Spain: Alizzz and Brequette were among the artists that missed out on Benidorm Fest 2022

Spain’s Benidorm Fest 2022 has brought success and a good dose of eurodrama. As Spain moves on from Benidorm Fest 2022, Spanish media Maldita.es has released the minutes of the jury that selected the full line-up of the contest. The data released includes details of who placed highest in the song selection process and who just missed out on the chance to be in Benidorm. Among the artists that didn’t make it, there are some familiar names.

Almost three million people watched as Chanel narrowly took Benidorm’s bronze microphone trophy. Many of the songs that participated in the contest have gone viral on Spotify and now feature in many charts, including Chanel’s “SloMo” – reaching #2 on Spotify’s Viral 50 Global chart.

Chanel’s victory came with some drama over the jury-televote split. However, as this chapter closes, a new one opens – Benidorm Fest 2023 will take place next year. Will any of the artists who missed out on a spot this year try again in 2023?

Alizzz and Brequette Cassie were reserve acts for Benidorm Fest 2022

Last November, Spain’s broadcaster announced they had received 886 songs for Benidorm Fest 2022. Of these, 692 came via the web submission process, while 194 came from artists invited by the Spanish broadcaster. From all these, only 14 could make it to the live shows. In the end, RTVE picked 20 and a jury was tasked with choosing the final 14.

Among the six acts that didn’t make it to Benidorm Fest is Alizzz, one of Spain’s top rising artists. The Spanish music producer and rapper is familiar with success. He holds three Latin Grammy awards, including Best Pop/Rock Song, two diamond, thirty-five platinum and six gold-certified records, and he has worked next to big names in Spain such as C. Tangana and Lola Indigo.

Last year, Alizzz collaborated with Amaia, Spain’s Eurovision 2018 star, for the hit “El Encuentro.” The song has amassed 20 million streams on Spotify alone.

Brequette Cassie is another known face in the Eurovision world who just missed out on Benidorm Fest. She’s the artist behind “Más (Run),” which placed second in Spain’s Eurovision 2014 national final.

Brequette tried again in 2017 with “No Enemy.” Unfortunately, her song, which was written by Barei (Eurovision 2016) and her husband Rubén Villanueva, did not make the cut.

The other artists who didn’t reach the final 14 are Aysha, Cariño and Siderland.

Aysha placed fourth in The Voice Kids Spain 2019. Cariño is an indie-pop band who have been touring in and out of Spain. Meanwhile, Siderland are a pop group from Barcelona with festive rhythms.

The minutes also reveal the title of the songs each of these artists submitted:

• Alizzz – “Jueguito”
• Brequette Cassie – “Armaggeddon”
• Aysha – “Yo Soy”
• Cariño – “Si quieres”
• Siderland – “Tragèdia o calor”

Rigoberta Bandini and “Ay mama” scored first in the song selection process

Despite no information on how the jury awarded points during the song selection process, Rigoberta Bandini and her song “Ay mama” received the best score.

Rigoberta Bandini secured the first spot with 287 points, followed by ultimate winner Chanel with 193 points. Varry Brava were the jury’s third pick with 189 points. Fan favourite Tanxugueiras managed 118 points, placing 11th in the jury ranking.

As Maldita.es reveals, it seems all songs submitted were scored, and only the top 14 made the line-up. The other six were then used as ‘reserves’.

As seen from the list below, and as Maldita.es confirms, the group Niña Polaca and their song “Nora” initially made it to the top 14. However, they were later disqualified when producers realised the song had already been published five days before 1 September, which broke Benidorm Fest and Eurovision rules. In their place, Javiera Mena with “Culpa” secured her spot by being the reserve with the highest score.

What is more, Benidorm Fest’s rules established that RTVE had to choose at least two songs from those sent online. The list reveals that Marta Sango and Unique managed to secure their spots in the contest as a result of this. That left Alizzz and Aysha on the side lines, despite receiving a higher score. From the 20 songs that RTVE selected, only three came from the online process. These were the ones of Marta Sango, Unique and Siderland.

Alizzz would have had another chance following Luna Ki’s withdrawal from Benidorm Fest. As the next act with the highest score, if the position of Luna Ki could have been filled, Alizzz would have been next.

Full Benidorm Fest 2022 song selection results

1. Rigoberta Bandini – “Ay mama” (287 points -participant)
2. Chanel – “SloMo” (193 points – participant)
3. Varry Brava – “Raffaella” (189 points – participant)
4. Xeinn – “Eco” (181 points – participant)
5. Rayden – “Calle de la Llorería” (161 points – participant)
6. Sara Deop – “Make you Say” (157 points – participant)
7. Blanca Paloma – “Secreto de Agua” (153 points – participant)
8. Gonzalo Hermida -“Quién lo diría” (143 points – participant)
9. Niña Polaca – “Nora” (119 points – disqualified)
10. Azúcar Moreno – “Postureo” (119 points – participant)
11. Tanxugueiras – “Terra” (118 points – participant)
12. Luna Ki – “Voy a Morir” (109 points – withdrawn)
13. Marta Sango – “Sigues en mi Mente” (82 points – participant)
14. Unique – “Mejores” (71 points – participant)
15. Javiera Mena – “Culpa” (103 points – reserve, takes Niña Polaca’s place)
16. Alizzz – “Jueguito” (101 points – reserve)
17. Aysha – “Yo soy” (96 points – reserve)
18. Cariño – “Si quieres” (95 points – reserve)
19. Brequette Cassie – “Armaggeddon” (83 points – reserve)
20. Siderland – “Tragèdia o calor” (56 points – reserve)

What do you think about the artists that unfortunately did not make it to Benidorm Fest 2022? Would you like to see any of them apply again for 2023? Let us know in the comment section below!