Varry Brava opened the show with their disco-themed number “Raffaella” and Chanel closed it with her pulsating club track “SloMo”. And in between we saw some of the most eye-popping staging and Eurovision-ready songs of any Spanish national final in recent memory. But in the end only four acts could advance to the Benidorm Fest 2022 final. They are…
Benidorm Fest 2022: Semi-Final 1 results and qualifiers
- Chanel – “SloMo” (110 points)
- Tanxugueiras – “Terra” (93 points)
- Blanca Paloma – “Secreto de agua” (79 points)
- Varry Brava – “Raffaella” (74 points)
- Azúcar Moreno – “Postureo”(69 points)
- Unique – “Mejores” (55 points)
The voting consisted of three components. The first, an expert jury, accounted for the half of the score, while the remainder was divided between a demoscopic jury and the public televote.
A demoscopic jury is a panel of judges made up of a sample of the Spanish population. They were selected by statistical and demoscopic criteria to be representative of the country at large.
Chanel cast herself as the Spanish Eleni Foureira, delivering dance moves that lived up to her lyrics, which include the iconic phrase “booty hypnotic.” She popped and locked and served it all slick and sultry, proving that it is possible to sing while performing sick choreography. She won both the professional jury vote and the demoscopic poll, and managed to come second in the public voting. Some of you have suggested that the performance had too much backing vocal and not enough of her.
The powerful trio of Tanxugueiras were the only act able to top her in the public vote segment. The three women wore black outfits with golden highlights — coming through in their jewellery and make-up — and seemed to cast a magical spell on their male backing dancers, who appeared shirtless as they twirled in skirts. Many fans have complained online that the camerawork needs improvement and that the choreography is somewhat lacklustre.
Expert Jury (50%)
- Chanel 55
- Blanca Paloma 41
- Varry Brava 39
- Azúcar Moreno 39
- Tanxugueiras 38
- Unique 28
Demoscopic (25%)
- Chanel 30
- Tanxugueiras 25
- Blanca Paloma 20
- Azúcar Moreno 18
- Varry Brava 15
- Unique 12
Public voting (25%)
- Tanxugueiras 30
- Chanel 25
- Varry Brava 20
- Blanca Paloma 18
- Unique 15
- Azúcar Moreno 12
What do you think of the results? Who stands the best chance of doing well in the final? Let us know in the comments box below!
Chanel’s performance was so outstandingly amazing that it actually succeeded in making me think I liked the song more than I did, lol. Then I tried to listen to the studio version later that night but couldn’t get through the whole thing. It is very weak. She seems like a nice person too though, so I’m happy for her. (Terra, on the other hand, I listened to like 3 times in a row straight away. Definitely one of my favourite songs out of all the national selections so far. I hope they can correct their staging mistakes in time for… Read more »
Sorry but no matter Spain will select, they will be in bottom 5 and no special fest will help them unless they try to produce some good music. Sorry for my rudeness, you can downvote me but none of the songs really impressed me. It’s not about selecting internally or via special shows, it’s always about the quality producers receive and what they choose.
this aged so badly ?
The jury is the same for the entire week.
Preach! I said it, Blanca Paloma should’ve won the jury vote. She is an ARTIST, and given it’s her first studio production makes it even more impressive. The stage, how it progresses, several camera cuts and she performing makes it an excellent whole package
I am late to the party but I just heard the qualifiers of this semi and let me say I am not impressed. SloMo is too cheap and generic for my taste and it surely draws heavy parallels with the usual dancepop diva entries that in 2021 flopped. The dancing during the bridge is amazing though, and left me speechless (but that’s not enough to make me like this entry). Terra seems like a trainwreck to me unfortunately. As someone who likes modern-ethnic done right, I think this performance was extremely messy and the song a bit too screechy for… Read more »
Why is slo mo cheap because it is pop music?
No not because it’s pop music. Because it’s cheap pop music. : )
‘SloMo’ has a very cool groove, but everything else is basically just passing by. Nothing to be ashamed of, yet also nothing that makes an impact. The choreography fits it perfectly in the sense that it’s well crafted, but still won’t make you vote for it. It’s kind of the ideal song to send if you aim for 20th place. On another note: I’m really tired of female singers who are scantily clad just for the sake of it. And I’m not sure whether wearing this little still gets you the votes it surely got you 15 years ago or… Read more »
15 years seems a bit of an overestimation to me… the Polish milkmaids were only from 2014, lmao.
