The Association of Andorran Musicians (ASMA) have complained about the ATV plans for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. ASMA vice president, Oriol Vilella, has stated that abandoning the national selection process in favour of an internal selection effectively blocks the public participation of Andorran artists. Regarding the possible participation of Gisela, Oriol explained that her non-Andorran origin is not their issue.
"If Gisela applies for the selection process and she wins, carry on", Oriol Vilella said. This is to show that the Spanish and Catalan origin of Gisela is not an issue for the Association of Andorran Musicians (ASMA).
The privatisation of the Andorran selection is the ASMA's main issue with the Andorran broadcaster. Reports yesterday were that ATV would lay the Eurovision Song Contest plansinto the hands of a private company from Catalonia. This company proposed its own candidate: the Barcelona-born singer Gisela.
Vilella also complained about reports yesterday that the Andorran broadcaster may have already taken their decision for the 2008EurovisionSong Contest some days ago. Vilella added that if this news is finally confirmed, "it would be a disappointment for many singers and groups from Andorra, who are enthusiastically applying for castings and trying to represent Andorra". In Vilella's opinion, an open selection process for Andorra would guarantee equal opportunities for all the candidates.
Two former Andorran representatives, Marian Van De Wal (2005) and Jenny (2006) have also had their say about Andorra's plans for 2008. Van De Wal thinks that ATV's project is due to economic issues, and she believes "this option will decrease the interest of all Andorran people".
But Jenny responded that "selecting a singer from outside Andorra is appropiate", and ATV plans are "an attempt to do another thing (…) It will not reduce the people's interest because we don't have an Idol here to keep the enthusiasm".
