Mr Häggkvist, a Panama-based correspondent for wiwibloggs, tuned into Spain’s national selection last night. He’s totally thrilled that voters selected Contigo Hasta el Final” (With You All the Way). Here’s his account of what unfolded. Caliente!

And now Spain have their entry for this year’s contest. Last night, in a really short special, we heard three song options for Celtic-Rock band El Sueño de Morfeo, and then we voted for our fave. Host Carolina Ferre told us to choose the song that could help madre patria win this year’s contest in Sweden, a country the Spaniards call “Suecia”.

First up was “Dame tu Voz”… totally lame and boring. Then it was “Atrevete”… energetic and happy clappy. Last, and definitely not least, was “Contigo hasta el final”. It was emotional and simple, but built into something spectacular. By the end of the night “Contigo” emerged as the clear winner. But even before the votes came in it was obvious that the host, the jury, the band, and even the audience preferred “Contigo hasta el Final”.

The Jury was composed of Rosa Lopez (2002 Spanish entrant), Marco Mengoni (2013 San Remo winner and the Italian entrant for Malmö) and Jose Maria Iñigo (Spanish commentator of the contest) who all agreed that “Contigo” was the best song to represent Spain in the big contest in May.

The televoting went the same way with “Dame” in third, “Atrevete” in second and “Contigo” at the top. The band was clearly happy about the decision and sent major thanks to all the producers, the public and the jury who they hope will be supporting the band until the end… just like the tittle of the song.

But the band didn’t just stand on stage singing their entries. No they did not! In the middle of the show David Villa (one of the Barcelona FC players) greeted the band becasue they are all HUGE Football fans.  And Luca Barbarossa—1988 Italian entrant who is really good friends with lead singer Raquel—also sent her friend a warm message. The two have been close since singing at the San Remo Festival together back in 2011, when they finished fifth. El Sueño de Morfeo also performed some of their greatest hits with some of their friends in the music industry… Nek, Alex Ubago & La Musicalité.They gotta milk their time in the spotlight, people!

For me the best part of the evening was when Pastora Soler reprised her 2012 entry “Quedate Conmigo” alongside the band. Let me tell you something: It’s incredible how this woman can sing this song even a year after it was released for Eurovision. People in the audience and the jury were crying when she performed. It was amazing.

Pastora had this to say about her experience at Eurovision:

Eurovision was a gigantic experience that I will always remember, I can only think about positive things about it and it’s a lot of work, pressure and preparation for the whole thing, but it put my career on other level, and the love of the Eurofans gave me is something I can’t describe. It’s beautiful.

Her advice for the band was to enjoy the experience and to stay positive the whole time. It’s a lot of work but in the end is worth it.

Stay with me: We love Pastora Soler!

Also Marco Mengoni was asked about his entry for the contest and he just keep saying “I don’t know”. Dude does not speak the Spanish. From the very beginning he said “Mi español no muy bueno” (My Spanish not very good), but he said that he’s preparing the release of his new album and he’s not clear whether “L’essenziale” (his San Remo winning entry) will be the Italian song for Eurovision.

In the end I think we were all pleased with the choice of “Contigo Hasta el Final”. It’s a great song, the mix of different sounds and genres is amazing and as I wrote some weeks ago, to me it was the most quality song. So as España, I really hope to see El Sueño de Morfeo’s dream come true in Malmö next May.

What do you think of Spain’s entry? Can they crack the Top 10 like Miss Soler did? And what do you make of their Celtic influences? Can Spain expect some Irish votes?

 

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Nacho
10 years ago

If you want to know more about the spanish entry I leave you two links:

‘Contigo hasta el final’ review on the Mirror
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-previews/eurovision-2013-preview-spain-entry-1855493

An article on my blog about ‘Contigo hasta el final’ (sorry about my english)
http://www.thegreenroom.es/2013/04/the-spanish-entry-from-to-z.html

See you in Malmoe!

Yuri
Yuri
11 years ago

Que cancion mas mala, la cantante desafina mucho ! Lo unico que mola es la introduccion con la gaita! Spain….. horrible, como siempre !

Yuri
Yuri
11 years ago

Que cancion mas mala, la catante desafina mucho ! Lo unico que mola es la introduccion con la gaita! Spain….. horrible, como siempre !

GEORGE ARNUP
GEORGE ARNUP
11 years ago

Randy have very poor judgment, only appears in the sound of the drums

Randy
Randy
11 years ago

Awful voice and copy-paste song by Kelly Clarkson “The Sun Will Rise” Well done ,Spain !

JM
JM
11 years ago

The influence is not Irish, is Galician and Asturian, the two Celtic nations of Spain. Both guys are from Asturias. You should be aware of the array of cultures in Spain.

I think the song is very good and the type of pop Spain likes.

Holomorph
Holomorph
11 years ago

rather boring. This will not make enough noise for the great stage in Malmö.

Mr. M
Mr. M
11 years ago

Another year, another fail for Spain… Being also from Latin America, I don’t think that Spain will reach top ten with that song.

Zolan
Zolan
11 years ago

Excellent choice. The composition is strong, the blend and balance mature, and it sounds great. I believe it can stand out and win support at Malmo.

P.S. Spain has a native Celtic tradition of its own, as do other Western nations. ESDM’s folk influences are more likely Galician than Irish.