Okay, that was pretty funny, though. I’m still amazed the EBU allowed it.
Do you think that gorgeous topless half-naked men is any better?
In a way, it actually is. But of course that’s only because there hasn’t been such an overexposure as with the half-naked girls.
In the end, I prefer if acts, female or male, are good or at least self-confident enough not to rely on such cheap tricks. And I’m definitely not prudish – it just bores me af.
So how would you suggest to style themselves?
Strange Jury. Cheap SloMo their favorite? Team Tanxugueiras here.
spill Tanzugeiras is going to come for bottom 5
Sorry, but I think Spain should listen to the public vote… Why go for the most obvious. Caramba! Despierta-te de una vez, España!!!
“trainwreck”
Thanks, now I want Zdob si Zdub as a Benidorm Fest interval act.
Tanxugueiras’ song is beautiful and sounds like Home (I am Portuguese) but the staging was so messy and kitschy… oh my.
I love how so many people are saying that Tanxugueiras should win and completely change the staging for Turin. You do realize this is not an internal selection where staging doesn’t matter? This is a festival that needs a proper winner with a complete package. I’m also perplexed that no one got tired of the same “ay la la la la” over and over by this point…
Because they are all spaniards fans. Their performance was a mess.
Same jury.
terra’s staging needs work, but song-wise it’s still the best entry. hopefully they pull it together for the grand final
I loved all the songs .Ones more than others but I had fun and enjoyed all the dinamic show. I dissapointed a little bit Tanxugueiras show but they can improve. Blanca paloma: sublime, amazing and Varry Brava: super funny . Tonight we will see Javiera Mena and Ryden and the big favourite for the spanish fans: Ay Mama..even if Rigoberta will be botton in Turin her song is sublime, wonderful
I find it odd that they have different ways of calculating the points of the jury and of the public. From the public, an act gets a fixed number of points for the rank it achieves. So an act can win the public televote (or the demoscopic jury) by a landslide and will still get only 5 points more than the second most voted one, despite a huge gap in popularity. On the other hand, the professional jury can hand out its votes more flexibly because the jurors give points directly. So the difference in points between acts can be… Read more »
It’s a good voting system for reducing bias. For example, let’s say Unique was a very famous group and they had massive strategic voting. that prevents them for taking such an advantage. However, that’s supposed to be the demoscopic duty: preventing voters bias. Still, let’s not blame RTVE, they’ve done things the right way and they can figure out new ways to improve the show for next year.
I only liked the songs from
Tanxugueiras – “Terra” and
Blanca Paloma – “Secreto de agua”
I don ‘t like the song from Chanel – “SloMo” It ‘s very cheap and another copy of “Fuego”, I have heard that more than enough
“another copy of fuego” – despite the fact it sounds completely different with a completely different feel and sound. An uptempo song with a female lead and some choreography does not fuego make.
that being said, of course, your taste is your taste, no hate here haha. Also enjoyed terra and secreto de agua 🙂
sorry but pop songs must also have their place in the contest, it’s not just ballads !!!
And “fuego” still finished 2nd in 2018 it’s not nothing either but good LOL…
it’s not just bops at esc too. imagine having 39 ronelas with bops. nothing wrong with her, her son is amazing, but having 100% bops would be not good
The worst thing about Tanxugueiras is their reaction to the jury. They said the jury should be more open-minded, as if their presentation was ok. That makes me think that their staging in Eurovision would be similar, and that’s bottom 5 material.
Actually while they did say that, they also said they would try to improve things in the performance. So it was a balanced and fair remark. More than this jury deserves imo, those 3 (of 5) got deservedly booed.
I enjoyed Terra, absolutely, and it’s great. I think it’s a good choice for eurovision, not 100% certain whether it would resonate entirely with the public (then again, Ukraine 2021 did, so maybe it will!). Chanel though….uuuf, it came as such a surprise because (just like Fuego in 2018) it flew right under my radar, and then boom. People will call it “cliche” or “generic” but the fact is, what it is, is contemporary pop. It’s in line with what’s currently charting with a very spanish vibe to it. I love it, frankly, and if that makes me basic then… Read more »
Raffaela gives me insane Twin Twin – Mustache vibes. I love it. It shouldn’t win Benidorm Fest tho.
