We’re all still waiting for a date and details about Spain’s long-awaited song selection gala for Blas Cantó. However, new hype has started to emerge. Manel Navarro — Spain’s Eurovision 2017 singer — has told COPE that there is a preferred song in the song selection gala. He also addressed his dramatic participation at Eurovision in Kyiv. Despite his easy-going staging and the summertime feel of his song, his time at ESC was definitely not a holiday celebration.

Has Blas Cantó’s song already been chosen?

Manel sounded the alarm for many Spanish fans after suggesting there might already be a song for Blas. As he tells COPE: “I read Blas presented four songs for Eurovision,” he said. “The team does not tell me anything. They only told me that from the four songs [eligible for Eurovision 2021] they know which one it is already, and it is much better than ‘Universo.'”

Many fans are now wondering what that means exactly. It’s thought that he means Blas himself has a favourite song from the options he sent to RTVE. This happened before with Pastora Soler and El Sueño de Morfeo. Both had their favourite song from among the offerings available in their song selection galas, which, luckily for them, also turned out to be Spain’s favourites too: “Quédate Conmigo” and “Contigo Hasta El Final”. Blas will have to see if Spain shares his preference.

Naturally, this has led many fans to wonder whether there will be a gala if there is already a song. While Manel suggests there are multiple songs to choose from, RTVE has still not confirmed anything — or addressed the rumour of or set a date for this gala. The debate is ON across social media.

“Eurovision is the wound that hurt the most”

Manel Navarro conjures mixed feelings among many in the Eurovision sphere. Manel remains strongly associated with one of the most dramatic Spanish national finals ever, which resulted in punch-ups and name-calling.

 

But for Manel, the song contest allowed him to grow, evolve and become stronger. He doesn’t regret having participated as he learned a lot and it remains his biggest professional and personal experience. However, after four years, he recognizes that of all the scars that evoke memories of the past, Eurovision is the one that hurts the most.

“I have my wounds, but no wound hurts as much as the one from Eurovision.”

These wounds have now healed. “I don’t hold any resentment now, but it’s true that at the beginning, there were people who I could not see. People from the Eurovision sphere, who treated me badly”.

He also condemned the social media storm that hit Blas back in April when he refused to sing at Eurovision Spain’s online PrePartyES while struggling with a debilitating bout of anxiety. That led him to close his social media accounts, in response to all the negativity online. Manel supports Blas and adds that “it’s disappointing that there are people trying to sink your Eurovision dream. I can understand what happened to me, but I cannot understand what they did to Blas.”

Manel, who has just released a new single alongside Bely Basarte, now thinks about Eurovision from the perspective of a songwriter. He doesn’t reject “Do It For Your Lover” and it will feature in his concerts — as an acoustic version. “It will always be on my repertoire. But the acoustic version — the one I like.”

Are you excited to know whether there will be a song selection gala in Spain? What do you think about Blas potentially having a song? Are you feeling the hype? Let us know in the comment section below!

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Pineaple
Pineaple
3 years ago

I’m sorry… but even now four years later some people are still moaning about the fact he won and Mirela didn’t. I’m sorry but this has got to stop. This guy has done nothing wrong, and had his Eurovision experience absolutely ruined by salty and entitled Eurovision fans. It’s disgusting. No one deserves to be treated the way he was/still is. It’s straight up bullying, and I bet 99.99% of people who directed hateful messages towards him, wouldn’t dare say that to his face. Eurovision fans need to start accepting that their favourites aren’t going to win all the time… Read more »

jack
jack
3 years ago

It seems he is still struggling and i am sorry for that but he should blame those who arranged his victory while he had a weak song. That national final was a -rigged- disaster

Hellooooo
Hellooooo
3 years ago

Definitely

Iván el Conquistador
Iván el Conquistador
3 years ago

“Eurovision is the wound that hurt the most”
As a Spaniard, I say that you deserved it and you should have come home with 0 points. The NF was rigged and you were a complete prick. Your insolence was punished.

