Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. And Spain’s Eurovision 2017 singer Manel Navarro is proving the point, having already released his emotional ballad “Keep on Falling” in the weeks after Eurovision.
And on Friday the sun-loving, guitar-strumming singer did it again, appearing as Ed Sheeran on “Tu cara no me suena todavía” (Your face doesn’t sound familiar to me yet).
Yes, you read that correctly. The spin-off of the long-standing “Tu cara me suena” (Your face sounds familiar) launched in Spain this year. The show, which airs each Friday, follows a different set of rules to the original. Namely that all acts are anonymous. Up to 10 candidates have to serve their best imitation of an existing pop star. The winner of every live show earns a place in “La Gran Final”, while those finishing second, third or fourth must try their luck in the next live show.
Those who fail to crack the Top 4 are out. Seven new faces join the show each week, battling against those acts who placed second, third or fourth the preceding week.
Esta noche nos visita @ManelNMusic en #TuCaraNoTodavíaGranFinal. A las 22h, en @antena3com ? https://t.co/MzDYCsStG9 pic.twitter.com/08ySoWVOW8
— Tu Cara No Me Suena (@TuCaraNoMeSuena) June 2, 2017
And yesterday the show reached its grand final, where Manel Navarro was among the special guests invited to perform.
We’ve already seen him play the role of fun-loving surfer dude. But last night he slipped into a new guise, doing his best to channel Ed Sheeran in a charming mash-up of “Castle on the Hill” and “Shape of You”.
Wearing a light dusting of facial hair, a red coiffe and a loose-fitting t-shirt, he imitated his idol visually and musically.
He previously spoke of his love for the singer. At his Eurovision press conference in Kyiv he said: “Ed Sheeran is an idol to me. I started singing and playing the guitar because of him.”
Manel loves Ed — and the global superstar also loves Manel!
During the Eurovision fortnight, Xavi Martínez and Uri Sábat, hosts on Spain’s Los40, played Ed a snippet of Manel’s cover of “Castle On The Hill”.
“He’s got a really good voice,” Ed said. “I think girls will love him. He’s handsome.”
You can watch Manel Navarro’s performance from “Tu cara no me suena todavía” here.
Manel’s future plans
Our amigo isn’t slowing down. His new single “Keep on Falling” went to #3 on iTunes Spain last Friday.
In a recent interview with Spanish radio Los40, Manel explained that he plans to hit the road — and not just at home — from June.
“Ukraine, London and Mexico are places where I want to play,” he said. “Also, the opportunities are there, so I have to take advantage of them.”
He kicked off his Spanish tour today in Barcelona and will perform in Madrid on June 9.
BARCELONA.
Sold out.Love you till the moon and back. pic.twitter.com/FkF7EMGHWe
— Manel Navarro Music (@ManelNMusic) June 2, 2017
However, Manel will not be performing at this year’s Worldpride Madrid 2017 — a marked departure from recent years.
Spanish representatives — including Ruth Lorenzo and Barei — routinely appear in Pride Events, but it appears the invitation was not extended.
“In case they call me to perform in Madrid’s Pride, I wouldn’t even think about it,” he said. “I would perform with great desire.”
.@RosaLopez will be living a celebration at #MadridWorldPride. We're slipping into these shirts for the fiesta! ???https://t.co/KHea9XHSeJ pic.twitter.com/Y1PaA7oKnm
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) June 3, 2017
Manel is now focused on his music and recording his new album. It’s still too soon to know the release date, but he’s endlessly passionate about it.
“We’re recording some things, more like acoustic,” he said. “We already have some tracks recorded, others just composed…I want to keep doing acoustic concerts.”
What do you think about Manel’s performance imitating his idol Ed Sheeran? Are you excited to hear new music from Manel? And would you have preferred “Keep on Falling” to “Do It For Your Lover” at Eurovision? Let us know in the comments section below!
Another evidence of Manel’s lack of talent. He is now saying and repeating every interview he has that he wants to be like Ed Sheeran but darling, shouldnt you be more worried of not copying an existent artist and being yourself? GIRL, BYE.
Of course he isn’t invited to the WGP 2017… More than a half of the gay public were part of haters that wanted Mirela, so it would be difficult for Manel to sing while he gets bullied another time.
Not trying to offend by any means, but the truth is that those that were loving Mirela and hating on Manel were the “typical” gay with diva attitude and taste.
Anyway, I’m glad Manel is promoting himslef and overcoming the unfair hate he’s been facing. Seems to be a nice guy.
Anyone else worried that Eurovision is morphing into a show full of covers acts?
I’m happy he is promoted, but he seems too desperate to be liked in UK. Hope we’ll NOT see him like Saara Aalto and Destiny, going there for talent shows that he will not win because he’s foreigner, and because he is from Eurovision.
And about Destiny…of course Simon Cowell knows what JESC is, don’t believe when he says he didn’t knew that JESC exists.
But this reality show is in Spain so
Manel is the definition of cringeworthy.
Awful title for a to show. I don’t understand- the people taking part are unknowns?
The actual English title of the format is “Your Face Sounds Familiar”. Past Eurovision stars have taken part in their country’s respective version, most notable being Alexander Rybak.
Participants are usually celebrities, specifially those from the music industry.
This is like a spin-off of the spanish “your face sound familiar” (where famous people like Edurne or Ruth Lorenzo take part) and here the people who participate is unknown and is because of that the show have a different name (Manel Navarro was just a guest).
Yep, this is a version of Your Face Sounds Familiar with non-celebrity impersonators. By the way, the official title in English for this spinoff is Your Face Sounds Almost Familiar.