Blas Cantó’s journey to Eurovision hasn’t been a particularly easy one. His Eurovision entry “Voy a quedarme” channels the grief he feels for his grandmother, who passed away last year due to Covid. Now he’s faced particularly hurtful comments from some of the commentators on Norway’s official Eurovision preview show Adresse Rotterdam.
One of the commentators explained how Blas has lost his grandmother and father during the year, which led others on the panel to laugh. Spain’s singer was clearly not amused.
“I can’t rebuild my soul watching things like this,” he wrote on Twitter. “Nobody knows what I’m going through, nor the effort I’m making even to stay alive. I don’t blame them, I’m sure they feel perfectly well. All my love, always.”
No puedo reconstruir mi alma viendo cosas como esta. Nadie sabe por lo que estoy pasando ni el esfuerzo que hago incluso para seguir vivo.
No les culpo, seguro que ellos están perfectamente. ?
Todo mi amor siempre. ?? https://t.co/ozw2yEiceo
— Blas Cantó (@BlasCanto) May 18, 2021
Meanwhile, Norwegian broadcaster NRK issued an apology and published a post on Twitter as well:
“We have noticed some discussions online regarding the pre-Eurovision Show Adresse Rotterdam where the panel reviewing this year’s entries for Eurovision were caught off guard when they learned about Blas Cantó’s personal losses after reviewing his song.”
“The panel had no knowledge of Blas’ story beforehand and came off as insensitive when reviewing his song. Please know that it was not the panel’s intention, and they were moved when they heard the sad story. Today, Norway’s head of delegation sent an email to Spain’s head of delegation addressing the issue. Our sympathies to Blas, and best of luck in the Grand Finale on Saturday! ¡Vamos Spain!”
?? @BlasCanto pic.twitter.com/HXEXwiWYqZ
— Melodi Grand Prix (@NRKmgp) May 19, 2021
Eurovision stars back Blas Cantó
The story generated a fresh wave of sympathy towards Blas from both the fans and media in Spain. Past Eurovision stars also chimed in with encouraging messages.
Eurovision 2014 icon Ruth Lorenzo wrote: “Frivolity surrounds us, we cannot help it. We cannot blame those whose souls are flooded by their lack of empathy. Sadly, there are two sides in this world: those who love and have light, and those who only look out for themselves and don’t share others’ pain. I love you Blas, keep your light on.”
La frivolidad nos rodea no podemos evitarlo. No podemos culpar a los que la falta de empatía les inunda el alma, desgraciadamente hay dos bandos en este mundo. Los que aman y tienen luz y los que solo ven su propio ombligo y no sienten el dolor ajeno. Te amo Blas sigue siendo LUZ
— R U T H (@RuthLorenzo) May 19, 2021
Pastora Soler also shared her love: “Don’t look at the others, look at yourself and all the love you give. Don’t let anything or anyone take this special moment from you. May the empty hearts fulfil yours.”
No mires a los lados, mírate tú y todo el amor que das y que eres.. que nada ni nadie te robe este momento tan especial.. que los corazones vacíos no hagan más que llenar más el tuyo.. Vamos mi niño ??
— Pastora Soler (@PastoraSoler) May 19, 2021
A number of artists, including former Operación Triunfo stars Ricky Merino and Agoney, also shared their love with Blas.
What do you think? Are you sending Blas extra love today? Do you understand why the Norwegian panel might have been caught off guard?
These same clowns also bitched about Vasil from North Macedonia and guess what, all the homophobic trolls shared the video as “proof” that Vasil deserves to be trolled as a gay person. I mean how dead inside you have to be to troll someone coming out in a homophobic country? Trash total trash.
I’ve watched the clip and I honestly don’t get all the fuss about it? This is a panel of four (two of them are comedians) who are reviewing a song in a language they do not understand, and they don’t know Blas’ story. When they have finished their discussion, the host of the show ask the audience panel what they think. The third audience panel member informed them about the background story, where the host looks shocked and exclaims «No!» When the guy who informes them about this gives the song 4 points, one of the comedians says: «You know… Read more »
And so has 95% of fan reactions online done… Very harsh indeed… I do feel sorry for Montaigne, but when she tries to enter with something experimental then its a win or a miss. I am sure you rank some of the entries low as well – but do you mean to be hurtful when you do?
The insensivity is not pretty and the subject should not have been raised under these circumstances. Not everyone can go from ridiculing to empathy in a split second. They might even have been drinking. But good luck to spain and Norway
There is nothing wrong with sharing your emotional story…the problem is when you EXPECT other people to feel your story. Unfortunately, that is not something that can be forced upon people, they either connect with you or they don’t, and that’s each and everyone’s individual choice. Otherwise, it becomes like one of those sob stories on x factor that are meant to cause insta-sympathy and that never feel genuine, even though they may be based on true life events.
