Hello!
How are you?
(Saturday, February 1st) I just saw a TV show that left me fascinated. Congratulations for Spain, it is the final gala of the election of the Spanish candidacy for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.
The show is called: Benidorm Fest 2025. With nothing left inside me, it pulled at my heartstrings, hats off, a fantasy of a show.
You know, I thought, I wish I had all that potential to present myself to auditions, the memory of living something like that must be wonderful, besides, in the new era, the performance is immortalized in all digital platforms as a valuable portfolio of what you are capable of doing on stage, is that right now I think, and I think I am objective, it is a perfect equation, there is no dark side from my angle, maybe I'm in full euphoria. I'll think better, as I give my impressions, moment by moment...
First, I'll tell you a bit of the previous chronology. Every year a call is made, between July and September, for all artists who are interested in representing Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest to send their proposals: unpublished songs, no more than 3 minutes, also, the directors make the invitation to the record companies, with this they seek to have, both artists with trajectory and emerging artists in the competition.
At the end of November, they announce the names of the 16 artists and the songs selected for the competition. Something that surprises me is that there are thousands of influencers reacting to all the news generated by this festival, websites, youtubers, tiktokers and more.
Many fans search on platforms for the previous work of the newly announced artists and replicate, react, make bets and bets; in this way, the artists gain more visibility.
The second week of December the selected songs are released on all music platforms and the interest increases, placing the festival at the top of the trends. All with admirers and detractors, as is common in social networks.
Then the Festival is held the last week of January, 16 artists, two semifinals and the final gala, each with 8 artists, on Tuesday 4 qualify, on Thursday, another 4, and on Saturday, with the public vote and the vote of jury with experience in Eurovision, a pro rata is made and from the result, the winner comes out.
Let's talk about the 2025 edition, which has just ended...
After listening to all the songs in December 2024, I liked 3:
- Kuve - “Crazy about you”.
- Mel Ömana - “I'm a Queen”.
- LaChispa - “Hartita de llorar”.
This last song was crazy in positive ratings, it has like a saeta sound with a broken flamenco voice and a touch of electronic elements that made my skin crawl. The talent of this woman is wonderful.
I also liked Melody, as a fourth option, mostly because I'm a fan for a long time and I know what she is capable of doing on stage, she is a complete artist, but her song “Esa Diva” is like a formula very similar to the song “Mujer Loba” by herself, so much is the resemblance, that gave me the feeling that it was the same base with other lyrics, The song “Mujer Loba” is a jewel in my opinion, and “Esa Diva” is a step below.
First semifinal: Tuesday, January 28th.
Competed: Kuve, David Afonso, Chica Sobresalto, Lucas Bun, K!ngdom, LaChispa, Sonia y Selena and Daniela Blasco.
What happened?
Kuve put on a wonderful show and her live vocals are honest to what we hear on the recording, I say this, because now many artists don't sing live lest the “Milli Vanilli” mask fall off. After singing, she went up a lot in the pools. It was quite a surprise because very few had her among their favorites. I was one of those few. I think the song is great.
I liked David Afonso a lot, a handsome guy, salsa, with a fashionable image and a style between Maluma and Manuel Turizo. Very good singer, he gave diversity to the festival, which is usually more focused on the dance pop disco genre. The guy is not a showman, he is shy, technical and correct.
LaChispa. In the social networks many called it “The disappointment of the night”. Honestly, I loved it, it is pure passion, I love people who overflow for a feeling, it was theatrical, dramatic, as the message of her song deserves.
Daniela Blasco. She caused divided opinions, many loved her and others found her advantageous. A dance show with pre-recorded backing vocals and a 20% voice, the show in general is compliant, as some say, the typical Diva of Europe. I think that the proposal, although spectacular, has references of Chanel Terrero, the representative of Spain in Eurovision in 2022, with the difference that Chanel sings and dances with the level of perfection.
Daniela Blasco, LaChispa, Kuve and Lucas Bun qualified for the final.
Second semifinal: Thursday, January 30.
Chenoa opened the show with a medley of her hits; I was fascinated. In one sentence I can define the show as “Nostalgia of the 2000's”.
The competition started with Mel Ömana, Henry Semler, DeTeresa, J. Kbello, Carla Frigo, Mawot, Celine Van Heel and Melody (the girl we met in the first years of the first decade of the current millennium with the hit: “El baile del gorila” and now she is a 35 year old woman, very beautiful).
This semi-final, in my opinion, was much closer and with more quality than the first semi-final. As the show went on, my feeling was that, in this gala, there was the winner of the festival.
Mel Ömana. Her song gave me a plus of good omens, her voice is chameleonic, the staging was sensational, she sang and danced like an expert, a winning attitude, this performance was very complete.
J. Kbello. His performance was a video clip taken to a live television show. The play of cameras and lights had an important role, it was spectacular, like the very halftime of the Super Bowl. The artist is an imposing man, whose attributes seem to have been sculpted by the gods themselves. His voice has the touches of Quevedo and his aesthetics I recognized, it seemed to me a reference to the Italian artist Mahmood. It was not my favorite, but I recognize that it was wonderfully complete.
Melody. An artist who sings and dances at the same time, and does it perfectly, she has a talent that overflows from her pores, a measured passion that is acquired over the years in the profession. I liked the song, but it didn't drive me crazy with pleasure. His performance was one of those that make me anxious, since he started descending from the heights, and I'm always afraid that there will be a mistake and he won't make it down in time, or that he will fall from nerves. I, as the show producer that I am not, would recommend looking for an idea that can leave the audience with their mouths open from the safety of having their feet on the ground (literally).
The sound failed and she had a mistake in vocal performance, but she managed to bounce back. She has hundreds of performances on YouTube where she lets you see what she is capable of. I thought that, although the performance was not perfect, the audience and the judges would trust her and they did.
Qualified for the final gala: Mel Ömana, Melody, J. Kbello and Mawot.
Grand Final: February 1.
In general, the performances were up to the standards required to be a finalist. Those who had details in the semifinals, made the corresponding adjustments, and those who shined in the semifinals, shone again in the final gala.
I have been a follower of this Festival since 2023. This year was the edition that I liked the most. Really, this festival is taking impressive dimensions. While other countries in Europe make more discreet pre-selections, Spain with Benidorm Fest makes a show in Spanish on the level of Eurovision.
My bet from the beginning was Melody, but Mel Ömana, LaChispa or J. Kbello seemed to me very competitive representations of Spain in Eurovision. In previous years I only connected with one or two nominations.
The winner of the jury was J. Kbello with 74 points, second place Daniela Blasco with 71 points and third place, Melody with 70, a very close score between the three proposals. Then came the result of the public votes, where Melody won with 80 points. Second place went to Daniela Blasco with 70 points and third place to J. Kbello with 60 points. When all the points were added up, the victory went to Melody.
Melody is Spain's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 and I love her.
Hours later I spent the night watching reactions on YouTube and found out facts. Melody is the first winner of the Festival thanks to the public vote. The winners of the previous editions were propelled to the top by the jury and the public's decision did not affect their position.
From this edition I take away: Meeting artists like Kuve, Mel Ömana, J. Kbello, LaChispa and DeTeresa, who I already follow on Instagram and Spotify.
Thank you.
Source of images in order of appearance: 1 - 2
Translated with DeepL.com
