Earlier this week, the competing song allocations for the OT Eurovision Gala were revealed. But before we get to hear the songs, there’s still OT 2018 to be won. Tonight we got down to the nitty-gritty with the semi-final.

Natalia and Famous already have a guaranteed place in the grand final, so tonight it was up to Alba Reche, Julia, Miki and Sabela to battle it out for the three remaining places in the grand final. Let’s see how it went!

The stand-out performance of the evening came from Alba Reche. Already a fan favourite, she showed why she’s a serious contender to win the series. Alba performed the Sara Bareilles ballad “She Used to be Mine”, from the musical Waitress. And she nailed it. No shouty bits, no awkward rap, just a gutsy ballad delivered with depth and emotion.

Miki performed Fun.’s “Some Nights” and delivered another one of his entertaining performances — and had no trouble with some of the trickier English lyrics. Unfortunately Miki may have been the recipient of some Eurodrama around the Eurovision Gala song allocations. Miki will be singing three songs, and some fans of the show are angry at him — even though he had no say in the song allocations.

Sabela has been the underdog of the series. She struggled to make an impact in the early weeks, and fluctuated some placing amongst the public’s top three and also facing elimination. But tonight she showed what she’s good at. Sabela performed the dramatic “Negro caravel” and delivered rich, emotional vocals.

The final contender to perform solo was Julia. She accompanied herself on acoustic guitar as she performed “Ya lo sabes”. It was a competent performance, but many felt it wasn’t quite of the level that should be delivered in Gala 12.

The gala also featured solo performances from finalists Natalia and Famous, who both aptly demonstrated why they deserved a place in the final. OT 2017 finalist Ana Guerra also showed up to perform her saucy new single “Bajito”.

There were group performances too. Alba, Julia and Natalia delivered girl group realness with “Este amor ya no se toca”, while Famous, Miki, Sabela brought the sunshine with “Calypso”.

In tonight’s gala, the jury could choose one act to go through to the final. Their pick was Alba Reche, a decision which seemed well justified. The vote was then open to the public, who voted for their favourite out of Julia, Miki and Sabela — via paid SMS vote only.

Sabela topped the public vote, with 43% of the vote. Also joining her in the grand final was Julia, with 37% of the vote. Sadly Miki missed out, picking up just 20% of the vote. Like Agoney in OT 2017, he has been left at the door of the grand final.

So! It’s all come down to this. Next week Alba Reche, Famous, Julia, Natalia and Sabela will compete to be the winner of Operación Triunfo 2018. And then when that’s over, we can get on with obsessing over the OT Eurovision Gala.

OT 2018 – Gala 12 performances

What do you think? Who should win OT 2018? Who should represent Spain in Tel Aviv? Leave your comments below!

Read more Spain Eurovision news here

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Turquiaconreche
Turquiaconreche
5 years ago

Alba should win! Punto.

AVo
AVo
5 years ago

dont know why but my commennt was deleted

Sabrina
Sabrina
5 years ago

Beautiful performances by Alba (no enunciation problems at all :)), Julia and Sabela (her tone!), really loved all of them! So it was indeed time for Miki to go. If I had to pick an artist for Eurovision before knowing the songs, he wouldn’t be the one, but I dare to say he can do a good job if he gets the ticket. He has a distinctive face, he’s entertaining and the kind of guy that can truly enjoy performing the same song 30 times in a week (like Mans). Julia and Famous are my favorites, but I guess Alba… Read more »

Efraim
Efraim
5 years ago

Alba got a nod from Sara Bareilles herself https://twitter.com/SaraBareilles/status/1073014370324627457

Héctor
Héctor
5 years ago

What I want:
1. Famous
2. Alba
3. Natalia
4. Sabela
5. Julia

What I think:
1. Alba
2. Natalia
3. Famous
4. Sabela
5. Julia

Ogie
Ogie
5 years ago
Reply to  Héctor

What I want
1 famous
2 julia
3 sabela
4 alba
5 natalia

Chu
Chu
5 years ago
Reply to  Ogie

What I want:
1. Alba
2. Famous
3. Julia
4. Natalia
5. Sabela

What I think:
1. Natalia
2. Famous
3. Alba
4. Sabela
5. Julia

Fiore
Fiore
5 years ago

I really hope that Spanish people will vote for the songs and not for the singers. That would suck if they ditched another Lo Malo.