Musically, maybe. But visually they’re more like The Ark I think.
Musically, it surely has Twin Twin vibes. Visually, I’d say a mixture between The Ark and Twin Twin.
I understand the underwhelming Tanxugueiras fans. The performance was as if the Tanxugueiras girls were the background singers instead of the main act of their performance.
I think Tanxugueiras was AWESOME. So different. I wish it could win, but Spain goes too mainstream
Ratings of yesterday’s show was 11’8% in Spain.
By regions, Galicia broke it with 24’2%. Tanxugueiras probably won televote by a huge landslide
Terra: Nothing on stage was coordinated. Awful camera work, basically mostly wide shots that only highlighted the complete mess on stage. After seeing that performance you end up more familiar with the dancer’s faces than the singers, because there’s barely any close up of the girls. The choreography was composed of a few moves repeated around the stage, there is absolutly no storytelling or progression in this perfermance. Even understanding the lyrics is hard to find a connection between the visuals and the song. At the final shot, one of them is looking at a side while the other 4… Read more »
Agree. The presentation/visual needs work. But the song was great (in my view)
At this point… I am just praying for the “professional” jury to like Rayden since, I am afraid they are not really backing up the fan favourites this year ><‘
BenidormFest was okay, I mean as a Spanish fan I cannot complain, BUT there were still so many things to fix, particularly the sound and well, some of the comments made by the presenters that were a bit, out of place I would say.
Also, maybe this is just my opinion but keeping the points each song got secret would have been more hyping towards the finale on Saturday.
Exactly, I wouldn’t have presented the points either to keep the suspense. I thought Alaska did fantastic, she’s an icon, but that Inés should be ditched.
I found Inés quite funny, a bit nervous at the beginning, but still she delivered.
The one I found annoying was the male presenter, he seemed about to collapse and very artifitial.
He seemed really really nervous, I guess it had to do with him being surrounded by so many fans because he is a really experienced presenter!
I hope he does better tonight 🙂
Why is it that every comment supporting tanxugeiras also has some salty/pressed comment towards rigoberta bandini? Has she done something wrong towards y’all or something?
At this moment is probably as a result of knowing that Terra will certainly not win seeing these results and the other big favorite is her (although we will have to wait and see tonight results) and we all know how some of Spanish toxic eurofans are
It’s disappointing! You can support your favourite song without bringing down others ._.
I’m a big Rigoberta supporter from the beginning. But I’m quite sure that if she does not give us an extraordinary performance, she’s not going to win the jury vote. It seems like they’re more into value a visually flawless execution than great voices or great songs. And their strenght for me is that they tend to improvise and have fun on stage instead of having every camera angle perfectly studied.
And she won’t, she is very much fun and great with lyrics but not an amazing singer, definitely not a dancer.
Whole package best 2 were by far Blanca Paloma and Chanel. I love Terra but the staging was chaos (difficult to rehearse something like that bc it looked like an act gone wrong). At the most powerful moments the images on tv were really weird. I completely lost the bit that sounds like a church chant. Did they do it?
I think it was a bit of a mess because they could not even rehearse together — one of the singers arrived in Benidorm yesterday morning due to COVID issues. I am not sure if that might have affected the whole performance as a whole but yeah, I agree, the camera was not even focused on them at some points.
That is not it. The whole concept was a mess. Too much movement. The dancers seemed to be dancing a different music. They stand to the side. We al most did not see them.
I understand the concept of the dancers, since they were doing a traditional dance, having said this, it was nothing new … if you watch their “Midas” MV, it was practically the same concept. I think “Terra” deserved something brand-new but anyway, they can’t do much right now, at least I hope they fix some camera shots because those were really messy too.
Tanxugueiras stage performance could use an overhaul, but if Spain wants to get points in Turin? this one needs to go there…. or perhaps Culpa lets see later?! Terra is different and now with national languages being appreciated more and more… yeah!
Ok I understand now why they don’t distribute the points depending on the percentages, it’s to avoid the massive votes of the big fanbases to impact the results, one act could receive 70% of votes in the televoting but he/she/they will always get 30 points so only 5 more points than the second who get 25 points. Yeah it’s clever and it gives more chance for everybody I think and mainly for the new artists not well known. Esc France did that too last year and I was still wondering why now I understand it was to avoid a Bilal… Read more »
But now that I think about that, others countries like Lithuania or Sweden does that too…
sweden’s used to be by percentage, but we saw that because of the heart votes it was pretty much pointless anyway cos it ended up like a 12 way tie haha with the jury choosing.
