Esther Mucientes Madrid
Madrid
Updated Friday, February 2, 2024-08:22
Television This was the second semi-final of the Benidorm Fest
MomenTVs Flood of criticism of Benidorm Fest and rightly so
The first
Benidorm Fest
brought Spain to touch the Eurovision
crystal microphone with its fingertips
. The choice of
Chanel
and her
SloMo
restored the enthusiasm for
Eurovision
and made us dream about what we had not done for a long time. However, no one forgets what happened in that first edition of the
Benidorm Fest
due to the votes of the jury and the public. Voting that opened a war that lasted too many days and that dressed
RTVE
and the
Benidorm Fest
in the mantle of controversy.
In that edition it was thanks to the jury that
Chanel
represented us at
Eurovision
, ignoring the preferences of the public who voted overwhelmingly for
Tanxugueiras
. There was such a mess that
RTVE
was forced to show what the jury's votes had been; There was such a mess that he had to go to the prompter to give explanations; There was such a mess that, as
Chanel
herself has said on countless occasions, she had to get away from all that noise because it was impossible for her to move forward.
Eurovision
Television.
Hot sweat, curious visual effects, out of tune and the public's anger over the jury's votes: this was the second semi-final of the Benidorm Fest
Editor: ANDREA M. ROSA DEL PINO
Hot sweat, curious visual effects, out of tune and the public's anger over the jury's votes: this was the second semi-final of the Benidorm Fest
Flood of criticism of Benidorm Fest and rightly so
Editorial: ESTHER MUCIENTES Madrid
Flood of criticism of Benidorm Fest and rightly so
At that
Benidorm Fest,
the Galicians took over 70% of the televote, while
Chanel
only got 3%. It was the vote of the jury, which was clear that
Chanel
was the one who had to represent Spain in
Eurovision
, that took
Chanel
to Turin by giving 51 points and only 30 to
Tanxugueiras
. Everything smells like this Saturday in the
grand final
of
Benidorm Fest 2024
there will be a drama like the one back then.
After what happened in the second semi-final last night of the
Benidorm Fest
, it seems that this Saturday's grand final has every chance of ending like that time or worse. The public and the jury are completely divided. It was already seen in part in the first semi-final when the jury bet everything on
Nebulossa
and her
Zorra
de ella and
Angy
and her
Sé qué soy
, while the televote went to
Mantra
, which did not even qualify. However, in the first semi-final the public vote was difficult to understand and we almost have to thank the jury for voting what they did.
However, in this
second semi-final
things have gotten very sketchy. The
Benidorm Fest
jury , formed by
Beatriz Luengo
,
Guille Milkyway
,
Ángela Carrasco
,
Carlos Baute
,
Lee Smithurst
,
David Tserunyan
,
Marta Piekarska
and
Nicoline Refsing
, made it very clear last night that they do not want
Jorge González
and his
Caliente
, while the Demoscopic voting and televoting love him and love him very much.
The Benidorm Fest jury, against the ropes
In fact, last night there were moments of great tension when
Beatriz Luengo
, president of the jury, announced the points that the jury had given to
Jorge González
: 42 votes and straight to sixth position, leaving him out of the grand final despite having been one of the most applauded performances of the night. The boos and whistles at the jury even made
Beatriz Luengo
, and later,
Ruth Lorenzo,
have to stop the voting process for a moment due to the protests of the public present in the second semifinal.
If already in the first semi-final of the
Benidorm Fest
,
Ruth Lorenzo
had to ask for respect for the jury and for the difficult task that they had to interpret, last night the decision to relegate
Jorge González
to sixth position and leave him for a few moments out of the grand finale led the president of the jury to address a few words urging the public to understand the complicated work they have and praising the passion they show for the
Benidorm Fest
, while
Ruth Lorenzo
and
Marc Calderó
asked for calm and patience, since everything could change . And boy did it change!
While the jury left out
Jorge González
, the demoscopic vote and televoting took him to third position in the second semi-final of the
Benidorm Fest
, only behind
St. Pedro
, who came first, and
María Peláe
who came second. The sum of the demoscopic vote and the televote gave
Jorge González
80 points. The public wanted
Jorge González
in the grand final and, surely, they also want him for
Eurovision
. The jury doesn't like him and what happened last night predicts that this Saturday's final is going to be hot, hot.
