. ^ a b c "Results of the Grand Final of Lisbon 2018". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  34. ^ a b "Results of the First Semi-Final of Lisbon 2018". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  35. ^ Groot, Evert (30 April 2018). "Exclusive: They are the expert jurors for Eurovision 2018". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spain_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest_2018&oldid=1260719640"