My take on Benidorm SF1: #6: Unique – It would have been a shock if they hadn’t ended up last. Not only did they have easily the most unremarkable song of this semi-final, but also a stage presentation that amounted essentially to a boy band cliché storm. Thank you, next. #5: Azúcar Moreno – The Salazar sisters’ peak is far behind them, if their performance last night is anything to go by. They couldn’t deliver vocally, and the chemistry between them felt off at times. #4: Varry Brava – Starting the performance in black and white during the downer beginning… Read more »
I was truly angry yesterday with the professional jury, but after thinking about it: Chanel did a perfect performance. It is true that similar songs are having a worse result for Cyprus after Eleni Foureria, but neither Elena nor Tamta were Eleni. To my opinion, Chanel has gone even beyond Eleni Foureira, much more dance, a more complicated coreography, same amount of charisma and still not losing her notes. I would have never chosen to bring Chanel and SloMo to Eurovision, but now I am wondering “why not?” I have to see today’s performances (my favourite from the beginning is… Read more »
Totally agree with you. Chanel delivered an iconic performance yesterday and I think it’s clearly better than what Eleni did (even though she was great).
Imo Chanel is a 5 stars choixe for Spain that could make a great return in top 10, if not top 5.
We know why the Jury pushed Tanxugueiras down :/
Blanca Paloma is the only choice if Spain wants to have a good result at Eurovision. That song, voice and performance is otherworldly.. on the other hand if they choose Chanel, Spain can only move from the bottom to the middle of the scoreboard.
True that! Although Quédate conmigo with amazing Pastora Soler was a better song with better vocals in a similar style but didn’t make it that far 🙁
Chanel is giving winner vibes….Sevilla 2023 ?
I was surprised to see Chanel win, especially by such a large margin, but het performance was spot on. Probably the slickest choreography we’ve seen from Spain in decades, she sounded OK and she oozes charisma. Definitely not my favourite song, but this was a great performance. Change the outfit though. I was worried that Tanxugueiras would try to spice up their staging with bare-chested guys beating drums in true Love love peace peace style, and yes there they were! I thought the performance was messy but they sounded fantastic and the song is really powerful. I’m definitely not discounting… Read more »
Spain is divided right now between, Tanxugueiras fans, Rigoberta fans, Chanel new fans, and Rayden fans, which fans will be satisfied, answer in 2 days.
The spanish itunes charts following the 1st semi are like that, Rigoberta 1st, Tanxugueiras 3rd (+22 ), Varry Brava 18th (new in the charts), Chanel 23 th (new in the charts), none of the others appear in the top 100. Chanel is the winner of this evening, Tanxugueiras are the winners in the charts.
Sending Ay Mama will only give Spain another bottom 5 result.
I was kind of sleeping on Chanel but after watching her performance, I’m a SloMo convert now, if it comes to those four you mention.
Otherwise, my choice would be Secreto de agua. I’m okay with any other song among the favorites, though — just not Ay Mama.
I mean she is 1st already in the charts even before having performed in the 2nd semi, a good sign for her. I will never understand the fury of some eurofans against one specific song….like Je me casse or Voilà last year for ex, but anyway Ay Mama is not my favourite but it’s a great song, it’s an hymn, it’s catchy. All those are saying that this song will flop are the same saying that Zitti e Buoni couldn’t win, that Barbara would flop in the televote, that Go-a would have difficulties to qualify, that Dadi’s song will never… Read more »
Because the song is not good. It’s overhyped in Spain the same way Tu Cancion was overhyped and all the Spanish fans said it was give Spain a win. Remember? And what place did it end up in, again? Yeah, 23rd. Yeah, bottom 5.
I didn’t like Tu cancion I find it tacky since the first listening with or without revamp.
I quite like Ay Mama this time and I don’t think that if she goes in Eurovision she will be bottom 5, I’m not agree as a non spaniard I can say it’s a good song which could do a great result, it has summer vibes that could please to the european audience.
Delusional. You not liking the song =/= bottom 5 in esc
Varry Brava are 16th now and Chanel 17th.
Hey!