It is called empathy, and yes, no all the people is intelligent enough to be empathic
Well, they did know the story behind the song. At least that ridiculous guy with a mini hat did. He’s telling the story and everyone is laughting. That happens when you are not funny and try too hard, you end up going too far. Also the tone of the conversation is very frivolous and extremely negative. Ridiculizing something or someone tend to denote insecurity and the unfilled and uninteresting lives they must have, especially the guy with the hat. You can’t ask too much to this kind of people. Hollow hearts, hollow minds.
I am from Norway, and I can confirm that “adresse Rotterdam” is a terrible show. Some industry “professionals” and washed-up celebrities who don’t seem to take ESC seriously. They never try to understand the song, read the lyrics (or listen to them other than the chorus). Most of them are trying to funny by being harsh, in a Simon Cowell-way, but they always fail miserably. Sorry to Blas on behalf of Norway.
Norway, the country who created a pr stunt/fake love with azerbaijan to get the fandom talking, has a show in the public broadcaster that mocks the other countries. WhAT a Schhhock
I watched all the episodes on YouTube with English subtitles they are mostly positive over most songs
They were cruel to most of the countries… Simple solution, kick out Norway and bring back Croatia. We already miss her and seeing how below average and boring most of the performers were in the second half, Eurovision needs someone who can actually give you a banger and a show worthy of the finals.
From the country which brought us TIX, and all his stories
Hahahahaha
Tix has nothing to do with that!He,himself,has been humilated by someone at the Norwegian tv!
And he would never react like this!
I dont see anything parodic in death. Norway tv journalist are so rude
Norwegians trying to find their never seen “sense of humour”…
This year they were so rude to so many songs including Serbia, Belgium Greece and joking around and being strait out rude I hope that all the artist who had this show make fun of them are alright well all the songs that I can rennet them making fun of are in the final
This Norwegian panel did the same with Belgium: laughing at and ridiculing.
Beautiful song. Love from Norway <3
This is nothing unusual with insults thrown at the uk . But that is not acceptable what happened . Cheryl is entitled to her opinion and don’t consider that as nasty but an observation and she was correct if you listen .
Shame on this tv program.You can say you hate blas song but not to offend feelings so deep and sad as the death of some relative.Do not try to justify talking about problems with traslation.They think as they are a rich country can disrespect countries fromthe south
You’re an idiot if you actually think that. No Norwegian has anything against spanish people. Stop victimizing yourself.
Lol if the “rich countries” wanted to disrespect “countries from the south” why would they have picked Blas when there’s some much better things to criticize, like debt, incompetent governments or completely unsustainable pension systems. Soon they have to bail you out again. At least Blas has a beautiful voice to listen to.
So many great things can be said about Spain and yet you choose to focus on those. Shocked at your snobby and superior attitude. A thousand times I would pick Spain over most countries in the world.
Did anyone see Cheryl Baker on UK TV say she didn’t want Ukraine to go through because the lead singer was “off-key”. You would think that these national broadcasters would have some understanding of the background of the contestants before they are allowed to comment on them.
Best wishes to Blas, I hope he doesn’t take any of this too much to heart.
yes she went viral on twitter and users were trashing her. This is BBC for you, inviting old has-beens to trash Eurovision contestants. That’s why BBC will never win.
She was right, though. The singer did sing off-key. But wasn’t that the whole point to give the number the right “edge”? I thought that was kind of a ‘trademark’ of hers? If not, the guess I don’t understand that singing at all.
I hope Spains cancels kitschy Norway in the jury voting.
This is so appalling and horrible. We all have different tastes and if I don’t like something, I’ll say it. But it’s always about the song quality or the staging and outfits and not the artist. Every one of them did their very best and do something we can’t, they make art or try to everyday. That’s why I can’t understand these personal attacks. That’s disgusting and a sign of a serious lack of empathy or sympathy. What’s wrong with those people? I feel sad for the loss Corona caused all of us in some personal form. Blas’ song communicates… Read more »
I think this must be a bad translation. They did not mock the artist after the back story was told by Jim. One of them calls Jim “sick devil” (saying he was cynical) for giving a low score to Spain after knowing the back story, and that’s why they laugh. The first laugh by the host was a reaction to Jim being very into details. I guess they could have been more respectful, but they didn’t mock him at all. They did criticize the song, and that it was automatically qualified, but that is fair. I feel people are way… Read more »
Not surprised by this especially when it stops being about the songs and starts to be personal. This show also tends to always over value their Nordic neighbors as to not offend, but then the Norwegian public finds a way to cross correct. They trashed Portugal this year too and now that song is top of the iTunes chart in Norway. Im sure NRK would be appalled if there was a spanish song review show and the Spanish commentators all made fun of TIX’s Tourette’s
Also same for Germany channel. Their official YouTube channel ”Eurovision Song Contest Deutschland” uploads reaction videos and some of them are really harsh. It is more than criticizing , it is hurtful and they’re making fun. Especially i felt ashamed when i watched their Armenia 2020 song reaction. and they kind of personally attacked her
these same people from Norwegian TV didn’t just treat Blas that way. You have to see them make fun of Victoria and Roxen too. Their apology is completely hypocritical. They are just a bunch of evil, insensitive beings.
