The audience doesn’t like flamenco. And we who thought so, with Rosalía’s worldwide influence for a few years. But it seems that people outside our borders like the reggaeton side of Catalan more than El mal querer. Televoting gave Blanca Paloma, the Spanish representative, five points, a joke score, undeserved. We didn’t ask for much: to be in the top ten. If we had, we would have gone to bed feeling blissfully happy. We must bear in mind that we are talking about Spain, which has not won for 54 years (1969, Salomé, Vivo cantando). And with the jury rating (9th place) we almost had it in our hands. But not even that: after Chanel’s third-place finish last year, we fall back into the abyss of Eurovision drama. However, ‘Eaea’ was one of the best songs played in Liverpool last night.
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It happened that the proposal of the artist from Elche stood out from the others overall and was quite poor overall. Blanca Paloma’s theme has been a bubbling trend in Spain for a number of seasons: traditionally inspired music with modern means and a modern take. It’s nothing new, especially if we’re talking about flamenco (remember Smash?), but the exciting thing is that there’s a generation of young musicians who are currently walking this path and who, at least in Spain, like it.
Blanca Paloma had a powerful weapon: a big and deep voice that pinched. His interpretation was remarkable and the staging attractive without overtaxing the porcelain. But Eurovision codes are not easy to circumvent. We find ourselves in a context where the so-called staging predominates (the more vertiginous the better), the musical base in the form of sound mass, lung power at the expense of personality… This is what mobilizes and attunes the audience appreciates. If you get out of there, you have little chance of getting past it.
Sweden won with Loreen with a song called “Tattoo” whose architecture was similar to the 2012 song “Euphoria”. Well, not much progress has been made in 11 years. An obvious, boring conservative victory. There was no risk in a competition where each year it became more important not to stray from moderation.
It was an easy competition. Because it is necessary to broaden the focus and distance oneself from the Eurovision euphoria. With good will one could emphasize the disco elegance of France (La Zarra), the soulful choirs of Belgium (Gustaph), the restraint of the pleasant song of Lithuania (Monika Linkyté), the exuberance of the Chanel of Israel (Noa Kirel). . And a little more.
But let’s celebrate the music that matters. None of what happened last night could have existed without the talent and daring of four lads who started a revolution from where the final took place, Liverpool, in the early 1960s. Discover this magical music for your children and grandchildren. Do yourself a favor and listen to The Beatles. Daily. Lifespan.
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