Miki Núñez will represent Spain at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv with his song “La Venda”. It’s a fiesta-loaded summer single which we will see directly in the grand final on 18 May.
Spanish broadcaster RTVE chose Miki through the 2018-19 edition of Operación Triunfo. He won the show’s Eurovision gala with “La Venda”, beating out nine other songs. Spain hasn’t had the best of luck in recent years. Their last left-side placing happened back in 2014 when Ruth Lorenzo’s “Dancing In The Rain” stormed to 10th place.
As the second-consecutive entrant selected via the Operación Triunfo system, Miki will be hoping he can take Spain back to a respectable placing.
As Tel Aviv draws ever closer, we have compiled a list of 10 facts you need to know about Spain’s very own Miki. Let’s do this!
1. He started early
The “La Venda” singer received special guitar and piano classes as a child. Miki has said that his parents never denied him the chances to improve his musical skills, be it either learning or teaching. Musical roots from all the way back!
2. He lived down the road from Operción Triunfo
The OT Academia is located in the Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya, which is just outside Terrassa, Barcelona. Terrassa is also the hometown of one Miki, so our boy was playing on home ground the whole time. Guest judge for the Eurovision Gala Tony Aguilar half-jokingly said Miki “comes in and out of the Academy from his house.”
3. He was part of a band
Prior to OT, Miki was a singer in Dalton Bang, a six-piece Catalan cover band. They perform hits all the way from the seventies to the present day and have toured most of Miki’s home region of Catalonia. The band has even performed with former Academy alumni Joan Garrido and Alfred in recent times. Miki has been replaced for the duration of his OT and Eurovision adventures, but the band are not shy about sharing their love and support for the vocalist. Força Miki!
4. He is bold and outspoken
Miki was anything but a wallflower at the Academia. From proposing to change lyrics deemed offensive on Mecano’s “Quedate en Madrid” to his interest in discussions about feminism with his fellow competitors Sabela, Alba and Natalia, the Catalan singer keeps an open mind to the world around him. He is eager to become more socially aware and make the world a better place. “I believe feminism is striving for equality, and equality means… just that!”
5. He achieved an OT first
Miki became the first ever OT star, across ten seasons, to sing in the Catalan language. It happened when he sang the pop-rock tune “Una lluna a l’aigua” by the band Txarango. He made even his fellow competitors get up and dance. The choice caused some controversy on social media, but also much praise. Many believed it to be his best performance, and it bagged him the title of audience favourite for that week.
6. He is likeable on many levels
Despite achieving sixth place on OT — falling one step short of the final — Miki was the only contestant in this edition to be saved by the audience more than once. He also charmed the judges and his fellow contestants, being saved by the jury twice, as well as twice by his fellow contestants. This was the most times someone in OT was saved from elimination, never being in the bottom until the final six. Slaying that Catalan charm!
7. He enjoyed an underdog victory
When the Spanish contenders for Eurovision first came out, it seemed to be a done deal for the fan favorite Maria. Her sexy pop number “Muerdeme” started the hype for Spain. Miki, despite favorable reviews for two of his three songs, was not in the top 3 of the audience vote to send straight to the Eurovision Gala. “La Venda” and “Nadie se Salva” qualifed via jury. Once the national final came along, it was clear that the tables had turned. A stunning live performance saw him pick up 34% of the televote. He secured 48% if you count his third place duet with Natalia, conquering almost half of Spain!
8. He was already an Adrian Salas fan
While some song/singer pairings at the Eurovision Gala were deemed to be a mismatch, Miki himself could not be happier with his tune. It turns out he is a huge fan of La Pegatina, the band fronted by Adrian Salas, the composer of “La Venda”. Clearly a match made in heaven.
9. He has a big vision
“I have proposed a lot of ideas and we’ve been mailing the Delegation non-stop. There has been great ideas in Eurovision, so we got to bring something as big and wild!” Miki commented about his performance ideas. He made it known that he would love to fill the stage as Måns Zelmerlöw did with “Heroes”. “Let’s make a huge party and play a big risk on stage!”
10. Results are whatever, let’s have fun!
“The trick to go to Eurovision is to go without any expectations. There is the same chance I end at 24th or at 12th or at 3rd. If we have a bad streak, let’s try breaking it,” he says. Miki’s opinion clearly echoes the advice Spain’s Eurovision 1968 winner Massiel gave him on their meetup: “Sing and enjoy yourself, that’s what Eurovision is all about. Have a blast and entertain us as much as you have done in OT”.
Are you looking forward to seeing Miki perform in the grand final? Are you obsessed with “La Venda”? Let us know in the comments below.
Heia Miki og Spania! (Go Miki!)
My favorite ??. I will vote as much as I can. It is really party related and I love the trumpets. Good luck from Macedonia. ??????????
I will be voting for Spain as many times as possible! He is so charming and the song is uplifting and fun! My favorite this year and thanks to Eurovision I found two amazing artists, Miki Nuñez and Natalia Lacunza!
he seems like a very nice n creative guy. issa pity the ot format implies that the singers are given songs and told to sing them with little to no changes allowed. i hope his creativity gets to shine in his next songs
Can I make a correction?
Miki wasn’t the only contestant in his edition to be saved by the audience more than once. In fact, he was never saved by the audience since he got eliminated the first time he was against the public vote.
Instead, he is the only contestant of his season chosen as the favorite of the public more than once (in Gala 5 and Gala 9).
I really like his song. I think that I will give my vote to Spain this year. Douze points from Italia
Good luck Miki .in my top 5 .can be the dark horse this year
Such a healthy attitude. It’s not like “I either win, or disappoint my entire nation” like in certain other countries. It’s “I’m gonna have two fun weeks in sunny, full of clubs Tel-Aviv, do my best on the night and come back from Israel proud of whatever place I achieved”. As much as I don’t really enjoy “La venda” I hope his gonna make some “non-fast food music fans” dance on Sunday.
Darkhorse
do it for your lover
This is the second time since I started watching ESC that I have Spain in my top 10. The staging will be epic. MARK MY WORDS. The director is Fokas Evagelinos, who directed Russia 2016 and Azerbaijan 2013. CONGRATULATIONS SPAIN
I didn’t know he was Catalan. He should sing his song in Catalan. It would be interesting.
He sings in Spanish, not catalan
_Of_f-to_pic but wor_thy to have an art_icle about it:
Gre_ta Thun_berg – clima_te acti_vist and initiator of “Fri_days Fo_r Fut_ure” is the daughter of Malena Ernman (Swedish ESC 2009 representative). She will probably rece_ive the N_obel P_rize later this year.
(sorry for the weird writing but my comments are being filtered)
Wait… what!?!?!?!
Which Nobel Prize? The Peace Prize? Hardly.
Las vendas for everybody!
Good luck Miki! I love your voice, songs, performance and personality!
He is so likeable and cute too! I hope he does well since La Venda is towards my top 10, cant remember where they’re placed because my top 10 constantly shifts.