I feel bad for Blas. He’s taking way too much hate from everyone. I hope he can enjoy his 3 minutes on stage on Saturday, and hopefully a decent score, too.
I understand this is not fun for Blas to watch. To say that the panelists laughed at Blas’ loss is very inaccurate though. They clearly felt a little surprised and possibly shameful when they realized they had just given the song so low scores without knowing the full back story. It was more like a nervous laugh in that context. And then they expected Jim, who obviosuly knows the back story, to give a higher score, but when he doesn’t, they laugh in surprise again.
There is nothing funny in poor taste and lack of empathy.
Poor sweet Blas had to discover its existence this week ahead of grand finals. This was done about a week ago. Hope it doesn’t affect his performance..
I have watched all episodes of “Adresse Rotterdam”….The program is humoristic and I am sure that they don’t intend to offend… someone in the panel called the french singer “Edith Plate”, referring to Edith Piaf but in a lower level… in 2014 there was a politic issue… After they showed the israeli clip of Mei Feingold, one member said that the sword that Mei is holding isn’t pleasant for him, reminding him of Pa***tine…Norwegian people in this forum- correct me if I am wrong… But I love this program, especially the lovely presenter! but in general, they are very respective…… Read more »
Oh, I get it a bit more now. Thanks for the explanation!
but in general, they are very respective… sometimes humor is not well understood by others
Bunch of Karens and bitter man, they were disrespectful to many contestants, who cares what they say. But with Spain it’s crossing the line, that was awful.
(I’m Israeli) Since 2018, Israel has commentators as well during the live shows and I’m ashamed to say, they are horrible
They talk badly at all the acts and mostly praise Israel…
Be confident in your entry and spread love, not hate
Even articles about the entries are basically “yea, that’s time for pee break” or “we won’t see them in the final”
And every time there’s an article about it on the news, most of it is about politics and hate towards Israel…… I’m actually sick of it
Blas, don’t even pay attention! They don’t deserve it 🙂
The Israeli commentator was too harsh on the Georgian song! I felt uncomfortable…
Georgia was my favorite yesterday… 3 magical minutes!
I liked Tornike, too. He deserved to get in the final 100 times more than Moldova.
The Georgian song will stay with me for a long time. Many other songs will “die” after Saturday
Hi, Norwegian here. The translation is dead wrong, they were NOT being disrespectful. LEARN that your favorites might not be someone else’s. They were much harsher to other entries, and the panelist literally informed them in a VERY polite and informative way. Criticizing someone for not liking your country/your favs music is lame. I personally enjoy the song, but that doesn’t mean everyone should or will. Also, super low of Blas to start drama that does not exist. Please get it together everyone. It’s not a big deal, there is a language barrier.
thanks for clarifying that to others!
Super low of you to pretend this is about the opinions they had about the song and not about what one specific panelist said. Are you going to pretend that what Jim said and how he said it is ok? Really? You have to be kidding.
He was actually the one who informed the rest of the panel of the back-story. He didn’t joke at all. Someone then laughs, which obviously doesn’t look good, but they don’t laugh because it’s a joke, but out of the self-embarrassment, knowing that they had given low score and evaluation just before (reaction showed clearly by the host). Then one can criticize their overall negative style that they sometimes have when judging the songs (this year it was a bit too often in my opinion), but mixing in joking about illness and death is a major misunderstanding, only leading to… Read more »
He said NOTHING WRONG, all he did was inform the panelists that the song was actually about something serious and not just a cliché. Y’all just want drama, just admit it.
Why did nrkmpg apologise, then?
They was rude for many singer , especially for singers from Spain, Serbia…….don t vote for Norway (NRK) in final.
Oh no please, TIX shouldn’t pay the consequences of what a random guy said on TV. He’s a nice person and this has nothing to do with him.
Yes, this isn’t Tix’ fault. He’s the nicest person. I will definitely vote for him.
Why is this TIX fault?
Nothing to do with TIX. If anything, they could do with paying a little more attention to TIX’s message.
Her response translated : “You know the back story and you STILL give it only 4 points? YOU are a mean person”
In other words, probably some would have given it a higher score if they actually knew the back story.
The support from other Spanish Eurovision stars is heartwarming. I hope this doesn’t overshadow the final day and a half for Blas, and that his team can focus on producing their best performance and honouring his grandmother.
