Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Country | Spain | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | Salvemos Eurovisión | |||
Selection date(s) | 8 March 2008 | |||
Selected entrant | Rodolfo Chikilicuatre | |||
Selected song | "Baila el Chiki-chiki" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) | Rodolfo Chikilicuatre and Friends | |||
Finals performance | ||||
Final result | 16th, 55 points | |||
Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Spain participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Baila el Chiki-chiki" written by Rodolfo Chikilicuatre and Friends. The song was performed by Rodolfo Chikilicuatre. The Spanish broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE) organised the national final Salvemos Eurovisión in order to select the Spanish entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. Ten artists and songs competed in the televised show where a public televote selected "Baila el Chiki-chiki" performed by Rodolfo Chikilicuatre as the winner.
As a member of the "
Background
Prior to the 2008 contest, Spain had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-seven times since its first entry in
.The Spanish national broadcaster, Televisión Española (TVE), broadcasts the event within Spain and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. TVE confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest on 14 August 2007.[2] In 2006, TVE selected both the artist and song that would compete at the Eurovision Song Contest via an internal selection. In 2007, TVE organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to select both the artist and song that would represent Spain, a procedure which was continued for their 2008 entry.[3]
Before Eurovision
Salvemos Eurovisión
Salvemos Eurovisión was the national final organised by TVE that took place on 8 March 2008 at the Estudios Buñuel in
Competing entries
A submission period was open from 22 January 2008 until 13 February 2008 for artists to upload their entries through the Salvemos Eurovisión
Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Votes | Place | Selection |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arkaitz | "Un olé" | Alejandro de Pinedo, Gema Castaño | 63,460 | 3 | Internet vote |
Bizarre | "Si pudiera" | Bizarre | 54,842 | 5 | |
Coral | "Todo está en tu mente" | Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson, Thomas G:son, Andreas Rickstrand | 58,339 | 4 | |
D-Vine | "I Do You" | Sergio Bermejo | 1,434 | 153 | Committee |
Ell*as | "100 x 100" | Jesús María Pérez, Amaya Martínez | 1,533 | 142 | |
Innata | "Me encanta bailar" | Joakim Hillson, Steffan Rundquist, Xavier Carreras | 2,827 | 97 | |
La Casa Azul | "La revolución sexual" | Guille Milkyway | 67,706 | 2 | Internet vote |
Lorena C | "Piensa gay" | Carlos García Bayona, Juan de Dios Martín, Lorena Castell, Luis Troquel | 2,423 | 106 | Committee |
Marzok Mangui | "Caramelo" | Marzok Mohamed | 87 | 416 | |
Committee | |||||
Rodolfo Chikilicuatre | "Baila el Chiki-chiki" | Rodolfo Chikilicuatre and Friends | 109,995 | 1 | Internet vote |
Final
The televised final took place on 8 March 2008. The running order for the ten participating entries was announced on 4 March 2008.[14] The winner, "Baila el Chiki-chiki" performed by Rodolfo Chikilicuatre, was selected exclusively by a public televote through the combination of votes cast before the show starting from 4 March (20%) and votes cast during the show (80%).[15] "Baila el Chiki-chiki" received 56% of the total votes.[16]
The five members of the expert panel that commented on the entries were:
- José Luis Uribarri – television presenter and director, commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest for Spain
- Bibiana Fernández – actress
- Mauro Canut – musician, editor and deputy director at the digital branch of TVE
- Boris Izaguirre – television personality
- Rosa López – singer, represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002
In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included La Pajarraca, Muchachada Nui and the show host Raffaella Carrà.[17]
Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Before Show |
During Show |
Total | ||||
1 | Bizarre | "Si pudiera" | 6 | 16 | 22 | 7 |
2 | Innata | "Me encanta bailar" | 3 | 12 | 15 | 8 |
3 | Arkaitz | "Un olé" | 4 | 28 | 32 | 4 |
4 | Ell*as | "100 x 100" | 5 | 4 | 9 | 9 |
5 | Lorena C | "Piensa gay" | 2 | 20 | 22 | 6 |
6 | D-Vine | "I Do You" | 1 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
7 | Rodolfo Chikilicuatre | "Baila el Chiki-chiki" | 12 | 48 | 60 | 1 |
8 | Marzok Mangui | "Caramelo" | 7 | 24 | 31 | 5 |
9 | La Casa Azul | "La revolución sexual" | 10 | 32 | 42 | 3 |
10 | Coral | "Todo está en tu mente" | 8 | 40 | 48 | 2 |
Controversy
TVE highlighted that the involvement of a MySpace platform in Salvemos Eurovisión was to make the selection process "more democratic" with the idea of discovering new talents. However, the Internet voting process, which the general public could vote for any of the artists interested in participating, was accused of being easily distorted with the participation of comedic acts including the eventual winner Rodolfo Chikilicuatre, a comedian who collaborates on the
During the Internet vote, "La bicicletera" performed by comedic act El Gato received over 70,000 votes in two days, however most of them were removed after allegedly discovering that they were fraudulent. Users of Internet forums claimed they decided to rise El Gato to the first places of the vote after Buenafuente refused to recognize the fraudulent support for Chikilicuatre.[18][19]
Preparation
Following Salvemos Eurovisión, the lyrics of "Baila el Chiki-chiki" were changed for the Eurovision Song Contest in accordance to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) rules, due to its political content regarding the referencing of political figures Mariano Rajoy, Hugo Chávez and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.[20] The official video of the song premiered on 14 March 2008 on RTVE's website. The music video served as the official preview video for the Spanish entry.[21]
Promotion
Rodolfo Chikilicuatre's pre-contest promotion for "Baila el Chiki-chiki" was focused in Spain, including appearances on the
At Eurovision
It was announced in September 2007 that the competition's format would be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
In Spain, the first semi-final was broadcast on
Final
Rodolfo Chikilicuatre took part in technical rehearsals on 17 and 18 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 23 and 24 May. During the running order draw for the semi-final and final on 17 March 2008, Spain was placed to perform in position 22, following the entry from Greece and before the entry from Serbia.[29]
The Spanish performance featured Rodolfo Chikilicuatre on stage wearing a purple shirt and jeans, joined by five dancers wearing short dresses in various colours. The performance began with Chikilicuatre playing the nursery rhyme "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" on a toy guitar.[30] The stage lighting and LED screens displayed bright colours and the names of the four distinct dances mentioned in the song: "brikindans", "crusaíto", "maiquelyason" and "robocop".[31][32] The performance also featured the use of smoke and pyrotechnic effects.[33] The choreographer for the performance was Mayte Marcos.[34] The five dancers that joined Rodolfo Chikilicuatre were Disco, Gráfica (Silvia Abril), Leticia Martín, María Ángeles Mas and Cecilia López. Martín, Mas and López were selected by Marcos through the special casting show Dansin Chiki Chiki.[35] During the performance, Gráfica purposely slipped and danced clumsily without knowing the basic dance steps.[36] Spain placed sixteenth in the final, scoring 55 points.[37]
Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Spain and awarded by Spain in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Andorra in the semi-final and to Romania in the final of the contest.
