Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

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Eurovision Song Contest 2021
Country Spain
National selection
Selection processArtist: Internal selection
Song: Destino Eurovisión 2021
Selection date(s)Artist: 18 March 2020
Song: 20 February 2021
Selected entrantBlas Cantó
Selected song"Voy a quedarme"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result24th, 6 points
Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2020 2021 2022►

Spain participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Voy a quedarme" written by Blas Cantó, Leroy Sanchez, Daniel Ortega "Dangelo" and Dan Hammond. The song was performed by Blas Cantó, who was internally selected by the Spanish broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE) to represent Spain at the 2021 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands after he was due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Universo" before the event's cancellation. Blas Cantó was announced as the Spanish representative on 18 March 2020, while the national final Destino Eurovisión 2021 was organised in order to select the song Cantó would perform. Two songs competed in the televised show where a public vote exclusively selected "Voy a quedarme" as the winning song, receiving 58% of the votes.

As a member of the "

Big Five
", Spain automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 13, Spain placed twenty-fourth out of the 26 participating countries with 6 points.

Background

Prior to the 2021 contest, Spain had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-nine times since its first entry in

1995. In 2019, Spain placed twenty-second with the song "La venda" performed by Miki
.

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 2021 Eurovision Song Contest on 18 March 2020.[2] In 2020, TVE selected both the artist and song that would compete at the Eurovision Song Contest via an internal selection. For their 2021 entry, the broadcaster opted to internally select the artist that would compete at the Eurovision Song Contest, while the song would be selected via a national final.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 18 March 2020, TVE confirmed that Blas Cantó would remain as the Spanish representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. In regards to his re-selection as the Spanish entrant, Cantó stated: "There is a commitment on my part to continue working on our candidacy in 2021 and I am very happy to have the opportunity to do so next year."[2][3] On 29 December 2020, the broadcaster revealed that a national final would select the song Blas Cantó would sing.[4]

Destino Eurovisión 2021

Destino Eurovisión 2021 was the national final organised by TVE that took place on 20 February 2021 at

La 1, TVE Internacional as well as online via TVE's official website rtve.es, where both competing songs were performed by Blas Cantó. The winning song, "Voy a quedarme", was selected exclusively by a public vote via telephone, SMS and TVE's official Eurovision app and website, held between 10 and 20 February 2021.[8] The national final was watched by 969,000 viewers in Spain with a market share of 6.1%.[9]

In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included

Vanesa Martín, Nia, Andrés Suárez, Cepeda, Roi, Alba, Lydia Fairen and Lucía Estrella, former national final participant Mirela, and former Eurovision contestants Pastora Soler and Edurne which represented Spain in 2012 and 2015, respectively.[10][11]

Destino Eurovisión 2021 – 20 February 2021
Draw Song Songwriter(s) Televote Place
1 "Voy a quedarme" Blas Cantó, Leroy Sanchez, Daniel Ortega "Dángelo", Dan Hammond 1,781,550 1
2 "Memoria" Blas Cantó, Leroy Sanchez, Steve Daly, Oliver Som 1,290,526 2

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "

Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big 5", Spain automatically qualified to compete in the final on 22 May 2021.[12]
In addition to their participation in the final, Spain is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. For the 2021 contest, the semi-final allocation draw held for 2020 which was held on 28 January 2020, was used. Spain was assigned to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final on 20 May 2021.

In Spain, the semi-finals were broadcast on

La 1 with commentary by Tony Aguilar, Julia Varela and Víctor Escudero.[13] The final was also broadcast via radio on Radio Nacional, Radio Exterior and Radio 5 with commentary by Imanol Durán.[14][15] The Spanish spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Spanish jury during the final, was Nieves Álvarez
.