What has happened to cause this difference in criteria between the jury and the public? Until the
Benidorm Fest
is over , probably no one will answer this question, if anyone answers it, but after seeing
Jorge González
's performance it is clear that the jury does not want a new
chanelazo
for
Eurovision
. Because yes, because
Jorge González
's
Caliente
is a
total
chanelazo
disguised as a homoeroticism that is perfect for Eurovision. And anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Why did
Chanel
's
SloMo
succeed ? Because we gave Europe what Europe wants in
Eurovision
. Why is
Jorge González
's
Caliente,
with good and bad, one of the best bets to bring to Malmö? Because he has what makes a stage pop.
Jorge González
's bet
is one of those bets that if he wins on Saturday in the grand final of the
Benidorm Fest
it will provoke millions of comments because even having everything that seems to be liked in
Eurovision
it is more of the same. He said last night in the presentation video for
Caliente
that he wanted to bring gypsy art to
Eurovision
and that he wanted to do something different. It is true that his
Caliente
would be more common to see in a singer than in a male singer, but in his search for what is different he has come up with something the same. It's good? Well, it wouldn't make the
Rolling Stone
list , but for
Eurovision
it's perfect.
You may like it more or less, it may seem like a male copy of the
chanelazo
, it may seem to you that the song has no message, it has no substance, it is movements, screams, sensuality and spectacle, but... But, what is it? What works in
Eurovision
? What is the objective of
Benidorm Fest
beyond serving as a springboard or finding new musical stars? The job of
Benidorm Fest
is to find the perfect candidate to represent Spain in
Eurovision
. And, very sorry for the expert jury,
Jorge González
has that.
The crossroads of RTVE
Having fixed all the flaws in the first semi-final in terms of sound, production and chemistry between the presenters,
RTVE
and the
Benidorm Fest
surely believed that the second semi-final was going to be calmer. They were wrong. Probably, many in the organization would prefer another technical disaster to what seems going to occur in the grand final as the jury and the public continue with this difference in criteria. And it seems that is what is going to happen because it seems to me that the jury is going to do everything possible so that
Jorge González
is not the Spanish representative in
Eurovision
, while the public is clear that they love him. Is there controversy coming? It's coming, of course it's coming.
It was an open secret that things were going to get hotter in the second semifinal than in the first. Having
St. Pedro
and his bolero,
María Peláe
,
Almácor
and
Jorge González
made it almost inevitable that the jury's intentions would not be seen. And that, everything must be said, the second semi-final has made one thing very clear: without autotune there are bets that better not even be considered. We cannot go to
Eurovision
, even if there are months of preparation, with performances in which the lack of tuning is heard more than the good. We can't, I'm sorry, but no. And this is an error that should have been corrected when the more than 800 songs arrived on RTVE.
Eurovision
does not have the possibility of autotune and the
Benidorm Fest
chose artists who without autotune are a disaster. And that, I'm sorry, but it is known.
For this reason, last night's performances were as important as those of
María Peláe
and her
Sender
, or
St. Pedro
and his
Two Strangers (String Quartet)
. It is clear that it would be a mistake to bring flamenco to
Eurovision
again after what happened with
Blanca Paloma
. And not because
María Peláe
's bet
is not a marvel, which it is, but because what happened in the last edition of
Eurovision
has to help us realize once and for all that flamenco does not work in Eurovision, mainly, because it is not understood. A bolero? A bolero like the
St. Pedro
, if we arrange the dancers and make them match the song, is a very risky bet, but it could work. It's a good, very good bet. Didn't Salvador Sobral work? Now, we have to take risks and I don't know if we are up to it.
The mess they have ahead of them between now and Saturday, the same Saturday and, surely, also after the
Benidorm Fest
and
RTVE
is no nonsense. We are one step away from the same thing happening as with
Chanel
, with one caveat: the
chanelazo
worked and silenced mouths, but what if the bet and the jury's favorites leave out what the public wants - that is,
Jorge González
- and we get to
Eurovision
and it's a disaster.
Not only Eurovision
is at stake ,
Benidorm Fest
itself is at stake
. I highly doubt that the jury will listen to the public's preferences. It would be strange if on Saturday in the grand final of the
Benidorm Fest
, the jury's vote changed and was positioned in favor of
Jorge González
. If he does it, they are going to rain blows on him for allowing himself to be dragged by the public and if he doesn't do it, the public is going to eat them. What there is no doubt about is that I would not like to be in the shoes of the jury and RTVE. They have it bad, very bad.