So they came dead last in both jury votes and televotes, and only escaped last place because of a bizarre quirk of this year’s voting system. So the song was slammed as boring by the Wiwi Jury and generally poorly received across the ESC Fan Community. So the staging may have been a little uninspiring. So what?

El Sueño Morfeo were hard done by in Malmö. They’re a seasoned act that have been together for over 10 years and have notched up dozens of hits on the Spanish Charts and in the wider Spanish-speaking world, including a Number One with ‘Nunca volverá’. The problem in Sweden was the song.

‘Contigo Hasta El Final’ was actually a decent song. It combined ESDM’s signature rock and Celtic vibes in a perfect blend of everything they’ve been doing for the past ten years. The problem is, I think, that was a little jarring for Europe. You think of Spain, you think of castanets – not bagpipes. Asturias is hardly Spain’s most advertised region since it rains a lot there and isn’t, as a result, all that attractive for one of Spain’s main industries: tourism. The Asturian sound just didn’t connect with Europe. It didn’t seem Spanish, bluntly. A real shame if you consider the ESC to be about promoting cultures you don’t see the other 51 weeks of the year.

The staging was not the most inspired. The bagpipe and guitar solos were nice enough, and Raquel’s yellow dress and headdress were certainly eye-catching in a Cleopatra-way, but there wasn’t sparkle. There was however the insanely cute lantern skit, which I felt was a gorgeous and heartfelt moment. Something I didn’t see from anyone else that night. Least all of Emmelie making eyes at her flute player, and not because of his dodgy haircut. No glass boxes, no giants, no gimmicks – this was just a sweet little fairytale from Asturias.

Unfortunately sweet and little got trampled by the giant, the flute player with the dodgy haircut and Farid deciding whether he liked boys or girls (let’s be honest here, the man in the box was his inner gay just waiting to get out).

ESDM have made some fabulous songs over the years, and would have been amazing at ESC with the right song, but ‘Contigo Hasta El  Final’ wasn’t ESDM enough. I think if anything, they shied away from going full throttle. The little bit weirded people out – they didn’t understand it. Had they gone full throttle, they’d have won people over a lot better, as they did on their hit from 2007, ‘Para Toda La Vida.’ Because when ESDM go full throttle, the effect is amazing.

Angus Quinn contributed this report from the U.K. You can follow him on Twitter at @Angus_Quinn17. Then like our Facebook page to keep up-to-date with all the latest news and gossip.

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paco
10 years ago

PARA BECCABBO 1212 RESPETO TUS GUSTOS MUSICALES SI NO TE GUSTA PUES NO TE GUSTA.PERO SABES A LO QUE LLAMO RARO.PUES QUE EN ESC 2012 RUSIA QUEDARA SEGUNDA Y ESPAÑA LA DECIMA ESO SI QUE ES RARO,RARO.RARO NO TE PARECE A TI RARO UNAS ANCIANAS CON UN HORNO EN EL ESCENARIO….PERDONA….Y LO PEOR CANTANDO MAL A DESTIEMPO Y DESAFINANDO….QUE RARO PERDON RARO NO MAMARRACHADA QUE ES DIFERENTE PUES SEGUNDAS….RARO,RARO,RARO

beccaboo1212
10 years ago

Hmm. That was weird.

Slavi
Slavi
10 years ago

It just didn’t come across well. I, personally, dislike the song. It’s too bland and doesn’t have anything to grab on to after the 3 minutes. And yes, her vocals were really weak. Just… so mediocre that it is bad.

paco
10 years ago

PARA EL EQUIPO WIWI….VOSOTROS HACEIS,JUCIOS Y PREJUCIOS UN TANTO INCOHERENTES.ASTURIAS ES UN PRINCIPADO DE ESPAÑA.ES VERDAD QUE LLUEVE MUCHO EN INVIERNO PERO EN VERANO LES ASEGURO QUE EL SOL BRILLA IGUAL EN TODA LA PENINSULA IBERICA INCLUYO PORTUGAL,GIBRALTAR Y ANDORRA. ASTURIAS TIENE PLAYAS MARAVILLOSAS Y LA UNICA PLAYA INTERIOR DE ESPAÑA DIGNA DE VER POR NO NOMBRAR EL PARQUE NACIONAL PICOS DE EUROPA,UNA JOYA SU GASTRONOMIA CIUDADES TURISTICAS GIJON Y SU CAPITAL OVIEDO O SEA QUE TURISCO ES UN RATO QUIZAS MAS PARA LOS ESPAÑOLES QUE PARA LOS FORANEOS EN ESO ESTOY DE ACUERDO PERO ESPAÑA NO SOLO ES ANDALUCIA,CASTAÑUELAS… Read more »

paco
10 years ago

PARA EL EQUIPO WIWI,VOSOTROS HACEIS JUCIOS Y PREJUCIOS UN TANTO INCOHERENTES,ASTURIAS ES UN PRINCIPADO DE ESPAÑA, ES VERDAD QUE LLUEVE MUCHO PERO EN INVIERNO,EN VERANO LES PUEDO ASEGURAR QUE EL SOL BRILLA IGUAL EN TODA LA PENINSULA IBERICA INCLUYO PORTUGAL,ANDORRA Y GIBRALTAR.ASTURIAS TIENE PLAYAS MARAVILLOSAS Y LA UNICA PLAYA INTERIOR DE ESPAÑA DIGNA DE VER POR NO HABLAR DEL PARQUE NACIONAL PICOS DE EUROPA, UNA JOYA SU GASTRONOMIA O SEA QUE TURISTICO ES, Y MUY TURISTICO SUS CIUDADES OVIEDO Y GIJON,DOCUMENTAROS UN POCO ANTES DE ESCIBIR EN ESTE MARAVILLOSO BLOGG DE UN LUGAR PUES A SI EVITARHIES HERIR SUCEPTIVILIDADES.ADIOS UN… Read more »

Mike
Mike
10 years ago

I liked the song, It wasn’t just their night. The singing was not good, but normally she sings much much better!

Vlad
Vlad
10 years ago

I like the song.

Tiggeh
Tiggeh
10 years ago

I still preferred Revolucion – the song that didn’t make the Spanish finals.

paco
10 years ago

SEÑOR MARTIN PALMER NO SE LO VOY A CONSENTIR PEOR DESEMPEÑO VOCAL DE LA NOCHE BONY,CASCADA,KRISTIA Y MUCHOS MAS DE LA NOCHE VEASE SUECIA,NO SEA TAN CHOBINISTAS Y CRITICO CON UNA CANTANTE QUE YA ESTABA GAFADA ANTES DE SUBIR AL ESCENARIO,Y ENCIMA CON UNA PRESION BRUTAL Y SI NO LO PUEDE ENTENDER PONGASE USTED EN SU LUGAR DESDE GRAN CANARIA UN SALUDO

Adrian Kavanagh
10 years ago

ESDM’s bad “draw” position didn’t help them in Malmo, but in fairness there were the other aspects at play too as noted already above. Good group, make some good music and I actually liked the song – pity about the overall result

Martin Palmer
10 years ago

The main reason for ESDM being so poor in Malmo? THe worst vocal performance on the night by far…