Final

Blas Cantó took part in technical rehearsals on 13 and 15 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 19, 21 and 22 May. This included the semi-final jury show on 19 May where an extended clip of the Spanish performance was filmed for broadcast during the live show on 20 May and the jury final on 21 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. After technical rehearsals were held on 15 May, the "Big 5" countries and host country Netherlands held a press conference. As part of this press conference, the artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. Spain was drawn to compete in the first half.[16] Following the conclusion of the second semi-final, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final. The running order for the semi-finals and final was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Spain was subsequently placed to perform in position 13, following the entry from Iceland and before the entry from Moldova.

The Spanish performance featured Blas Cantó on stage wearing a black shirt and trousers designed by Jaime Álvarez.[17] The stage lighting and LED screens displayed blue colours and a starry background with an eclipse appearing with a light source behind a moon. During the performance, a six-metre wide moon prop, which represented the cycle of life as explained by the head of the Spanish delegation Ana Bordas, descended from the stage ceiling above Cantó, with the LED screens transitioning to shooting stars that came behind the moon.[17][18] The performance was concluded with the moon in red-lit colours and the stage displaying orange, gold and pink lighting with a gold starry galaxy on the LED screens.[19][20] The stage director for the performance was Marvin Dietmann.[21] An additional five off-stage backing vocalists were also part of the performance: Alba Gil, Héctor Artiles, Daira Monzón, Irene Alman and the co-composer of "Voy a quedarme" Dángelo Ortega.[22] Spain placed twenty-fourth in the final, scoring 6 points: 0 points from the televoting and 6 points from the juries.

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with a diversity in gender and age represented. The judges assess each entry based on the performances during the second Dress Rehearsal of each show, which takes place the night before each live show, against a set of criteria including: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.[23] Jury members may only take part in panel once every three years, and are obliged to confirm that they are not connected to any of the participating acts in a way that would impact their ability to vote impartially. Jury members should also vote independently, with no discussion of their vote permitted with other jury members. The exact composition of the professional jury, and the results of each country's jury and televoting were released after the grand final; the individual results from each jury member were also released in an anonymised form.[24][25]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Spain and awarded by Spain in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to Spain

Points awarded to Spain (Final)[26]
Score Televote Jury
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points  Bulgaria
3 points
2 points  United Kingdom
1 point

Points awarded by Spain

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Spanish jury:[24][25]

Detailed voting results from Spain (Semi-final 2)[27]
Draw Country Jury Televote
Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Rank Points Rank Points
01  San Marino 6 5 7 12 10 8 3 7 4
02  Estonia 9 10 14 10 9 10 1 14
03  Czech Republic 8 13 10 17 11 12 15
04  Greece 5 7 4 3 5 4 7 10 1
05  Austria 3 6 6 5 8 5 6 12
06  Poland 13 14 16 16 16 16 16
07  Moldova 11 12 15 9 12 13 8 3
08  Iceland 4 3 3 6 2 3 8 3 8
09  Serbia 7 9 5 11 4 7 4 9 2
10  Georgia 15 16 17 15 17 17 17
11  Albania 12 8 13 8 6 9 2 11
12  Portugal 2 2 2 4 3 2 10 1 12
13  Bulgaria 10 4 9 2 7 6 5 2 10
14  Finland 14 17 8 7 13 11 5 6
15  Latvia 16 11 11 14 14 14 13
16   Switzerland 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 4 7
17  Denmark 17 15 12 13 15 15 6 5
Detailed voting results from Spain (Final)[26]
Draw Country Jury Televote
Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Rank Points Rank Points
01  Cyprus 7 6 10 2 6 5 6 13
02  Albania 16 17 13 19 12 17 25
03  Israel 3 9 9 6 10 8 3 20
04  Belgium 18 18 15 12 22 19 22
05  Russia 19 14 24 22 23 22 14
06  Malta 5 3 2 8 4 3 8 8 3
07  Portugal 4 7 8 5 5 6 5 10 1
08  Serbia 14 20 17 24 9 15 18
09  United Kingdom 10 13 19 16 25 16 23
10  Greece 8 19 6 9 8 10 1 21
11   Switzerland 2 2 3 1 2 2 10 4 7
12  Iceland 6 5 4 11 3 4 7 6 5
13  Spain
14  Moldova 20 21 16 21 17 21 19
15  Germany 15 24 14 18 18 20 15
16  Finland 21 22 20 17 19 23 9 2
17  Bulgaria 13 8 5 4 7 7 4 3 8
18  Lithuania 11 4 12 7 14 9 2 7 4
19  Ukraine 22 23 23 25 21 25 5 6
20  France 1 1 1 3 1 1 12 1 12
21  Azerbaijan 12 11 18 15 24 14 17
22  Norway 23 25 25 23 15 24 11
23  Netherlands 24 10 7 13 16 11 24
24  Italy 17 12 21 14 11 13 2 10
25  Sweden 25 16 11 10 13 12 12
26  San Marino 9 15 22 20 20 18 16

