I'm sure there are those who haven't figured it out yet because they didn't find it while zapping, but Operación Triunfo is broadcast live on Mondays at 10:00 p.m. The twelfth edition will not be broadcast on public television or on Telecinco, where it was more reality than a talent show, but on Prime Video, because although from time to time the death of linear television is announced to us, the truth is that the platforms are try it every time. once again.
The regular viewers will hardly have noticed any differences, the biggest difference being the duration of the galas. “On TVE and Telecinco, the two nominees barely sang in the first hour of the show, while on Amazon they delivered everything in 90 minutes,” emphasizes journalist, author and OT supporter Raquel Piñeiro. “The viewer who has normal schedules appreciates it, even if such speed could go against the format: it has both talent and reality, and the videos they showed at the galas – one of the sacrificed elements – were an addition that contributed to getting to know the protagonists beyond their appearance on stage.” The essentials have not changed: 16 participants, a jury and a reassuring “Across the catwalk”. A simple mechanism that we know by heart and that makes us feel like we are standing in front of “our” OT, wherever it is broadcast.
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Yes, we have to highlight a big change compared to the first editions: it is becoming easier and easier to distinguish between two OTs, the one that is followed at Galas and the one that is broadcast 24 hours a day and on social networks. Anyone who only watches the first few films will wonder, for example, why the talented Paul isn't a favorite every week. “Because it doesn’t provide any content,” this vague term is the answer. Can you imagine that they didn't give Messi the Ballon d'Or because his relationship with Antonella doesn't produce enough salsa?
A moment from the group performance at the fourth “OT” gala.
The extra-musical is taking up more and more space, there is a certain logic: if someone just wanted to hear beautiful vocal harmonies, they would play the discography of The Mamas & the Papas. This is about something different. Just as important or more important than the vocal development of the participants is the emotional and, for the majority of followers, the sentimental one. Ten minutes after the academy's doors opened, the networks were already overflowing with the desire to create couples. Why Salma or Alex can go home next week has little to do with their recent performances and everything to do with the scarlet letter atmosphere created on the networks where one is accused of being an alleged harasser and another, a suspected harasser being a harasser. unfaithful. Supposedly is the key word, maybe it's just happening in the fevered minds of viewers, but we live in times of post-truth and screenshots via WhatsApp as a reliable source.
Participants are increasingly exposed to the entomologist's gaze from followers who sometimes forget that they are not commenting on the actions of fictional characters, but of people who will one day leave their captivity and pounce on their cell phones to discover the vision of viewers had from their time at the academy. In the eyes of those who watch the show there are really more hearts to be seen than in real couples, which is at least confirmed by the participants themselves, who, let's not forget, are on the program to outline future musical careers, although sometimes we think we are watching The Island of Las Temptations because we can no longer imagine a reality show without folders, not even Forged by Fire. The format also contributes to this: at the slightest hint of a relationship between two candidates, the not-so-innocent song cast rewards them with a heated duet that viewers buy without paying attention to the price. If we were to classify the great moments of the format, “Escondidos” by Chenoa and Bisbal or “City of Stars” by Alfred and Amaia would come before great performances such as “La Bikina” by Ana Guerra or “Lorenazó” by Lorena Gómez with “Land of the 1000 dances”.
Naiara and Ruslana, on the stage of “OT”.
OT also serves an anthropological function. Just as “First Dates” allows us to access a world of triejas and agamous relationships without leaving our trio, the Gestmusic format gives us an X-ray image of a generation, or at least the part of that generation that has singing moods. And there are some surprising facts. Dave's visit to the Academy, a participant in the 2018 edition, revealed that only five participants identify as heterosexual. Other data is not at all surprising: Paul admitted to being bullied in high school because he preferred singing to football, a playground classic since there were playgrounds.
Although there is no Rosa or Aitana from Spain this year, the broadcasters have chosen their favorites: the pluperfect Chiara; Violeta, who decided to debut at the Gala Cero with Patsy Cline's “Crazy” – the young people are already making a lot of reggaeton -, the versatile Naiara or the very young Martin, who is only 18 years old, because there are candidates Those who have never lived in a world where OT doesn't exist. This should make them realize that winning is the least important thing. Few remember Nahuel Sachak, Sergio Rivero or Mario Álvarez. The dream careers are those of David Bisbal, Manu Carrasco, Pablo López or Aitana. OT is a showcase and it's not even important to spend too much time in it, as Mai Meneses and Lola Ídigo know well.
A picture of Salma and Paul at the fourth “OT” gala.
Casting is the best secret of any reality show and this edition manages to do it. “There are good voices and talent with growth opportunities; It remains to be seen what kind of head start they will have – or not – in their musical careers, but they are working very well for the program,” says Piñeiro. We can't say that Chenoa was a secret ingredient, that she would be up to the task, we knew it, her professionalism was already insulting when she took part in the first edition. It was a perfect choice to continue the path set by the spread of Carlos Lozano, the reliability of Jesús Vázquez and the (brief) slow-motion catastrophe of Pilar Rubio – if anyone is looking for a vaccine for imposter syndrome, they should investigate them enthusiastic ability to take on all kinds of projects that exceed them – and the naturalness of Roberto Leal.
The jury is just as important as the participants. If we can consider Chenoa to be “empowered,” that terrible Concha Buika word that, to match the lyric of the time, we would say that “serves pussy,” it is actually the only dish in her restaurant. If there's a star of the issue, it's her. Her sentences, of which one knows how they begin but never how they can end, have made her a great revelation, without having to adopt the Mejide style, that of gratuitous cruelty for a few minutes of concentration. Concha Buika is the queen of memes and the format, the leader in X (it's not a puzzle to be solved, it's the evil of naming by Elon Musk). The hashtags associated with the program occupy the top positions every week and, according to Amazon data, the last gala broke the record for voting on the Operación Triunfo app with 4.55 million votes since its launch in 2017. We know that these numbers are not always reflect the actual audience, but they will certainly help you decide if OT is coming down the runway and this will be the first of many editions on Prime Video.
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