Spain’s Edurne played the part of a Hellenic warrior at Eurovision 2015, but sadly the night turned into a Greek tragedy: One of our favourites finished a disappointing 21st in the grand final. Spain’s odd-year curse lives on: In 2011, 2013 and 2015 Spain placed 23rd, 25th place and 21st place, while in 2010, 2012 and 2014 it came 15th, 10th and 10th. A strong fan favourite, Edurne’s was expensive in every sense of the word! The Spanish delegation pushed the boat out on ‘Amanecer’, and the result was a huge disappointment.
The dance section through the breakdown with Giuseppe was perfection and homegirl hit the big note big time. Choice camera angles and a few notes may have missed the mark, but the overall performance was stunning. Our hearts broke for our beloved Spanish diva.
Could RTVE have spent its money better?
RTVE spared no expense this year. It was reported earlier this week that the Spanish broadcaster had already paid 291,000 euros to the EBU and the total amount is expected to be much higher. Without flights and hotels in January participation was forecast to cost 356,000 euros. Edurne’s dresses, designed by José Fuentes, cost over 50,000 euros!
Perhaps the missing piece of the puzzle was international promotion. Rather than sending Edurne on tour, RTVE booked the Tigress on shows with poor sound quality in Spain. A bit of promo would have helped the ‘Amanecer’ singer claw her way higher up the scoreboard on the night.
There’s a Valencian expression that’s been applied rather freely to the Spanish authorities’ uncontrolled spending during the economic crisis. It can now be applied to RTVE: “Això ho pague jo!” (I’m paying for this!). Spanish Eurofans won’t even get a free KitKat as a consolation prize.
she deserved much better but let’s be honest. the stage performance was a poor mess.
camera angles were bad in most cases and the choreography was almost non existent. Also, the song was weak to begin with so it needed a strong performance. She should have added more choreography on stage instead of her moving her hands in an awkward way
AB.en la industria musical de hoy las canciones de MADONNA se parecen a las LADY GA GA y la de ITALIA se parece a las de IL DIVO y la de SUECIA a la de DAVID GUETTA.Ese argumento no me vale,puedo entender que no le gustara la propuesta Española pero decir que una cancion es fresca y otras no es criterio que no se justifica en ESC.
I do not understand why need to disappoint. It is a competition and someone have to loose, someone to loose. The Spain song was not new and fresh (you can find many similar songs) and beside the good singer there was nothing in it. Text do not say nothing.
I don’t think promotion would have made any significant difference. This flopped for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was overworked and lacked any sense of joy or emotion. Also, the camerawork disconnected the audience from Edurne and the song. On top of that, Edurne’s vocals were shaky. There are so many factors which led to this poor ranking, but a lack of promotion is not one.
I think it says a lot that I have been obsessed with Amanecer since the day it came out but I did not vote for Spain.
Looking at the 1st rehearsal I thought they had some substance and fixing some obvious details they could do great. It was the 1st rehearsal and some elements should be missing. But that was all, they didn’t change a thing from the 1st rehearsal. This is not 19th century theater were you can suggest that you have a ball of light in your hands, you have enough technology in the would to literally show a ball of light in your hands. You can’t put a background as decoration, you must feel that it’s real, not a background. That’s what Sweden… Read more »
1. She was very nervous in both the jury and live finals. And much more powerful during rehearsals.
2. The red frock shtick made no sense, particularly her sitting on top of the “dancer” in the beginning of the song
3. The “dancer” was inelegant and his choreography rather lame.
She ended up where she deserved: not horrible, but not very good either.
There are a lot of bad songs at ESC with good results.
I think the big problem was AUSTRIA, with their cameras work. MESS. I was happy with their 0 points after their pathetic organization. XDD.
Spain wonder what’s wrong with their song every single year but they keep sending the same formula: girl singing a pop-ballad. An “i-e-i-e-o” wont be NEVER enough. Yes, Italy is an example of a great song with their own language, but the formula worked because of their superb voices. The only song that I can recall from spain doing the same is Pastora Soler with her song Quedate Conmigo. Cant remeber if it was in 2011 or 2012, but as far as I remeber, at least she ended it in top 10. So, if they want to change story, CHANGE… Read more »
The myths that songs in their native language or that aren’t promoted before the contest don’t do well have been disproven by Italy this year, so don’t even bother with that argument.
Edurne was fantastic, but I think the staging let her down, a case of les is more.
My heart truly breaks for the thousands of spaniards that won’t get to enjoy their kit-kat after all :'( my five year old cousin was actually very upset about it, my aunt had to go to the store and buy her some so she would stop crying lol.
Edurne was amazing!!<3 I really can't understand why Spain placed 21st…They deserved a MUCH higher place! But I don think it is the promotion that didn't help her…Ill Volo from Italy didn't promote their song that much and they placed 3rd..!!
IMO countries like Spain or France and the UK should withdraw, what is the point of sending good songs and always failing to reach top 5, I mean, take Spain; in 2012 they have a great performer and just a decent 10th position was their reward. France’s 2013 and 2015 were both great and just achieved a top 20 something position and UK sent a good song with Molly last year just to be placed into the second half of the result table.
