Tonight was the big night: Blas Cantó performed his Eurovision entry live for the first time. He took to the stage of the talent show Operación Triunfo and proved what a voice he’s got.
While Operación Triunfo wasn’t used as the Spanish Eurovision selection this year, there was still room for the internally selected act for Rotterdam.
For Blas’ first live performance of “Universo”, he began singing over a starry background. Dressed in a black suit with a sequinned snake on his shoulder, Blas kept total control of his voice and unleashed his power during the high note.
The first performance of “Universo” was simple and sober. It resembled the music video, especially with the backing dancers, who appeared dressed exactly the same in white coats and face masks. The background LEDs show scenes of a sky, both a starry night and a cloudy day. Blas oozed confidence, and he proved how strong his stage presence is.
Singing live for the first time wasn’t the only remarkable moment for Blas this week. His song also entered the Los 40 Music chart at number 31. The list is Spain’s most popular, and it regularly features songs which have already had some airplay.
¡La entrada más fuerte!
#31 @BlasCanto UNIVERSO
¡¡¡Lo logró!!! ¡Enhorabuena, querido Blas!#Del40al1CocaCola https://t.co/eS0pOnT8qo pic.twitter.com/y6j4LKjTFZ— Del 40 al 1 (@Del40al1_es) February 8, 2020
Miki Nuñez shares Eurovision advice with Blas Cantó
Blas wasn’t the only Eurovision star who performed in the night: Miki was also there to sing his single “Celébrate”. Before the gala, Miki did a short interview with Blas, who confessed he’s “shit-scared” for Eurovision, but at the same time, happy that things are going the way he planned.
He also promised “everything” will improve for Eurovision, and hinted that he wants his backing singers with him on stage. However, Miki asked him about details of his staging, and Blas jokingly replied, “I don’t even know yet!”.
Tonight at Operación Triunfo, Blas gave the first performance of the many he’ll be doing until Rotterdam. So far, Blas has only confirmed two dates for his European tour. He’ll be performing in Amsterdam’s Eurovision in Concert, as well as Madrid’s ES PreParty.
What do you think of Blas’ performance? How would you change the performance for Eurovision? What does “Universo” need to stand out in Rotterdam? Tell us in the comment section below!
Read more Spain Eurovision 2020 news here!
Strong contender. For last place.
I can confirm that singing in this performance in spanish television was live (that means “voz en directo”)
Not bad! I suspect a mid table finish for Spain with this entry. I quite enjoy it, the question is how memorable it will be on the big stage?
He was great until that high note
Some work and he’ll do just well 🙂
Blas should take a pause before hitting that high note (i.e. Bilal). I am worried he might mess up in the final. And that that part sounds like a weird transition from a standard to a high note sooo he should fix that.
Delusional! He can sing, just look at his previous works. Ot is known for horrible sound problems, stop complaining
I don’t think we can say much about his vocals based on this clip, but he has an interesting stage presence. I would say they should make him have eye contact with the camera as much as possible. Not just because he’s handsome, but also because he knows how to do that.
I’ve been waiting for Spain to send a song that sounds somewhat current. This one ticks that box, but I thought the studio cut was a little bland. But boy, did he elevate this live! Spain is back in the game!
1. España 8/10
2. Italia 7/10
3. Letonia 6/10
4. República Checa 5/10
5. Australia 3/10
6. Albania 2/10
Lol, can they just zoom his face and eyes more? Pls. He’s beautiful and you really can’t take your eyes off him so easily.
I wasn’t surprised when i found out his zodiac sign.
For the most part he sang just fine, but the climax being his peak I really want them to pound that note. I really want Spain to do well but I just can’t get into it still. Rn its still my 2nd though so….
1. Austrailia
2. Spain
3. Latvia
4. Albania
5. Italy
6. Czechia
An my ranking is all subjected to change once revamps are done obviously.
He has a really good voice. :O
Less back action more face please. And that last not was not really a climax for me like in the studio version was MUCH higher
I don’t consider this a live performance. The baking vocals (who make the chorus), were prerecorded. In May this will sound a lot different (and not precisely for the better… XD)
i suspected that to. Sounded to perfect
to clarify, im talking about the oh-oh-oh parts (the chorus). Blas is very good live, what you can hear here from him is his real live voice. The chorus in May will be as good as the backing vocals will. And that was not shown in this performance, cause they were recorded.