References

  1. ^ "Spain Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (18 March 2020). "Spain: RTVE confirms Blas Cantó as Eurovision 2021 Spanish act". ESCToday.
  3. ^ Muldoon, Padraig (29 March 2020). "Eurovision 2021: All confirmed acts (29 March)". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  4. ^ García Hernández, José (29 December 2020). "TVE hará una preselección para elegir la canción de Blas Cantó para Róterdam 2021". Eurovision-Spain (in European Spanish).
  5. ^ "Así es el escenario de 'Destino Eurovisión' en el que Blas Cantó interpretará "Memoria" y "Voy a quedarme"". rtve.es (in Spanish). 17 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Blas Cantó: "No me decanto por ninguna de las dos canciones. Cualquiera de ellas hará un gran papel en Eurovisión"". rtve.es (in Spanish). 3 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Blas Cantó estrena "Memoria" y "Voy a quedarme", sus canciones para Eurovisión 2021". rtve.es (in Spanish). 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Spain chooses 'Voy a quedarme' for Blas Cantó". eurovision.tv. 21 February 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  9. ^ Rabazo, Jorge (21 February 2021). "Audiencias: 'Destino Eurovisión' anota el peor dato de una preselección en más de una década". El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Pastora Soler, Vanesa Martín, Edurne, Nia, Andrés Suárez, Cepeda y Roi cantarán con Blas Cantó en "Destino Eurovisión"". rtve.es (in Spanish). 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Blas Cantó se reencuentra con los concursantes de EuroJunior 2004". rtve.es (in Spanish). 21 February 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Rules - Eurovision Song Contest". EBU. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  13. ^ RTVE (29 April 2021). "Tony Aguilar y Julia Varela comentarán Eurovisión 2021". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  14. ^ Carros, David (6 May 2021). "Radio Nacional de España retransmitirá en directo Eurovisión 2021". ESCplus España (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  15. ^ Granger, Anthony (7 May 2021). "Spain: Radio Nacional de España Broadcasting Eurovision 2021 Grand Final". Eurovoix. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  16. ^ "REPLAY: Day 8 Rehearsals". eurovision.tv. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  17. ^ a b "La luna de Blas Cantó ya es el elemento escénico más grande de la historia de Eurovisión". El Español (in Spanish). 15 May 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  18. ^ "🌚 Blas is answering questions about his moon 🌝". eurovision.tv. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  19. ^ Cobb, Ryan (13 May 2021). "LIVE DAY 6 REVIEW: Spain's Blas Cantó unveils new version of song and a gigantic moon". escXtra. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  20. ^ Luukela, Sami (15 May 2021). "LIVE DAY 8 REVIEW: Spain's Blas Cantó gives an emotional second rehearsal". escXtra. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Marvin Dietmann dirigirá la puesta en escena de Blas Cantó en Eurovisión 2021". rtve.es (in European Spanish). RTVE. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Blas Cantó comienza los ensayos de "Memoria" y "Voy a quedarme" con Marvin Dietmann". rtve.es (in Spanish). RTVE. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Voting–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Juries in the Second Semi-Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Juries in the Grand Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  26. ^ a b c "Results of the Grand Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  27. ^ a b "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.