Last edited 3 years ago by Iván el Conquistador
Hellooooo
Hellooooo
3 years ago

ES:Sí, lo que le hizo el y su colega (que maravillosamente a desaparecido de la radio) a Mirela fue increible. ¿¿Por lograr tus sueños compensa robar y fastidiar a otros?? Para mí no.

EN: Yes, what he and his friend (who wonderfully has dissappeard from the radio) to Mirela was incredible. For acheiving your dreams it’s okay to steal and annoy others?? For me, no.

Iván el Conquistador
Iván el Conquistador
3 years ago
Reply to  Hellooooo

Manel Navarro y Xavi Martinez ya no son relevantes, sus carreras están acabadas. Quizá el karma existe a pesar de todo.

Manel Navarro and Xavi Martinez aren’t relevant anymore, their careers are dead. Maybe karma exists after all.

Hellooooo
Hellooooo
3 years ago

Pues sí, Xavi Martinez es hoy en día tan irrelevante que ya no me acordaba ni de su nombre jaja.

So yes, Xavi Martinez is nowadays such as irrelevant that I didn’t remembered his name haha

Erasmus
Erasmus
3 years ago

I feel sorry for Manel, he always seemed like a great guy.

I wonder what the song from Blas sounds like… I want it to sound something like Last Night from Duncan… so something with a paired-back production, but still high impact. Also I love Blas, my only issue with him is that I am not sure if he knows what kind of artist he is and I think it would benefit Spain if they`d send artist with clear vision. But we will see.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago

Vitriolic Eurofans are the reason the many more smart and respectful Eurofans have such a hard time explaining their passion to friends who don’t know about the contest. It’s been a problem as long as Eurovision’s been around, and it’s the one thing that always bums me out. I’ve met a lot of kind people doing this, but don’t let your b*tchiness get the best of you. I’ve been happy lately seeing people collectively call out the relentlessly negative or nitpicky people. Keep up the good work. Also, 2019 was a freaking MISERABLE year for fans sh*t-talking NF winners (most… Read more »

Roo
Roo
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Always makes me laugh on Wiwibloggs every time before a national final happens there is a poll saying who we think is going to win. The next morning it’s on Wiwibloggs that someone completely different will represent said country.

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Roo

I remember back in 2018, even as a budding young Eurovision fan, when I had a pretty good track record for either guessing who would win regardless of what I thought of them or having my favorites actually win (I got my wish with Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Portugal*, San Marino, Spain, AND Switzerland – to date, I don’t think I’ve ever been satisfied on such a broad scale ever again)…when I saw the terrible reviews for “Our Choice,” and how everyone thought it was by far the worst choice, a little voice… Read more »

Roo
Roo
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

It’s Funny in Australia Decides. Everyone on Wiwibloggs was going for Electric Fields. And I understand the appeal of the song. But Electric Fields are largely unknown outside of the music scene. While Kate Miller Heidke was the artist who generated a buzz in Australia the moment her name was mentioned. And that was before the song was heard.

Erasmus
Erasmus
3 years ago
Reply to  Joe

that is why i prefer internal selection. We usually get quality acts from them (not always of course) and we get a song we judge without prejudice of it being selected over another “better” song. National finals can be fun, but are a lot of the times painful to us and to artists.

Me!
Me!
3 years ago

It’s such a sad thing as a Eurovision fan to read some comments after an act and/or a song has been selected that had another favourite also in the selection. Recent examples in 2020 with Albania, Finland and Sweden where people here and many other forums & comment sections slashed very hard words just because their favourite didn’t win. I myself have sometimes been annoyed that my favourite hasn’t been the winner in some countries, but I never see it as a opportunity to start talking bad things and blaming others for a result that isn’t 100% up to me… Read more »

Ashton Schier
Ashton Schier
3 years ago
Reply to  Me!