I guess it would not be bad get bit information before writing.All the dresses were a present of the designer for Edurne.So they were free!
Second nobody singed perfect,all the countries had a little mistake singing,plus Edurne was literally crying,so logically you cant control the voice 100% if you re crying.
The cameras of Austria were totally bad for all the countries,except for Sweden and the own country,Austria.
Changing topic,germany and france,were amazing acts,no mistakes and nice songs.But surprise big5 underrated again,except Italy,because if italy get bottom they will go away of the contest and nobody wants it.
@Erin – Sure, to renounce to the Big Five privileges implies the risk of not qualifying, but at this point I think that’s better than the results most members of B5 are getting year after year. Again, we would need to send better entries. It’s not that hard! I don’t think there’s any risks of becoming a new voting cartel. Spain has proven not to be loyal to any country (except for Italy and Romania). Actually, we use to get the top 3 three right year after year, no matter which countries are involved, and I don’t see the UK… Read more »
I love, love, LOVE english version… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKDYqfsdTrw
Mario, you got it baby, I think you are absolutely right with your comment!
Well even with a couple of shaky parts, I still think she deserved at least 15th. That dance segment was so hot.
Why did it flop?
– The song isn’t even that great, it was just very overrated by fans. The chorus is definitely not strong enough.
– Her vocals wasn’t the best.
– The performance was a mess. Way too much. It looked like she was starring in a play in some kind of theatre, rather than representing Spain in Eurovision.
Well i truly think that the reason that Edurne finished on that low place is that she didn’t make the top10 on almost all of the countries so to get any points by them… She finished on still high good place from 11th-15th-17th-19th but she still got zero so thats why she didn’t manage to attract much more points… Her performance was really good…She was just unlucky that both juries & televoters went to vote more others songs that would appeal to them more for all the reasons.. Spain with such performance & song deserved to finish in the top15… Read more »
It was a bad song, with no climax, like a lot others in this year’s competition.
That “ye-yeee” was annoying, and she copied Tanja’s coreography.
“Less” is “more”.
@Wozzeck – You made some very good points that only a Spanish insider can relate to, but I’m not sure any of the big 5 would dare to risk a permanent disqualification already at the semi final phase…I wish they were big enough to take that risk, but what would happen if they start voting for each other in order to get some mutual points? Are we really better off then? I’d also ‘hate’ to see the day Spanish and French are no longer heard on Eurovision, but it’s true that introducing English on one chorus or one refrain at… Read more »
You should know that it doesn’t exist what you call “Valencian”… It’s only a dialect from the Catalan… the language of Catalonia (soon will be out of Spain).
The dresses has this cost, but they were a present for her. They haven’t paid for them.
All the years is the same, i dont now why my country is still into this politic contest, i really hope spain decides to stop the participation for ever, we dont want to continue giving our money.
It’s probably my fault. ‘Amanecer’ was one of my favorite songs this year, and my favorites always end up somewhere near the bottom.
That, or Edurne should have replaced the dancer by an orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUvIQNgg8Kw
This deserved so much more, definitely above 15th at the least. But Edurne should be proud, she put in a good performance, despite some issues and a dodgy note. She sang in Spanish, which I wholly respect as any country singing in their own language should be praised. In the end, it didn’t come up trumps but she gave it a good try and that’s all that mattes.
I am one of the rare people who liked it – I had it in my top 10 – I even voted for it!
Ok, where should I begging? First of all, I agree with everything that has been said: – Dated song. It seemed like an awesome entry for a while… until it flopped. Peter Boström and Thomas G:son are so 2012, and it was naive to think they still in the game. They are not. – Kitch and empty staging: Many people say there were a lot of things going on. I felt the stage rather empty, and that little dancing and those nonesense and over the top LED bubbles were going nowhere. Everything felt five years dated, unnatural, overrehearsed. – Edurne… Read more »
English Version release
EDURNE – Break of day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKDYqfsdTrw
We can go on about dresses forever – before you put on a dress or sing you have to have a good song. Amanecer was just a terrible song (as was NL and Iceland).
I’m not angry, but she didn’t deserve 21st.
Maybe people were more excited with other performances, it’s ok, but it’s pathetic that the “professional juries” voted her worse than the viewers.
24, 25… really?? Unprofessional
I really hoped that Spain would place high on the scoreboard and maybe even take the win, but I was SO disappointed with the live performance… The staging looked more like a circus act than a choreography, and that was a bit ridiculous. That was just too much, she didn’t look natural at all (actually she even looked uncomfortable). Her live vocals were not that great and she went off key a couple times. To be honest, I’m not surprised she placed lower than expected (even though 21st is a bit harsh, I would have placed here somewhere between 10th… Read more »
Luis Fuster you are Spanish and journalist… You SHOULD confirm before info that is vox populi.
