Spain’s semi-final tonight selected three singers to perform for the chance to repesent their country in Düsseldorf. TVE’s novel approach to Eurovision this year has been entertaining, and tonight kept that tradition going.
After two weeks of heats, tonight’s was an important show for TVE. The ten semi-finalists were competing for three coveted spots in next week’s final. Two would be selected by the expert jury and one by the voting public. Again, the performers would be singing covers of famous Eurovision songs and hoping to get the audience and jury to vote for them.
Our hostess Anne Igartiburu was again in the studio, with Daniel Diges holding the fort backstage. We also had three guest performers in the guises of Sergio Dalma (1991), Pastora Soler and expert juror David Ascanio.
Onto the songs:
Da Igual – Puppet on a string (UK 1967). After a classic Spanish song (Bailar pegados) in the heats, they gave the UK’s first winner a try, in Spanish naturally. All dressed in variations of black, they gave this song a punk feel. Imagine Blink 182 singing this and you’d be near the mark. A great way to open the show. The general word from the jury was very positive.
Esmerelda Grao – La fiesta terminó (Spain 1985). This performance was faithful to the 1985 original. A little breathy, although maybe just a little quicker. Esmerelda was in a floor-length red dress and put everything into this. A brief comment from the expert jury was definitely in favour of this doing well.
Sebas – What’s another year? (Ireland 1980). Sebas kept this song in English, and it started a little like Extreme’s More than words. His English accent was very credible, and while it was faithful to the original, it had a very modern stamp on it. He even managed to hit the high notes. A popular one with the audience.
Lucía Pérez – Boom bang-a-bang (UK 1969). Lucía sang in both English Spanish, and gave a very sultry performance in a short white dress. Her backing dancers perhaps detracted from the song a little, but she made you smile. Maybe not a finalist, but she enjoyed herself.
Auryn – Eres tú (Spain 1973). Five-piece boyband Auryn were next on, dressed in what looked like a tribute to Glee. They all sang parts of this song, harmonising well. And they had a very large fan base in the audience. Surprisingly, they got the first poor comments from the jury.
Melissa – Diva (Israel 1998). Melissa in her long gold dress sang an octave lower than Dana International. She was carried onto the stage, carried around the stage, and put a lot of effort into selling this to us.
Gio – Dime (Spain 2003). The most original interpretation of a song so far belonged to Gio. dressed very individually, we had rap. It was the sort of song you could here in the summer on a Caribbean beach. It was certainly one to make you sit up and take notice.
Mónica Guech – Love shine a light (UK 1997). The classic 1990s anthem is always going to be a challenge. Mónica was, like her heat, sat at keyboards. With a bit of improvisation she sold herself excellently. She had stage presence, a decent accent for the song, and the camera seems to love her. Plus there was must positive from the jury.
Don Johnsons – Hard rock hallelujah (Finland 2006). From a challenging ballad to the classic Eurovision rock song. In contrast to Lordi, we had a band in suits putting a funky edge onto this song. Resplendent in suits bow ties and sunglasses, what would Mr Lordi think? But this original performance gave us some more food for thought. The jury was smiling (a good sign) and they had a big fan club in the audience.
David Sancho – Nel blu dipinto di blu (Italy 1958). Finally, David was dressed in the style of the 1950s to match the classic song he’d chosen. He’d translated parts of it into Spanish and it had Brat Pack written all over it. A brilliant way to end the presentaation of the songs. ‘Fantastic’ and ‘magnificent’ was the vibe from the jury.
To keep us entertained while the voting lines remained open, Pastora Soler was next on stage in a vibrant pink dress performing a heartfelt ballad to rapturous applause from the audience.
Following Pastora we had juror David Ascanio who sang his latest song. After another short montage of Eurovision classics, the one-and-only Sergio Dalma then appeared, and sang his song El jardín prohibído. He was a little more grey-haired than 1991 and the voice a little more gravelly. But class stands out however they look and sound. This was a show-stopping performance. Anne then had a special presentation for him – a triple platinum album for his 2010 album Via Dalma.
Our three finalists were:
Lucía Pérez (televote)
Melissa (jury)
Auryn (jury)
In the final, each of these performers will sing three songs, and one will go forward to the Eurovision final in Düsseldorf.