That last paragraph is so important. You can dislike a song while still respecting its singer/s, lyricist/s, composer/s, producer/s and so on.

Hellooooo
Hellooooo
3 years ago
Reply to  Me!

Absolutely love your comment, and as Ashton Schier said, the last paragraph is very important.

Me!
Me!
3 years ago
Reply to  Hellooooo

Thank you Ashton & Helloo, it’s nice to know others share the same thoughts as me (pun not intended, but a lucky coincidence)

Ermin
Ermin
3 years ago

Everytime I see Manel, it reminds me how cruel esc fans are.

Roo
Roo
3 years ago
Reply to  Ermin

Especially when the audience went boo

Ashton Schier
Ashton Schier
3 years ago

Most of the fans treated Manel like absolute garbage when he won, and it was so disheartening to watch. His song wasn’t that bad, it was passable, and when he made that vocal mistake everybody just hated him more. We all need to remember that these are real people with real careers.

Colin
Colin
3 years ago
Reply to  Ashton Schier

I think that many of us felt like the victory in NF was set-up for him, with two jurors (out of only three) giving him the highest ratings and putting his closest competitors last. I watched dozens of NFs where people ”cried wolf” because their favorite didn’t win and this was perhaps one of rare potentially dodgy ones to date (I certainly wouldn’t go as far as *claiming anything*, but people wanted some explanations). Still, I feel like people did go overboard with angry comments, made it personal and insulting and I certainly don’t think he deserved that. As for… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by Colin
Ashton Schier
Ashton Schier
3 years ago
Reply to  Colin

Regardless of whether his victory was set up, that is in no way Manel’s fault. Same situation with elvana last year – I really wanted Me Tana to win, and it didn’t, but I didn’t proceed to attack Arilena like some others did. But I hope Manel goes on to have a more successful career from now on.

Colin
Colin
3 years ago
Reply to  Ashton Schier

Looking at it now, almost 4 years more experienced, I absolutely agree. Embarrassed, now I re-checked the page where it was said that he won and as I remembered, I only questioned the method which two of the juries were using to put televoters’ favorites, Mirela and LeKlein on last spots. Even though my posts were aimed at the process, not him personally, I admit that we were all a part of the ”machinery” which made Manel feel unwelcome. So, Manel, if you are reading this, I am sorry for that. Not for questioning the process (and I still have… Read more »

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  Colin

I’ve definitely let emotions get the better of me as well, and I’ve always tried to bear in mind that songwriters and performers occasionally check the forums as well (in particular, I remember Laurell Barker and Eimear Quinn dropping in on posts that also had some very mean comments about their work, so that stunk). I won’t shy away from sharing my opinion on a song or the elements of its performance, but I won’t actually get angry unless I feel someone involved is behaving badly (for instance, I don’t blame Julia Samoylova at ALL for how miserable “I Won’t… Read more »

Marc
Marc
3 years ago
Reply to  Ashton Schier

I agree 100%. He is talented, credible and seems like a nice genuine person.The guy entered a song and it was picked- that was not down to him and definitely did not deserve hate. I really like the acoustic version in Spanish.

TheDr Mistery
TheDr Mistery
3 years ago
Reply to  Ashton Schier

The truth is that those 2 jurors claimed that “Do It for Your Lover” was tailor-made for ESC and I wonder how can they hold their heads high after that contest. They also put “Contigo” last which it certainly wasn’t by any measure in that group of songs and presentations. All of that resulted in a tie which unfortunately made us return to the jury members. It looked like they had a purpose of pushing Manel and destroying Mirela’s chances when she was – by far – the audience’s favorite (the one in the studio and the one at home… Read more »

Joe
Joe
3 years ago
Reply to  TheDr Mistery

“Spain 2017 is certainly the most dysfunctional NF of 2010s”
Ukraine and Belarus in the first half of the decade would beg to differ.