Points awarded to Spain
Score | Country |
---|---|
12 points | Andorra |
10 points | Portugal |
8 points | Greece |
7 points | |
6 points | |
5 points | France |
4 points | |
3 points | Turkey |
2 points | |
1 point |
Points awarded by Spain
|
|
References
- ^ "History by Country – Spain". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- ^ West-Soley, Richard (14 August 2007). "Spain sticks with ESC "despite televoting"". Esctoday. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ a b Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 | News - Exclusive: Spain Decides: Through MySpace!!!
- ^ Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 | News - Spain to postpone national final
- ^ Raffaella Carrá vuelve a TVE por el Festival de Eurovisión Archived 2008-03-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hondal, Victor (8 March 2008). "Live: Spain decides for Belgrade". Esctoday. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ "TVE recurre a MySpace para buscar su candidato para Eurovisión". Reuters (in Spanish). 23 January 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Balín, Mateo (11 March 2008). "Rofolfo Chikilicuatre: "El 'chiki-chiki' es un homenaje a mi generación"". La Verdad (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ MySpace.com - www.myspace.com/eurovision2008
- ^ Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 | News - Spain: TVE puts the cat out in final vote count
- ^ Floras, Stella (28 February 2008). "Spain: Five more finalists chosen by TVE". Esctoday.
- ^ Rtve – Sala De Prensa
- ^ Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 | News - Exclusive: Null System disqualified in Spain
- ^ Hondal, Victor (5 March 2008). "Spain: phone lines and SMS numbers open". Esctoday. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Rodolfo Chikilicuatre's act: "Baila el Chiki Chiki"
- ^ "Chikilicuatre: 'Es lo más normal del mundo que me abuchearan en la gala'". elmundo.es (in Spanish). 10 March 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ Hondal, Victor (8 March 2008). "Live: Spain decides for Belgrade". Esctoday.
- ^ Eurovisión 2008 Archived 2008-02-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rodolfo Chikilicuatre gana la preselección de Eurovisión Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "El 'Chiki chiki' ya tiene letra definitiva" en CadenaSER.com
- ^ Hondal, Victor (14 March 2008). "Spain: UPD Baila el chiki chiki Eurovision video online". Esctoday. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (24 March 2008). "Spain: Chiki Chiki promo tour begins…". Esctoday. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ "Chikilicuatre anima la jornada de carreras en Jerez". MotoGP (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (1 April 2008). "Spain: Chikimania set to invade the world!". Esctoday. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ "Hablaré del asunto de los votos de Eurovisión a la vuelta de Belgrado o en mis memorias" Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ eurovision-spain.com | Duras críticas a Uribarri y al programa “Dansin Chiki Chiki”
- ^ Uribarri vuelve a ser la voz de Eurovisión cuatro años después Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hondal, Victor (18 May 2009). "Spain: Viewing figures drop by 4 million". Esctoday. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Sietse Bakker (2008-03-17). "Belgrade 2008: The running order!". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ "Primer ensayo de Rodolfo en Belgrado [vídeo y reacciones]". eurovision-spain.com. 17 May 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ "Last to rehearse: Spain & Serbia". eurovision.tv. 18 May 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ "The first general rehearsal of the Final [UPD]". eurovision.tv. 23 May 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Floras, Stella (17 May 2008). "Day 7: UK, Germany, France, Spain, Serbia". Esctoday. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ "Spain 2008".
- ^ Leticia, María Ángeles y Cecilia, las tres bailarinas que acompañarán a Rodolfo Chikilicuatre - elConfidencial.com
- ^ "¿Recuerdas a Silvia Abril bailando con Chikilicuatre en Eurovisión 2008?". rtve.es (in Spanish). 24 May 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ "Grand Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ "Results of the First Semi-Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
External links
- [1] Official Spanish site (TVE)
- myspace.com/eurovision2008 Official Spanish site (Myspace)
- Rodolfo Chikilicuatre's website (in Spanish)