Producers in Spain have breathed fresh life into their Eurovision 2018 dreams, reviving their old (and rather successful) selection method Operación Triunfo.
And while we already knew that the show would choose the country’s singer, today RTVE outlined precisely how — including the fact the public will choose the winner on its own (and without a potentially controversial jury).
???ESPAÑA EN EUROVISIÓN 2018???:
Toooooda la info aquí ? https://t.co/dqD3XBJE9s
1. Sólo los 5 finalistas de @OT_Oficial competirán por ser el candidato
2. Habrá una gala especial
3. Tú decides
4. Será antes de la final de OT pic.twitter.com/CtwsVqmDRl— eurovision_rtve (@eurovision_tve) December 20, 2017
Although the Eurovision selection will occur through OT, it is not the grand prize of the show. In fact, the Eurovision gala night will occur before the final of OT and be contested by the final 5 OT singers. A date has not yet been set.
Each artist will perform a song written by a “prestigious” songwriter. The academy’s teachers will decide which song each finalist will sing. During the actual gala night, the audience will (100%) decide the winner — no doubt a move to make amends for last year’s highly controversial jury vote.
Writing on the RTVE web site, producers say that the show offers “the best sample of new artists in our country” and recounted the historical success of the program — both in terms of finding talent and generating buzz.
“[It is a] successful format that recalls and recovers the spirit of the first edition of the talent show with which Rosa López obtained 7th place in [Eurovision 2002].”
For weeks, we’ve been telling you how much we’re enjoying this revival. OT has managed to win over the hearts of Spaniards with their contestants’ evolution and charisma. So many of Spain’s most beloved singers have taken part in the ‘academia’ and Amaia — one of the contestants — has already become a viral phenomenon.
RTVE referenced the success of the series today.
“Operación Triunfo has returned to generate a phenomenon of success that promotes values of effort and development, a bet on new performers…”
“In addition, it has become a program that generates intense activity on social networks — it is a trending topic every day and one that has established an emotional bond with the audience.”
From 2002 to 2004, OT was used as Spain’s Eurovision selection, resulting in three solid years of top-ten finishes.
So, assuming one performer is eliminated each week (excluding Gala de Navidad), there will be 5 contestants left on Gala 13… 30th January.
So the Spanish act will be known on 30 January 2018?
this will be another failure. They are charismatic (yes, though only for spaniards and in spanish), they work hard (yes, thought who cares), but the still lack experience, they are too green. In addition their songs will be given to them as an obligation, they dont want to go to eurovision (they said it already), and they’ll have just 1 week to prepare their “tasks”, with 0 involvement on production, choreography, lyrics or composition. Just like if you are going to sing in a wedding and the groom gives you the repertoire you have to sign… In addition, people will… Read more »
“they dont want to go to eurovision”
I mean the rest of your comment is debatable but a few of them (Amaia, Agoney and Nerea for example) have said they’d like to go and others also seemed excited about it when discussing with Pastora the day after they found out
This is MAGIC! Amaia and Alfred singing “City of stars” from the film “La La Land”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k-oIhNLHxM
I’m happy with this and with the idea of the teachers assigning the songs. They are really good professionals and they also know the contestants and their tastes. I would have loved to see all 16 participating in our National Final, or at least those who really want to do Eurovision, but I know it’s difficult to find 16 good songs for all of them. I have some issues with these news though: – The finalists will only have one week to rehearse their song – Some of “sure” finalist aren’t excited – Don’t really know if the “prestigious” songwriters… Read more »
“The academy’s teachers will decide which song each finalist will sing.”
Hm… :/
I’m Spanish and I think that the best options are Aitana, Amaia and Alfred but it depends of the song.
“During the actual gala night, the audience will (100%) decide the winner”
Can’t wait for Cepeda to pull off a Manel 2.0
Rumors have started to spread that members of a famed Spanish forum site (which is said to have pulled off pranks of this kind before) are gathering together to ‘troll’ OT and keep Cepeda in (the guy has already survived four nominations, after all), so it might not be a very unrealistic scenario.
What is wrong about Cepeda? Is he a bad singer or what? (Really do not know what is wrong with him if Spain chooses him as their singer)
Cepeda has a nice voice, some people say it resemble some other succesful Spanish voices such as Antonio Orozco. However, the problem of Cepeda (at least in my opinion) is the core of Eurovision itself: live shows; and also shows something that doesn’t go along with the spirit of OT itself: lack of improvement and versatility. Another of the “problem” is Cepeda’s fanbase itself, and it can be the reason of why he stays after 4 (now 5) nominations with almost no voice, bad live shows and the jury’s disapproval (but here’s something typical Spanish: OT fans are HATING the… Read more »
Or, in three words: more Spanish drama.
You said it better than me, there’s gonna be Eurodrama one way or another. I just hope, even if the jury doesn’t involve in the result, there’ll be some jury different that the ones in the actual show, like previous Spanish Eurovision singers like Sergio Dalma, Rosa López, David Civera, Edurne, Pastora Soler, Barei… or producers, people who knows how the inside of Eurovision works and can give constructive criticism and useful advice to the OT finalist.
I saw Cepeda’s live performance the other day. He has a nice voice, yes, but there’s something amiss. I think he had a few off-notes when he was doing his rendition of “Vencer al amor”.
And looking back at past videos where he was practicing with the song, it seems like there were indeed parts of it he had difficulty hitting the right notes.
La Maldición De Cepeda
Raoul was a huge contender for being the Spanish representant, it’s so sad that he is eliminated
SEND AMAIA TO EUROVISION.
I mean she can sing all the genres, and her stage presence is amazing!
So glad Spain’s 2018 selection voting method doesn’t involve a jury. 🙂 That would be CRAZY! 😮
Aitana
Agoney
Amaia
Alfred
Nerea
Ana War
So It is like Israel’s Rising Star but much smarter, because it is much less restrictive as for the songs that are suitable for the chosen representative. Quite the good thinking (although it can lead to a potential jury bias).
So, what is the date of the top 5 gala when we will know the Spanish representative? Any knowledge on that?
Nothing. Most Spanish networks (including TVE) run on last-minute announcements, so you’d better not hold your breath.
I don’t really think this is set in stone, but the Spanish version of Wikipedia already states that the Eurovision gala is slated for January 29.
It’s a guess by how many contestants are left, but it’s not official.
The season finale is supposedly scheduled at the end of January next year so it should be happening a week before that.
It’s sad that some of the greater talents have been eliminated already. Contestants like Raoul and Mireya did a great job.
I want one of these six to win:
Aitana
Agoney
Amaia
Alfred
Nerea
Miriam
The other three are not ready for Eurovision.