The second semifinal of Eurovision 2009: El Retorno is about to kick off. Ten participants will compete tonight for a place in the national final, to be held on March 7th. Only three of them will qualify directly for the final evening, while the fourth placed will have a second chance just before the final show.
The show
The national broadcaster, TVE, is airing the show on its main channel TVE1 and on TVE International as well. A webcast to follow the show is available on rtve.es. Once the show concludes, it will be available on demand on the broadcaster's website here .
IMPORTANT: IF YOU ARE NOT IN SPAIN, YOU MIGHT HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE TVE WEBCAST.
This year's series of programmes to choose the Spanish representative in Moscow are held in Barcelona, at the Casino de la Aliança de Poblenou. Alaska and Miguel Serrano Olivares are the hosts of the shows.
Participants translation of song titles in brackets, if needed :
- Roel – Y ahora dices And now you say
- Virginia – True love
- Jorge González – Si yo vengo a enamorarte If I come to inspire love in you
- Calipop – Burbuja Bubble
- Electronikboy – Mon petit oiseau My little bird
- Diqesi – Subiré I will rise
- Soraya – La noche es para mí The night is for me
- Leather Boys – We're livin' in a bar
- Ángeles Vela – Vístete de primavera Dress like Spring
- Salva Ortega – Lujuria Lust
Your opinion
You can vote for your favourite act in the poll that esctoday.com is running here .
The show begins. Rosario Flores is one of the special guests of the night. She is now performing Gwendolyne, the entry sung by Julio Iglesias in 1970.
Alaska, the female host, introduces the jury to the viewers and remembers that tonight's outcome will be taken at a 50-50 split between jury vote and public televote.
1. Diqesi – Subiré (poll result: 1.3%; 7th)
The song starts with a typical Spanish guitar sound which could bring a Mediterranean flavour to this year's Spanish participation should this entry win. The track is somewhere between flamenco, pop, bossa nova and rhumba, a blend which makes this sound kinda nice to listen. The voices of the four beautiful girls stick to this style properly. The public cheer at the end of the performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG9LDI5LIzA
2. Roel – Y ahora dices (poll result: 3.1%; 4th)
Roel is joined in stage by Anabel Conde, Spanish entrant in 1995, who brought home a valuable 2nd place back then in Ireland. Roel's song is a pop song, with some latin inspiration. The sound piece is catchy, and speaks about a love story that came to an end. Anabel Conde's voice hasn't lost power since her Eurovision participation, which makes this duo really attractive. Very good impression overall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oauC7eS0lWI
3. Salva Ortega – Lujuria (poll result: 1.9%; 6th)
Salva says in his presentation video that Lujuria is an spicy tune. It indeed is, as its title clearly reveals. Both the singer and the song remind of Sarbel's Yassou Maria, the Greek entry in 2007. Anyway, the performance is quite appealing, with Salva's vocals quite accurate and the backing dancers, dressed like godesses, delivering an effective outcome. The song mixes latin influences with arabic elements. The result is impressive and could do well in Moscow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMKf2jzopdI
4. Soraya – La noche es para mí (poll result: 76.3%; 1st)
Next to appear on stage is Soraya, who clearly tops our poll, 70 points ahead of the 2nd placed act. Soraya appears dressed in a sexy blue gown accompanied by 5 male dancers. The beginning of the performance is explosive and the public cheers. Soraya's dominance of the stage is absolute and she shows her vocal power in every single note. It has been said that Soraya could be Spain's biggest chance of winning or at least reach a good placing this year in Moscow, and that could be true, according to this performance, which mixes a frenetic latin-arabic beat with some schlagerish elements as well. Soraya's professionalism is clear and the public rewards her performance with huge applause.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voMrYK9cbGo
5. Virginia – True love (poll result: 6.3%; 2nd)
