“Which is your favorite to win the Benidorm Fest?”. Benidorm Mayor Toni Pérez, seated front row in the courtyard of Valencia’s Palau de la Generalitat, addresses three journalists covering the music festival’s award ceremony. “I already have. But I’d rather not say anything, because then there will be suspicions,” he jokes. There are still a few hours before the start of the semi-finals of the competition, and what last year’s turn of events, known in the official Eurofan dictionary as Chanelazo registered is that there are no favorites until the staging of the proposals is shown to candidates.”It is that Chanel is a born worker. It is said that he worked out in heels on the treadmill at the Hotel Don Pancho Raphael always says that he won the festival in Benidorm back then because he was the only one who didn’t go to a party the night before,” he comments.
On paper and after the votes of the two semi-finals, Agoney with Quiero Arder and Blanca Paloma with EAEA will compete this Saturday night for the Benidorm Fest 2023 bronze microphone and the pass to Liverpool to represent Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest in May. Although anything can happen and all candidates have a chance of winning (Alice Wonder, Karmento, Fusa Nocta, José Otero, Vicco and Megara also compete), only these two names have appeared among the top two preferences of the professional jury, demoscopically voting and televoting.
There is a small difference between Blanca Paloma and Agoney that can determine the course of the final. She scored 167 points to his 161. That’s just the six points more that the expert jury gave to the proposal from Elche (92 points) compared to those from the Canary Islands (86 points). In other words, the plebiscite awarded both the same score, but the jury, which has an indivisible weight of 50% of the points, slanted slightly to the EAEA side.
With such an evenness in popular support for both candidates, it’s expected that both will share the highest poll and televote scores this Saturday, although anything can happen after the finals’ live performances and another candidate surpasses them can these votes. . This Tuesday, Agoney got the 40 points of the televote in the first semifinal. Blanca Paloma did the same thing on Thursday in the second semi-final and received the most texts and calls. But according to RTVE data, Agoney’s gala received a total of 10,200 votes between calls (2,700) and texts (7,500), while Blanca Palomas received 11,200 votes between calls (3,400) and texts (7,800). She prevailed in a slightly more competitive scenario than his.
In terms of its digital presence, Quiero arder is a leader, accumulating 782,000 views on Spotify and 253,000 on its official video on YouTube, compared to EAEA: 308,000 on Spotify and 47,000 on YouTube. Small details like these three aside, it’s up to a lot of factors. We asked specialist Eurovisions media about their favorites for the final win.
organizations like that Eurovision Association of Spain (AEV Eurovision) and OGAE Spain (local arm of the general organization of Eurovision fans) have been supporting the European song festival for decades and report on everything to do with the Spanish candidacy, “even in bad times when nobody was interested,” they say. Its correspondents, accredited at events such as Benidorm Fest, usually free themselves from their professional burdens to act as informers for a few days, even investing their own money. Also this year, a large number of foreign journalists specializing in the European song festival came to Benidorm to report on the Spanish pre-selection process, “not only because of Chanel’s good result last year, but also because of the proposals classified for this edition, “they point out.
Isidro Mayor and Jorge Toral, President and Member of respectively Eurovision Association of Spain (AEV Eurovision).
IM: “Both candidatures are very good, but Agoney’s can be worn by any country and Blanca Paloma’s is a Spanish brand in the blood, only we can wear it. Megara is very good, but the really competitive one is EAEA. But if you analyze it cooler, you realize that you can still polish”.
JT: “The fight will be between Blanca Paloma and Agoney. She exuded such power and authenticity that her performance caused a collapse in Palau thanks to her dreamy voice and an empowering and grandiose staging. All this mix has to win. And he unleashes passions with powerful staging and a voice with tones by Tino Casal tuned in impossible tones, making this a solid and groundbreaking proposition.
Tony San Jose, author for OGAE Spain.
“My heart is divided between the two. Before seeing the productions, I preferred Agoney because of his musical style. But when you see the full package of both proposals, Blanca Paloma falls in love and leaves you with your hair standing on end. He will give the pigeon in Benidorm. Vicco would be my third option because of his song, but his live attitude wasn’t what the song needed. It should be stronger, like Chanel’s.”
Laura OrtizJournalist specializing in Eurovision (El Euroté).
“Blanca Paloma should be the winner because she has all the ingredients necessary to compete for the crystal mic at Liverpool. It’s an authentic, risky proposition that only we could carry out. Alice Wonder is another proposal that could fight for victory at Eurovision. It’s a ballad that’s out of the ordinary, authentic and has personality. Megara also has a pack worth putting a bow on and sending to Liverpool. It’s a style that has never been opted for in Spain and that triumphs in Europe year after year. It’s top 10 in Eurovision”.
Melanie Otto, Content Creator for ESC United (Netherlands).
“First of all, White Dove. EAEA is so visually stunning that it really comes to life on stage. It does a great job of showcasing traditional Spanish music and is a great way to bring those tunes to the rest of Europe. Second, I love Agoney because her show and her song are ready to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. He brings the whole package: a great show, a great song and he’s very charismatic too. Last but not least, I was really surprised by Karmento’s performance. I didn’t have this song on my radar until they performed at the Benidorm Fest, but the staging was very good and I found it very authentic. I really think she could be the unfair loser of this year’s competition.”
Rory Gannon, reporter for The Eurovision site and BBC Radio Manchester
“First white dove. It is an absolutely incredible and daring proposal. She is able to draw you into her world with EAEA’s intricate cinematography and dance moves. It’s minimalist, but it’s effective. Blanca’s vocal capacity is also spectacular and much more powerful than in her previous effort, Secreto de agua. This performance is ready for Eurovision. Even if Spain submitted this song, it would show that they are willing to take risks instead of relying on performances reminiscent of Chanel. Second, I would highlight Fusa Nocta. This song is reminiscent of well-known Spanish singers who have broken into the international market, such as Rosalía and Bomba Estéreo. Vocally it could use some work but with the setting and message of the song it produces the idea of the ‘chosen family’ which would look perfect for Eurovision given the values the competition represents. And third, Karmento. How this song explodes on stage. The trend at Eurovision has changed and now they love diversity and local identity. This performance represents Spanish culture perfectly. Also, in a show full of up-tempo songs, a quiet song like “I Want and Duel” would really bring Liverpool Stadium to a halt.
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