This is it, from now on, we’ll be having multiple national selections each week. In about 1.5 months, we’ll know most of the lineup of ESC 2025. Today (or rather, on Tuesday, Thursday and a week after the NF has finished because I got suddenly busy), we’ll learn what Spain has cooked up for us.
It’s time for the first semi-final! The presenters (Paula Vázquez, Ruth Lorenzo and Inés Hernand) do a fairly brisk introduction, probably due to the fact that the show before this ran 10 minutes late, so this is starting late as well. They say that the demoscopic jury is gone, so it’s finally a true 50/50 system. Then there’s a dramatic reveal of the artists, then the presenters introduce the jurors, make a couple of jokes, and we’re off.
This is kinda fun. It has a very 2000s sound and the chorus only consists of ~3 words, but I like the fun schlagery vibes. It’s definitely a mood lifter and quite an obvious pick for the opener (at least for producers who - wrongly - believe that the opener has to be upbeat). I just wish her vocals were a bit stronger, though they were decent at first. I also rarely enjoy rap in songs, but it works here.
This is definitely a song. There’s music and lyrics, but nothing here grips me. On the upside, nothing about this annoys me either. It’s just a vaguely decent song with decent vocals, decent music and a decent performance. I don’t expect it to do much of anything, but it deserves to exist.
I really liked the song in the studio version, so it’s a shame to see this being performed live like this. It simply lacks energy and doesn’t really grab the viewers’ attention. The lyrics are good and the song itself is still good enough for me to put it as a qualifier, but I wish it was even better.
Once again, this was good in the studio, but was a bit of a letdown live. Still, it’s a good song and should qualify because slight vocal imperfections aren’t the most important thing in the world. And they aren’t even major imperfections, there’s nothing that can’t be fixed with some vocal coaching.
An effective ballad like this will never go wrong with me. He has some very specific mannerisms while performing, but that only makes him stand out more. It definitely stands out in this pop-heavy lineup in a positive way. I have no doubt this will qualify. I really enjoyed this.
I believe this is what they call “yaa gurls, go give the gays everything they want”. Sure, the vocals were absent, but they make up for that with an insane heap of campiness that absolutely makes me love it more than in the studio. It just works: it’s fun, it’s entertaining, but it absolutely shouldn’t go to Eurovision because it would place 26th.
I wish I liked it more, but I just don’t. The quieter parts are good, but the screamed parts really don’t work for me. I guess I’m just not a fan of flamenco, but I like that this actually dares to have a non-barebones instrumental.
I really expected to hate this based on the studio, but it’s actually kinda fun. She definitely sells it well live, though she’s heavily carried by the pre-recorded backing vocals (which have annoying vocal effects on them, ew). I’m sure this will qualify because of its running order and a good live performance. I certainly won’t revisit this in my own free time because this just isn’t the style of music I enjoy.
Well, this was better than I expected. I didn’t exactly love anything, but I didn’t dislike anything either. Everything ranged between passable (but not for me) and decent, so I guess this is an improvement from last year (but still a downgrade compared to 2022 and 2023).
During the voting, there were some interval acts (obviously). The first one was the way everyone should do singing interval acts - it was visually impressive, which is necessary when people have already listened to a bunch of songs prior to this. Then there was a huge green room segment, which I took as a chance to do something else, sorry, RTVE, followed by another performance from a rock band that I actually liked (I like punchy pop-punk songs like this). And finally (this “finally” is doing some heavy lifting - almost 40 minutes have passed), the qualifier reveal has started. And the first qualifier is… Loca xti, nice, I thought so. Hartita de llorar qualified as well, again, expected. Then Uh nana was revealed as a qualifier, which I also expected. And the final qualifier is… Te escribo en el cielo! Good, good, I really hoped it would qualify, it was deserved.
Sorry everyone, I missed the intro due to the Greek NF and getting a call. So the intro will always be a mystery.
She had a good performance, she had good vocals, but the song is so insanely dislikeable. It’s everything I dont like in music. Still, I think it’ll be fair if she qualifies.
He has a nice voice, but the song just isn’t anything good. It’s very bland and generic, which is a shame. I keep saying this, but I feel sad when good performers like this are wasted on bland songs.
Oh god, what is this? This is a total disaster from start to end, but I’m kinda into it. Idk, it clearly isn’t objectively “good”, but it’s super fun. And she was vocally spot on, which is pretty impressive with all the choreo and running around. One moment, she’s on a random bull, the next moment, the dancers are dacing tango with each other. It’s great.