Virginia has finished second in our poll with a powerful ballad, which suits perfectly her voice. The track, that mixes Spanish and english, could easily be one of Mariah Carey's or Whitney Houston's hits. Virginia, even though she is unknown to the Spanish public, has nothing to envy those great divas. Virginia's appearance is sweet and candid, wearing a silken white suit. The public warmly welcomes her performance with applause. Well done, Virginia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1BLBvdvEC8
6. Calipop – Burbuja (poll result: 3.1%; 5th)
Calipop, the group whose name comes from a popular ice cream in Spain, are the 'indie' entry tonight. The members of the group wear casual clothes. Their voices are not the strongest ones of tonight's show, but, sice this is independent music, it doesn't matter much. The performance is funny and simple. But it is unclear wether this type of music would do well or not in Eurovision. They are 4th in our poll, maybe this means something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw_aAMG5Rrc
7. Ángeles Vela – Vístete de primavera (poll result: 0%; 10th)
Let's see what this lady brings us. Our visitors haven't welcomed her warmly, as nearly nobody voted for her. Ángeles is wearing a very colourful outfit and has a strong voice. Vístete de primavera talks about the necessity of being oneself, don't let anyone influence you, don't let anyone frustrate your adventures. Quite an interesting and wise advice from the young Ángeles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZpq4DkQ0Ts
8. Jorge González – Si yo vengo a enamorarte (poll result: 5.6%, 3rd)
Jorge is already known to the public thanks to his participation in Operación Triunfo, just like Soraya. His song has a very powerful beginning and it is purely latin and Spanish. Jorge's looks clearly help creating a racial and effective outcome. Spain usually gets a good result in Eurovision when a modern latin song is chosen, just like in 2001 with David Civera. Jorge González's song seems to gather all the elements needed to bring Spain a good result.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XacTgJkeQPo
9. Electronikboy – Mon petit oiseau (poll result: 1.3%; 8th)
This is an entry entirely sung in French, which makes it unique in the Spanish Eurovision history. The song is, as the name of the band shows, electronic with some gothic inspiration, we could say. Our visitors have not voted much for this, as our poll result shows: a poor 1.3% and 9th place. Wise decision, dear readers, Electronikboy is not likely to qualify tonight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k67YErCtMo
10. Leather Boys – We're living in a bar (poll result: 1.3%, 9th)
We're living in a bar summarises one of the most popular Spanish pastimes. The entry is sung in English, and is clearly a rock song. Our readers haven't welcomed this song very warmly, but we could say that it makes a difference in tonight's semifinal. The members of the group are all dressing in black, and the leading singer resembles the front vocalist of Norway's Wig Wam. He jumps into the public to share his energy with the attendants. Nice thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W3mXbOF2n0
Lines are now open! You can start voting.
After the commercial break, Nena Daconte, the other guests, perform a cover of Poupée de cire, poupée de son.
Now Alaska chats with the jury about tonight's performances. Toni Garrido says that there have been pathetic things on stage tonight, but other really good. The opinion is shared by other jurors. There is consensus on the higher quality of this gala, wich have seen the technical problems of last week solved.
Lines are still open to vote. Meanwhile, Rosario Flores is again on stage to perform No dudaría, one of the greatest hits of her brother Antonio, tragically dead back in 1995 due to drug overdose.
Lines are now closed and the results will come out shortly.
And here comes the result of the jury:
- Electronikboy, 1 point
- Calipop, 2 points
- Leather Boys, 3 points
- Ángeles Vela, 4 points
- Diqesi, 5 points
- Roel, 6 points
- Salva Ortega, 7 points
- Jorge González, 8 points
- Virginia, 10 points
- Soraya, 12 points
Now, the outcome of the public televote:
- Electronikboy, 1 point
- Calipop, 2 points
- Roel, 3 points
- Diqesi, 4 points
- Ángeles Vela, 5 points
- Leather Boys, 6 points
- Salva Ortega, 7 points
- Jorge González, 8 points
- Virginia, 10 points
- Soraya, 12 points
Therefore, tonight's three automatic finalists are Soraya, Virginia and Jorge González. Salva Ortega will have to participate at the Secong Chance Round to get another ticket to the final. The show ends with Nena Daconte performing Tenía tanto que darte. Good night!