I`ve got the impression that is was a live performance when he sings the word “cabeza” (head), that sounds quitely different from the studio version.
PS : I´m not from Spain but I love country and language and I would prefer more and more participants at ESC not singing in english
Muchas gracias por tu apoyo. Justamente Alemania y la relación a su idioma es un caso muy especial… (Soy aleman)
I agree with you. He’s not a bad singer, but the background singers have their work cut out for them to level with the recorded track. Anything less will stick out like a sore thumb. And that high note at the end… he must be very carefull with that one. To me it’s just a cliché Eurovision high note which wasn’t necessary and when not done entirely perfect, it can kill an otherwise acceptable entry. For me there is too much repetition in this song which doesn’t maintain your attention. After one minute you’ve kind of heard the song already.… Read more »
Was this really 100% live? i felt there was sound of his voice when he was NOT singing to. Im just asking
Ah and give me a break with the high note, guys. It’s getting super old already
Sorry, but your comment is a little bit stupid. That high note is supposed to be the peak of the song, so of course people are going to comment about it. A high note is normally what people remember from an Eurovision performance because it’s the most “high-impact” and memorable part. Both in the studio version and in his OT performance his high note sounds bad (idk why, but it might have something to do with the pitch), and I completely understand why people are saying that ruins the whole performance/song for them.
Great performer, and if they go with the same feel for the staging @ESC, it could have a high impact performance. He just needs to work a bit more that last note.
I would enjoy this song a lot more if they didn’t include that high note at the end…I don’t know why, but it doesn’t sound good at all.
Don’t care ‘cuz he will never win with this song.
Staging at OT was very good in recreating the feel of the video. I especially liked the stars effect where they float upward from the stage, which very easy to recreate on the LED. Also the opening shot of all the beams focused on him was a nice touch. The high note at the end didn’t sound right on the clip I saw. Could be a problem for him like it was for Imri Ziv in Alive.
His live was on point. But I think he is more nervous than in an ordinary performance because of all the criticism sorrounding. It adds more pressure. Anyway, he saved it, even though there was a suspicious moment during that high note. The sound mix was deficient but Blas is not the one to blame for that. This performance will also have nothing to do with the official in May.
He’s at the brink of going out of tune, and y’all are saying he nailed it, oh god..
I might be crazy but I love this song from the beginning and I don’t understand critics and hate at all. Sure, it’s not winner material but it’s still really, really good.
With good staging, I can actually see this at least in top 15.
It’s helpful that he’s good looking and charismatic guy, he makes every song better in live version imo.
Btw, I think that he easily can hit last note but sound in this show is terrible. Something is weird.
He certainly owned this stage. Bravo, Blas. 🙂
fai rumoreeeeeeeeeeeeee
I really dig the staging at the beginning! Blas’ stage presence is better than I expected. Very impressive how he kept the same volume while moving the mic a meter away from his mouth.
One of his notes at the end was shrieky as hell! Such an ordinary song, reminds me of Liam Tamne’s “Astronaut” from EYD 2018.
Another bottom 5 for Spain
He has an excellent stage presence, which might enhance the whole act, if the staging is competent…
Love it 🙂
He only needs to work the final high note. But his live perfomance is amazing.
He sounds like a record. Good Choice.
This is gonna look epic on Rotterdam’s stage!
He definitely looks the part! I wouldn’t mind the staging being very close to what I just saw.
Mucha suerte, querido Blas !
Just spectacular, and in the stage of Rotterdam omg can be,epic. Well done.
Oh dear that final note is still not as epic as promised
Oh dear get over it
He’ll be practicing it, hopefully he’ll nail it in 3 months time
So true.
Everything is good, but that screaming high notes at the end… it ruins it for me.
This sounds 100x better live than in the record version. Blas has an incredible voice and stage presence, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him during the whole 3 minutes! The song is what it is, but I think this will become a great number on the stage of Rotterdam. Well done!
His stage precense is amazing. He owned that stage. It was a really solid performance. Not too over the top. I could see Spain doing well this year. Blas was a great choice!