Dorian
Dorian
5 years ago
Reply to  Fiore

I think the same thing .

Grace
Grace
5 years ago
Reply to  Fiore

I’m gonna vote for the best song in my opinion, but I’m sure people will vote for the singer again. We haven’t even heard any of the song yet and you can already read post on youtube saying who they are gonna vote for. I remember one saying that she would vote for Famous even if he sings a children song. So, I have little hope for my country in Eurovision once again.

justdont
justdont
5 years ago

This is going to be harsh but I’m not sorry that Miki is out. He should have been out like two galas ago. But I’m concerned about what he’ll face now that he’s out about all that Eurovision drama. What was the production trying to do?

Anyway, I’m so happy for Sabela and Julia. I’m also happy for Alba but that was not unexpected. At this point, I hope Alba or Famous wins.

AVo
AVo
5 years ago

I have to agree with Robyn. The stand out performance of the night was Alba’s! Great vocals and lots of emotions for a song that required it! Her place in the final is welll-deserved. I would like to thank Sabela for singing in her own language (Galician) as an example of how to take care of your culture/language without any political intention. I found her performance dark (although it was full of red), deep and the tone of her voice really fit it. Also Julia gave a supreme performance for me. That’s what I’ve been expecting from her since the… Read more »

Dorian
Dorian
5 years ago
Reply to  AVo

I agree with you and everything you wrote!
Natalia is a bit overated. Famous is the best.

Sabrina
Sabrina
5 years ago
Reply to  AVo

Sadly the chance of Julia coming to play where I live is close to zero, but we’re on the same board. I would love to attend one of her concerts. I don’t know how much Spanish audience appreciates her, but I really want to keep hearing about her after OT is over. Where can I find Natalia’s leaked song?

AVo
AVo
5 years ago
Reply to  Sabrina

Sabrina! this is the clip I’m talking about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tidhdC8qWIA You can hear is current song, Rosalia-wannabe, written by Lo Malo’s composer Brisa Fenoy (rumour has it). Everything is a bit suspicious since the sound was meant to be off during the listening of the Eurovision-songs. I know Brisa Fenoy makes great music and I do believe Natalia would be an outstanding performer (young, great look and voice) but forcing the audience THAT much it’s unacceptable. As for Julia, Spanish audience doesn’t appreciate her too much. At least that’s my impression as an spaniard myself. Her chances of winning the show… Read more »

Anna
Anna
5 years ago

I am almost sure that they gave the best songs to this guy and he won’t win only because of some reality show drama smh.

ESCFan2009
ESCFan2009
5 years ago

Alba and Famous for the win and for Eurovision! (They can split the success: Alba wins OT, Famous goes to Tel Aviv. Deal? :D)

James
James
5 years ago

Fans online tend to be overreactive over the most trivial of things. It’s not his fault if he has two full songs and a duet. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll all make it to the end (and no runaway winner among the remaining cast either). On the plus side, now that he’s out in the running, he can actually focus on his entries for the Eurovision gala in the meantime as he no longer has the pressure of winning the season (despite elimination/expulsion still fresh in his mind). If recency bias is to believed, we’re at least guaranteed one song… Read more »

Ogie
Ogie
5 years ago
Reply to  James

Miki deserves to be in the eurovision gala final.

Sabrina
Sabrina
5 years ago
Reply to  James

This is something that really bothers me about reality competitions, James. It’s true that producers and coaches/judges always have their favorites and many times don’t mind to show who they’re, but it’s not the artists’ fault when this happens. It seems unfair when they pay too high for that. I know sometimes it’s hard to separate things, but we as an audience should try to do it.