Ugh, this is so dislikeable. Unlike the first song, which I disliked but which had a good performance, this is a song I hate, and the performance was bad as well.
This was absolutely dire. There was nothing I liked about this, and it felt like a song from the Moldovan auditions. It was actively grating, and I hope this doesn’t qualify despite being
Apart from Spanitalian, this is actually a good song. It’s energetic and engaging, with a good live performance, and he has nice vocals. The chorus is catchy, and the verses are good - to me, this is by far the best song of the semifinal. Of course, this means that this is actually the last in fan rankings, but I’m still hoping for a shock qualifier.
She’s a bit weak in the verses, but she carries the choruses really well. And the song has that classic Spanish sound to it that a lot of people will eat up without a doubt. While it does feel a little lifeless at times, there’s a lot of time to improve the performance, as this is clearly the most ESC-ready package.
This is definitely very enjoyable. She has the energy needed to pull it off, even though her vocals are rougher than rough. The high notes are very rough and there were weird technical issues with the cameras and the audio cutting out. I wonder what was up with that, everything else was smooth as butter.
Uh. Yeah. This just wasn’t good at all. There was a kickass rock song performed by Ruth Lorenzo (the same one that sang Dancing in the Rain, yes - it’s incredible how far she’s come from that) that would’ve easily been my Benidorm Fest winner and made me very interested in checking out the rest of her discography. After a bunch of green room segments and multiple recaps, the voting finally closed, and we got another interval act by Isabel Aaiun performing her song Potra Salvaje. It’s another song that would’ve made a much better ESC entry than any of the songs here. She’s such a good performer, and the song bangs as well. Unfortunaltely, it was released all the way back in 2021, so it’s not like it’s applicable. However, it shows that Spain could easily be a force to be reckoned with in ESC every year.
The juries announced their top 4 in a random order and La Casa wasn’t one of their qualifiers. Insanity.
As I’m watching this way later, I won’t belabour you with descriptions of everything that’s going on. My focus will be purely on the songs and the way they changed for the final.
Maybe I was under some drugs during the semi-final because this wasn’t fun at all. Perhaps coming after a bunch of other songs I disliked dulled my senses. But this is Very Bad Indeed. It’s aggressive and annoying and very unenjoyable to listen to.
This is quite dated, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. It’s just fun and charismatic, and the vocal performance is leagues above that of almost everyone else here. It definitely isn’t a keeper, but it’s fine.
Here we have him, the only person who actually managed to stay on key for the whole performance. And here’s the thing, the song is actually a banger too. I’m not an EDM fan most of the time, but this is very fun and effective. His costume is also funny, and I like it. I think this could’ve done better in Eurovision than most people expect because nobody else will send anything like this - the juries would give this respect for sure as he can actually deliver on his vision, which is what the juries value most.
Pain, pain, pain, pain. I think I’d rather listen to Spain’s 1983 entry than this because it’s a smidge more tolerable. This, though, is straight up hateful from the first note. Even the quiet parts are painful, while the loud parts are simply screaming. I can’t even put into words how much I dislike this, though I’ll definitely say that it would’ve been my least favourite Spanish entry of all time. Listening to this genuinely gives me a headache. I’m not exaggerating - I just took some ibuprofen to help me go on.
This has vision of what it wants to be, but I also really dislike it. It’s sleek and well-made, but it also feels sleezy and weirdly dislikeable. There’s such an annoyingly smug and pretentious aura around the whole performance that puts me off this.
Well, it’s competent, which puts above a lot of songs. He really improved compared to the semifinal, which makes me feel better about him qualifying. It’s very far from a keeper, but it isn’t actively irritating. There’s still something sleezy about the performance though, so I’ll still pass on it overall.
Thank you, lovely ballad, for saving me. He has a lovely voice and lovely staging. Everything about this is lovely and cute, I’m happy this qualified for the final. It makes for a great break in this sea of dance soup. The juries were so based for ranking it high.
With a much better performance than in the semi-final, I’m actually fine with this winning. It’s fun and more-or-less what I’ve come to expect of Spain over the years. I don’t think it will do much in ESC though as it’s quite generic, though who knows. Melody has said that we can expect a revamp.
I don’t really have any interest in watching the interval acts, so let me just say that this was depressing knowing how good Bendorm Fest was in 2022 and 2023. I’m disappointed in the change of direction it had after the Spanish head of delegation was replaced. I hope they can find their footing again though.