Well, there is probably a reason Europeans were able to kill countless millions of their own in 2 world wars. Some of those people lack any empathy.
People are misunderstanding clearly and so does wiwibloggs. This is definitely the most tabloid article wiwibloggs have released this year so far, shame on you for making a storm in a waterglass and bringing this pain upon Blas Canto. He doesnt deserve it. We have a saying that what you dont know will not hurt you….now Blas knows and he hurts, what was the point? As Spanish is not a language people know in Norway, the songs judgement was based on composition and the feeling it emotes. The backstory of the song was not known and also the video didnt… Read more »
“I agree ONE of the panelists were particularly harsh as he DID know the backstory”
And that’s literally the only problem this has. Nobody is talking about the other panelists. It’s all about Jim and what he said about the backstory.
Exactly.
Oh come on, just admit that the journalists were wrong, it’s Eurovision, no need to be nationalistic
Lot of drama over nothing, as usual in ESC. So they didnt feel the sob storyBlas wants us to feel for the song, so what? Its not exactly a diplomatic spat is it? If people can enjoy Norway and Sweden getting low televotes and mock that then people have every right to laugh at this too.
There is no need to cry with his story, but if you’re going to talk about deceased people or tragical stories, do it with RESPECT. Should we start mocking TIX and his tics? Should we start mocking Tusse and the story behind the song? The answer is an obvious NO. Just because you think it’s a joke doesn’t mean it’s a joke or even funny. It’s DISRESPECTFUL.
They said they wanted Australia to qualify, how is that bashful?
People have to stop being so biased, they loved Denmark and Sweden and Iceland, but Spain gets mocked. And then they get angry when Greece and Cyprus exchange 12 points, like they aren’t extremely biased themselves.
This song contest is dividing countries and not uniting. Everyone posting hate comments against singers from other countries instead of just saying which one you like. It s turning into a negative event instead of just enjoying having all countries compete together under one roof. Hope this will not keep going on.
It’s not the fault of Eurovision as a concept or the organisers of Eurovision. It’s an increase world wide ogmf general nastiness
Because becase western especially nordic countries always rude on show to countries from eastern Europe. And full of nordic people decide draw for ESC final, semi and always good draw get nordicck , western countries. What to say to vote from juries from western they push so hard in points every year Sweden,Malta…
GOD those sour journalists, I can’t stand them
As a Norwegian who doesn’t have to rely on subtitles to understand what’s going on, I can with 100% certainty say that they never laughed AT Blas or his loss. Any laughter at that point clearly stemmed from discomfort and feeling awkward about previously giving low scores to the song.
Also they never said anything bad about him, just gave their opinions on the song. I really feel like some stuff has been lost in translation here. Not a single person on this panel thinks that death=humour
I think people commonly mistake “honesty” with straight up rudeness and sarcasm with bitchiness, it was so cringreworthy to see them rip to shreds every single song, ugh,
I always try to be positive and uplifting have very VERY little patience for sassy and shady people.
Blas you are a wonderful person and singer, you have my full support.
Like they’re gonna do better in the contest if they bash all 38 entries except for TIX
Every single song? Like, EVERY song?
Songs are being hailed as much as critizised in this show every year. Many songs were enjoyed a lot, especially Italy. I dont always agree with them, but hey i guess you rate all of this years entries a 10 or a 12 then? You personally love ALL of the songs? There is not one song you cannot listen to? Congratulations to you if so ?
To those not understanding: this is not about lack of humor in Spain, this is not about the critiques about the song, it’s about what they said about his grandma and how they said it. His grandma passed away a few months ago due to coronavirus, and the way they talk about her is extremely disrespectful. Doesn’t even feel like they’re talking about a human being.
You’re completely right. I wish Ruth’s view of the world wasn’t so accurate, but she’s right—some people’s lack of empathy for others is astounding. Free speech is always going to throw up things that people don’t like to hear—and that has to be tolerated, because people have different views and different ways of expressing their views—but freedom of speech isn’t absolute, it doesn’t give a licence to be as hateful, hurtful and acidic as is humanly possible, it comes with a responsibility to tread the bounds of decency, albeit a fine line. The issue of free speech feels like a… Read more »
Is there an english version?
Yes, here: https://youtu.be/zwBtkv3nD04
Thank you so much!! May you favourite country win tomorrow <3
we are Norway, we laugh at everything! not because we think we are superior.
Well Norwegian people are so great and their music is very good, but what is wrong with their journalists?? I mean four months ago they mocked Tix and they didn’t want him to represent his country and based their opinion mostly on personal attacks and less on artistic criterias. In this case, I think they weren’t as brutal as it seems (I think the whole thing was just mixed up in the translation) but in any case they should be more careful with their “humor” because not everything is funny and indeed in this case it is possible for someone… Read more »
Addresse Rotterdam panelists lacking some major delicadeza.