Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012

Spain was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Quédate conmigo", written by Thomas G:son, Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson, and Erik Bernholm, and performed by Pastora Soler. The Spanish participating broadcaster, Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE), selected its entry through a national final, after having previously selected the performer internally. RTVE announced Soler as its representative in December 2011, while the national final Eurovisión: Pastora Soler was organised in order to select the song Soler would perform. Three songs, one selected through an Internet public vote, competed in the televised show where an in-studio jury and a public televote selected "Quédate conmigo" as the winning song.

Eurovision Song Contest 2012
Participating broadcasterRadiotelevisión Española (RTVE)
Country Spain
National selection
Selection processArtist: Internal selection
Song: Eurovisión: Pastora Soler
Selection date(s)Artist: 21 December 2011
Song: 3 March 2012
Selected artist(s)Pastora Soler
Selected song"Quédate conmigo"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result10th, 97 points
Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2011 2012 2013►

As a member of the "Big Five", Spain automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 19, Spain placed tenth out of the 26 participating countries with 97 points.

Background

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Prior to the 2012 contest, Televisión Española (TVE) until 2006, and Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) since 2007, had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Spain fifty-one times since TVE's first entry in 1961.[1] They have won the contest on two occasions: in 1968 with the song "La, la, la" performed by Massiel and in 1969 with the song "Vivo cantando" performed by Salomé, the latter having won in a four-way tie with France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. They have also finished second four times, with "En un mundo nuevo" by Karina in 1971, "Eres tú" by Mocedades in 1973, "Su canción" by Betty Missiego in 1979, and "Vuelve conmigo" by Anabel Conde in 1995. In 2011, RTVE placed twenty-third with the song "Que me quiten lo bailao" performed by Lucía Pérez.[2]

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, RTVE organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. RTVE confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2012 contest on 21 December 2012.[3][4] Between 2007 and 2011, RTVE organised a national final to select both the artist and song. For its 2012 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.[5]

Before Eurovision

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Artist selection

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On 21 December 2011, RTVE announced during the morning show La mañana on La 1 that it had internally selected singer Pastora Soler to represent Spain in Baku. Other artists previously rumoured in the Spanish press to have been selected included Falete and Chenoa.[6][7] During the show, it was revealed that her song would be selected through a national final titled Eurovisión: Pastora Soler.[5][8]

Eurovisión: Pastora Soler

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More than 200 songs were submitted by Pastora Soler's record label Warner Music Spain and composers who usually work with her, from which four were selected for Eurovisión: Pastora Soler while also taking into consideration songs from her latest album Una mujer como yo.[9][10] Two of the songs directly qualified to compete in Eurovisión: Pastora Soler, while the remaining two songs were selected for an Internet vote and revealed on 15 February 2012 via RTVE's official website rtve.es. Users had until 20 February 2012 to vote for their favourite song and the winning song that qualified for Eurovisión: Pastora Soler was announced on the same day.[11][12]

Internet vote – 15–20 February 2012
Song Songwriter(s) Votes Place
"Ahora o nunca" José Abraham 2,265 1
"Me despido de ti" Marco Deltoni, Xerónimo Manzur, Javier Rodríguez 1,750 2

Final

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Eurovisión: Pastora Soler took place on 3 March 2012 at Prado del Rey in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), hosted by Anne Igartiburu and broadcast on La 1, TVE Internacional, and online via RTVE's official website.[13][14][15] All three competing songs were performed by Pastora Soler and the winning song, "Quédate conmigo", was selected through the combination of votes of an in-studio jury (50%) and a public televote held between 22 February and 3 March 2012 (50%).[16] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included former Eurovision contestant Sergio Dalma which represented Spain in 1991, and singers David Bustamante and Malú.[17][18]

The three members of the in-studio jury that evaluated the songs were:[19]

  • Óscar Gómez – Music producer and songwriter
  • Sole Giménez – Singer
  • Franco de Vita – Singer-songwriter
Eurovisión: Pastora Soler – 3 March 2012
Draw Song Songwriter(s) Jury Televote Total Place
Percentage Points
1 "Tu vida es tu vida" Max Miona, Eleonora Giudizi, Juan María Montes 26 28% 30 56 2
2 "Quédate conmigo" Thomas G:son, Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson, Erik Bernholm 36 56% 36 72 1
3 "Ahora o nunca" José Abraham 28 16% 24 52 3
Detailed Jury Votes
Draw Song
Ó. Gómez
S. Giménez
F. de Vita
Total
1 "Tu vida es tu vida" 10 8 8 26
2 "Quédate conmigo" 12 12 12 36
3 "Ahora o nunca" 8 10 10 28

Promotion

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To specifically promote "Quédate conmigo" as the Spanish Eurovision entry. On 21 April, Pastora Soler performed "Quédate conmigo" during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Ruth Jacott and Cornald Maas.[20] In addition to her international appearances, she performed the song at an event which took place at the Auditorio riberas del Guadaira in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Seville), in order to present the songs from Una mujer como yo on the same day.[21]

At Eurovision

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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 Five", Spain automatically qualified to compete in the final on 26 May 2012. In addition to their participation in the final, Spain is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 25 January 2012, Spain was assigned to broadcast and vote in the first semi-final on 22 May 2012.[22]