Out of topic but Ronela shared a snippet of her revamped song on Twitter
https://mobile.twitter.com/RonelaHajati/status/1486408290233950219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1486408290233950219%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feurovoix.com%2F2022%2F01%2F26%2Falbania-ronela-hajati-shares-snippet-of-sekret-revamp%2F
And just like that SloMo went from my guilty pleasure to an absolute winner of this season. No matter what the overall results will be in May.
She might have just made me be into women now. 😛
Do it for your lover <3
Oh my god! That was such an amazing show! We’ll done Spain! ??????
Great show from Spain, I don’t think any of the performances were awful; there was something positive to say about everybody. My favourites of the night were Chanel and Tanxu, I don’t see the issues that others have with Tanxu about their staging but that might be because I only listened to all the Benidorm songs a couple of days ago and so haven’t had all that time to build the hype. I really liked Varry Brava’s performance, something about it screams Sanremo (and that’s a good thing). Unpopular opinion, I think Blanca Paloma had a wonderful performance and a… Read more »
Sorry, I do not know which events you are talking about. Could you clarify? I think they kissed just as a sign of society’s openness.
Chanel!!!!! Spain is gonna snatch some wigs in Torino.. Fire! Fuego meets El Diablo = SloMo besides that Chanel is a firecracker.. My favorite to put Spain back on track
Blanca s performance was out of this world. I m sorry but Chanel s vocals were horrible.
I think Chanel’s vocals were okay. Clearly not the best singer but look at the choreography. I’m honnestly surprised that she stayed in the tune while dancing that much. For me she has the whole package.
But we agree on the fact that Blanca’s performance was out of this world.
Absolutely brilliant. I didn’t listen to the songs before the contest except for Secreto de agua. SloMo and Terra are top 5 materials for Eurovision and Secreto de agua top 10. Even the staging here are great, I wouldn’t change a lot for Turin.
Great job Spain and hope to see you back in the heights of the scoreboard.
Tanxugueiras clearly deserved the win. but I was not expecting Chanel to slay so hard. Just hope Tanxu can scale back for future performances. They have the gift of their voices being able to hold up an entire performance, they should use it more.
Blanca was perfect.
Chanel had awesome performance for an OK song. But the vocal arrangement was not the best. The backing vocals was too loud.
Tanxugueiras. Yes I can understand why the juries didn’t go for it. Too much happened on the stage. The focus of the performance should be only on the girls and not the dancers or the drummer.
Omfg Chanel. Gurl the Eurovision is yours this year. If Spain sends this they will win the contest for sure!!!!!!! Omg omg omg
My main concern here is the jury. 50% of the final decision is way too much power for just five random people, with their own musical tastes like the rest of us. It should have been 50% televote – 50% demoscopic / or international jury. Anyway, I loved Chanel’s performance, super sexy and high energy, but if Elena Tsagrinou couldn’t repeat Foureira’s success, I doubt Chanel will :/
I think Chanel was far better than Elena, and even better than Eleni (Fuego did not have such a complicated coreography).
I was hoping Azúcar Moreno to be one of the finilist and I knew the performance was the make it or break it point and unfortunately they didn’t deliver. I don’t know if it was just me but, I felt they were really nervious, the skirts, I was hoping for them to dance to have fun and be imposing
I think Varry Brava is to predictable, being Italy the host country and I think it could attract the wrong reaction
Lets see what semifinal 2 has prepared
In regards to Azucar Moreno, I believe it is all down to the fact that they just can’t deliver vocally anymore.
Maybe you’re right and its sad cause they are great
My ranking changed quite a bit after the semi: 1) Blanca: WHOA, I wasn’t much of a fan of the revamp, but she elevated it so beautifully. So glad she made it! 2) Azúcar Moreno: I knew the public was going to underrate this…I’m so mad I seem to be the only one who appreciated the song before and after the semi! It reminds me so much of criollo music in my other country Peru. 3) Tanxugueiras: It was my winner before seeing the live…I wanted them to advance only because I have faith they’ll change their staging by Saturday…it… Read more »
Blanca Paloma had the standout performance for me personally. her studio track wasn’t my favourite, but the live performance was stunning. Simple, but effective and well thought out. She’s an incredibly expressive singer too, which I liked.
Unique comprises of beautiful men. Who doesn’t vote for that? ??
Bruh, it’s a song contest, not a sausage fest
It was horrible
Sorry, nothing personal, but Terra was a mess.
Trully disappointed