Spain didn’t pay the dress, it was a present to Edurne (and promotion for José Fuentes)
The dresses cost that much but they’ve been offered/lent to Edurne by the designer (all creations are made by the same). No money at all has been payed by RTVE for that.
the answer is those three words: Too-Much-Flesh! Look, it didn’t deserve to finish 21st, but sometimes ‘more’ is ‘less’. This may have been accepted 6 or 7 years ago (Svetlana Loboda, Ani Lorak, Hadise, Zoli Adok?), but it just doesn’t cut it in 2015, like it didn’t work for Estonia’s Tanja in 2014 who was a sure bet to make it to the final. Multitasking on the stage may be synonymous today with ‘vanity’ and too much flesh with ‘permissiveness’ or even ‘promiscuity’, especially if the artistic premise of the presentation is overshadowed by a chiseled torso and the perfect… Read more »
For me the debacle of Spain comes from two things: the absolute lack of international promotion and that the performance may have been a bit “too much”. For me, when Edurne started singing in the final, I was doing it with all the sass I had and I was literally screaming of excitement, I absolutely loved it (sadly, I don’t live in Europe, so I’m unable to vote). Also, recently the years when Spain actually did good, the entries where promoted abroad (aka when Pastora and Ruth both went to Amsterdam on their respective years). Actually, it did really help… Read more »
Well…Europe should understand that the big five are contributing for Europe’s broadcasting. At some point I guess it’s understandable that they are placed directly in the finals. edurne was not brilliant in her vocals…I respect your opinion, but thats something also enjoyable when listening to someone’s singing live. The Russian contestant had perfect vocals but the song was like so 1991 style. I do not defend edurne should be at the top 5 but def. top 10. My favourites were Belgium, Latvia, Estonia, Norway and probably Slovenia.
She was being too much like the last airbender. And the last note wasn’t amazing.
I liked the performance overall though.
@Pit, I think she was the worst singer of the night, tied with Electro Velvet. Poland was sort of flat in the semi but she got better, so I’m not saying her. Everybody else had atleast some vocal ability but Edurne was just flat. I hope they put the big 5 back in the semis, it would sometimes give the opportunity for more deserving 11th placers to get through and not give us the disappointment of seeing nil points. Songs like this, Germany 2013, France 2014, Spain 2013, UK 2008, UK 2010 and Italy 2014 show that if a country… Read more »
dated dated dated … would preform well at eurovision 10 years ago .. not today
I agree on those who defend that Spain should stay in the semifinals as the rest of the contestants. The fact of the song being in Spanish wasn’t the problem, but it was when promoting a song internationally. She had the best staging this year and we cannot judge her out of tone vocals because, I’m sorry, but there was much worst singers. Eurovision is not just about the song, she went there and gave everything she had. I would never say that Europe doesn’t like Spain but I do think that to be labelled by Sweden or Russia, already… Read more »
I genuinely thought Spain was a contender for the title on Saturday. Apart from the last note it was really good.
Additionally it was the first time I voted for Spain!
My televotes went to:
Russia, Spain, Belgium and Estonia (actually that’s the first time I voted for any of these countries)
Sweden/Spain was my 2nd/3rd choice, but Sweden was going to get the points so I didn’t bother
Because it was obvious. Wierd performance. Pointless running around the stage. Leg spreading so underware can be seen. No doubt she has nice legs, but common…. Old trick with cloths being changed… Then there was a naked man lifting her up… Such a mess….
There were some results this year that disappointed me more but none more surprising than this; I honestly have no idea what happened.
Her singing wasn’t up to scratch. We were all ready to vote for her and were left completely underwhelmed. There were too many duff notes. The song is not epic enough, it never builds to a point of making your hair stand on end (unlike Italy for example) and eee-o-eee-o is as meaningless and hollow in every other language as it is in Spanish. Tomas G:Son is completely overrated; Euphoria was incredible, but I think it was a fluke. Just look at half the rubbish he writes for Melodifestivalen. And you can’t tell me the dance moves, however dramatic, weren’t… Read more »
You can’t eliminate the big 5 because despite them often having horrible entries – especially UK, people all over Europe want them in the final. Imagine ESC without UK for instance. That would create a huge drop in viewers everywhere.
@CHRISTOPHER: They may have to consider throwing the Big 5 in with the rest. If a semifinalist slips up, the people might be forgiving enough to let that contender squeak through and give the contender another chance to clean up the mishap; but if an automatic finalist slips up, the people will not be so willing to give that contender a mulligan, because that’s the only shot the contender has. If you got 40, split them up into 2 groups of 20, depending on the odds on May 1. Take the top 13 from the first heat, and the top… Read more »
With so many strong singers, the slightest vocal error is going to be punished. Rather like an ice dancer who goes wrong. But it would have helped had she been in Amsterdam or London. Preferably with Giuseppe.
Tbh, I didn’t vote for her because lots of the time she was out of tune, especially with the last note. It was a shame this got points when she was out of tune whilst Ann Sophie and the Makemakes were entirely in tune and failed to get a single one. This should’ve been last with nil points.
I fail to see why performing in one’s own language has to be a problem today, especially when translations are readily available on the Web. It makes no sense to frown upon a song performed in one’s native language; none at all.