In Spain, the first semi-final was broadcast on La 2 and the final was broadcast on La 1 with commentary by José María Íñigo.[23] This was the first time since 2008 that both semi-finals were not broadcast in Spain.[21] RTVE appointed Elena S. Sánchez as its spokesperson to announce during the final the Spanish votes. The broadcast of the final was watched by 6.542 million viewers in Spain with a market share of 43.5%. This represented an increase of 11.2% from the previous year with 1.818 million more viewers.[24]

Final

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Pastora Soler took part in technical rehearsal 19 and 20 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 25 and 26 May. This included the jury final on 25 May where the professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries. The running order for the semi-finals and final was decided by through another draw on 20 March 2012, and as one of the five wildcard countries, Spain chose to perform in position 19, following the entry from Turkey and before the entry from Germany.[25]

The Spanish performance featured Pastora Soler on stage wearing a white Hellenic-style chiffon dress designed by Spanish designer Cañavate, joined by five backing vocalists in black outfits.[26] The stage lighting, predominantly dark at the beginning, transitioned to bright colours with clear lights, with the LED screens displaying light pink shapes alternating with a dark blue setting, which changed to a scene that resembled fireworks towards the end of the performance. The performance also featured the use of a wind machine.[27][28] The five backing vocalists that joined Pastora Soler were Antonio Tomás Sepúlveda, Mey Green, Miguel Antelo, Rebeca Rods and Sheila Blanco.[29] Spain placed tenth in the final, scoring 97 points.[30]

Voting

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Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Spain had placed eighteenth with the public televote and fifth with the jury vote. In the public vote, Spain scored 45 points and in the jury vote the nation scored 154 points.[31]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Spain and awarded by Spain in the first 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

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Points awarded to Spain (Final)[32]
Score Country
12 points   Portugal
10 points   Israel
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points   Bosnia and Herzegovina
4 points
3 points
2 points   Iceland
1 point

Points awarded by Spain

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References

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  1. ^ "History by Country – Spain". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  2. ^ Fernández, Eduardo (27 May 2012). "España se reconcilia con Eurovisión". El Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Spain: Representative to be announced today!". Escdaily.com. 21 December 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  4. ^ "TVE desvela a las 12 h quién representará a España en el Festival de Eurovisión 2012". RTVE.es (in Spanish). RTVE. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Pastora Soler representará a España en Eurovisión 2012 en Bakú". RTVE.es (in Spanish). RTVE. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  6. ^ Hondal, Victor (9 August 2011). "Spain: Falete would represent Spain in Baku". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 19 November 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  7. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (25 October 2011). "Spain: Will Chenoa represent Spain?". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Spain: Televised song selection show in February". Sanjay Jiandani. Esctoday.com. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  9. ^ "He encontrado una balada moderna, espectacular, con algo especial como Solo tú o La mala costumbre". Eurovision-Spain.com (in Spanish). 11 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  10. ^ "Spain: Pastora prefers to sing a ballad or pop song". Sanjay Jiandani. Esctoday.com. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  11. ^ "Tú eliges la tercera canción para Pastora Soler, ¡vota ya!". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 15 February 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  12. ^ "Pastora Soler cantará "Ahora o nunca" en la gala de Eurovisión de TVE". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 20 February 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  13. ^ "Llano: "Queremos que sea una canción de Pastora, no impuesta a Pastora"". José García Hernández (in Spanish). Eurovision-Spain.com. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  14. ^ "Asiste como público a la gala de Pastora Soler. ¡TVE te invita!". Eurovision-Spain.com (in Spanish). 6 February 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  15. ^ "La 1 emitirá el 3 de marzo una gala especial para elegir la canción de Pastora Soler en Eurovisión 2012". FormulaTV.com (in Spanish). 31 January 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  16. ^ "Vota la canción de Pastora Soler para Eurovisión 2012" (in Spanish). RTVE.es. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  17. ^ Hondal, Victor (3 March 2012). "Watch now: Song selection show in Spain". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Pastora Soler cantará con Sergio Dalma, Bustamante y Malú en la gala de Eurovisión de TVE" (in Spanish). RTVE.es. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  19. ^ "Sole Giménez, Franco de Vita y Óscar Gómez serán los miembros del jurado de la gala 'Eurovisión. Pastora Soler'" (in Spanish). RTVE.es. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  20. ^ "Eurovision in Concert 2012: Concert". songfestivalweblog.nl (in Dutch). 22 April 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Spain 2012".
  22. ^ Escudero, Victor (25 January 2012). "Results of the Semi-Final allocation draw". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  23. ^ "José María Íñigo repite como comentarista de TVE en el Festival de Eurovisión". RTVE (in Spanish). 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 30 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  24. ^ "El Festival de Eurovisión 2012 es el programa más visto del año en España". Eurovision Spain (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  25. ^ http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=49623&_t=results_of_the_2012_running_order_draw Eurovision.tv Retrieved 20 March 2012
  26. ^ Gomez, Cayetano (30 May 2012). "El vestido de Pastora Soler en Eurovisión". CayeCruz (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  27. ^ "A gentle love song for Spain". eurovision.tv. 19 May 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Pastora belts out the second rehearsal of Spain". eurovision.tv. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  29. ^ "Spain". Six on Stage. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  30. ^ "Grand Final of Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  31. ^ Siim, Jarmo (18 June 2012). "Eurovision 2012 split jury-televote results revealed". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  32. ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  33. ^ "Results of the First Semi-Final of Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
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