Junior Eurovision 2025 will return to Georgia in just over a month, becoming the second time the country hosts the children’s music event. The host city will once again be Tbilisi, the same city that welcomed the contest in 2017. In total, 18 countries will take part in this edition, which includes the long-awaited return of Azerbaijan, Croatia, and Montenegro. With this number, the contest reaches its highest participation since Paris 2021.
The grand show will take place on Saturday, December 13, when the Tbilisi Olympic Palace opens its doors to the young European artists who will fill the stage with music and talent. The competition travels back to Georgia following the victory of young Andria Putkaradze in Madrid 2024, who won thanks to his emotional performance of “To My Mom”. His success brings Eurovision magic back to the Caucasus for another edition full of excitement.
Spain will participate for the eleventh time, and this year it is represented by Gonzalo Pinillos, a young performer from Madrid. An actor and singer in various musicals, his passion for music now takes a new turn as he fulfills another one of his dreams: taking part on a Eurovision stage.
Gonzalo Pinillos aims to follow in the footsteps of previous Spanish participants in Junior Eurovision and reach the top of the podium, or even bring the trophy home, just as María Isabel did with “Antes Muerta Que Sencilla” in Lillehammer 2004.
He will participate in the contest with the song “Érase Una Vez (Once Upon A Time)”, a magical and colorful proposal that pays tribute to the power of imagination and reading. Its main message encourages everyone to “turn off the internet, open a book, and imagine” a world full of possibilities—just like the adventure Gonzalo Pinillos is about to experience at Junior Eurovision 2025, a true dream come true.
This is Gonzalo Pinillos, emotion made into music
Gonzalo Pinillos, born in Madrid in 2011, is a 14-year-old Spanish artist with an outstanding career in musical theatre and acting. From a young age, he showed a natural talent for music: by the age of three, he was already singing in Spanish and English. At six, he began studying piano and music theory, and during primary school, he was part of his school choir, where he strengthened his vocal technique and his love for working in a group. His interest in musical theatre and the audiovisual world led him to train at the Mario Bolaños School of Acting, where he is pursuing a Master’s degree in Acting for Film and Television. There, he created Sueños, a musical monologue combining writing, acting, and music.
His professional debut came in 2020, and in 2023, he played Lawrence in School of Rock, The Musical, sharing the stage with well-known artists. He also participated in Los Chicos del Coro and will soon be part of Oliver Twist at Teatro La Latina. Among his influences are Olivia Rodrigo, Bruno Mars, Aitana, David Bisbal, and Sebastián Yatra.
He lives in Madrid with his parents and brother Miguel, with whom he shares his love for music. Besides being an artist, Gonzalo is passionate about chess, sports, and travel. Reading holds an essential place in his life; he enjoys fantasy and fiction literature, including titles like Memorias de Idhún, Momo, and The Hunger Games. He also excels in mathematics and has won literary awards.
His song “Érase una vez (Once Upon a Time)”, composed by Luis Ramiro, Alejandro Martínez, and David Parejo with the collaboration of Gonzalo himself, celebrates the power of imagination and reading in contrast to technological distraction.
This is “Érase Una Vez (Once Upon a Time)”, Spain’s entry for Junior Eurovision 2025
The song “Érase Una Vez (Once Upon A Time)”, with which the young Gonzalo Pinillos will take the stage at Junior Eurovision 2025, is a magical and colorful proposal that pays tribute to the power of imagination and books. Its main message invites us to “turn off the internet, open a book, and imagine” a world full of possibilities, fostering creativity through reading and the fantastic worlds that have accompanied us since childhood.
The song was composed by Luis Ramiro, Alejandro Martínez, and David Parejo, with the collaboration of Gonzalo himself, forming a team that has successfully combined freshness, emotion, and a nostalgic touch. Its lyrics include references to classic characters and universes such as Asterix, Tintin, Alice, or fantastic places like Narnia or Treasure Island, creating a musical story that transports the listener to a universe of adventures.
With its bright style and positive message, “Érase Una Vez (Once Upon A Time)” presents itself as an ode to imagination, which can overcome any limit, and to dreams that should never be lost.
The title “evokes the great stories of childhood” and, as confirmed by the broadcaster, invites us to dream of that second Spanish victory that we long for in the junior contest. Furthermore, the song makes very good use of all of Gonzalo’s qualities with a distinctive approach.
“Érase Una Vez (Once Upon A Time)” is a song that once again bets on being bilingual and features phrases in other languages, just like in 2023 with Sandra Valero, when besides Spanish, other languages such as English, French, Italian, and Portuguese were included.
The composers of “Érase Una Vez (Once Upon A Time)” return for their third consecutive year in Junior Eurovision. Once again, Luis Ramiro, Alejandro Martínez, and David Parejo are responsible; they previously composed the song with which Sandra Valero placed second in 2023, “LOVIU”, and “Como La Lola”, the song with which Chloe DelaRosa reached sixth place in 2024.
Lyrics of Érase Una Vez (Once Upon a Time)
Spanish / English
Hoy apago Internet,
Hoy prefiero soñar,
Abro un libro y empiezo a imaginar
Que me ladra Milú
Que hablo con Peter Pan
Y que Alicia me espera
En la isla del tesoro
Nos juntamos para contarnos
Una historia más,
Una historia más,
Once upon a time.
I can see the colours of my dreams,
I can feel a million lives on me,
A million lives on me.
Y cantar por cielo, tierra y mar
Más allá, yo quiero imaginar.
When I read I feel
That everything is possible.
“C’est ta différence, qui te rend spécial”
Isadora Moon contándole a Greg.
Dice Asterix “¿Qué hacéis?”,
“Es la hora de cenar”,
Obelix y Naruto se van a enfadar.
Espérame
En Liliput,
En Narnia, en Oz,
En Neverland.
I can see the colours of my…
I can see the colours of my dreams,
I can feel a million lives on me,
A million lives on me.
Y cantar por cielo, tierra y mar
Más allá, yo quiero imaginar.
When I read I feel
That everything is possible
Everything is possible
Everything is possible
When you read,
When you read,
When you read,
When you ohhhh
Y cantar por cielo, tierra y mar
Más allá, yo quiero imaginar.
When I read I feel
That everything is possible,
Everything is possible!!
English
I turn off the Internet,
Today I’d rather dream,
I open a book and start imagining
That Milu barks at me,
I talk to Peter Pan,
And that Alice is waiting
For me on Treasure Island
We both gather there just for telling
One more story, one more story,
Once upon a time.
I can see the colours of my dreams,
I can feel a million lives on me,
A million lives on me.
And I’ll sing through sky, sea and land,
Far beyond, I want to dream again
When I read I feel
That everything is possible.
“C’est ta différence, qui te rend spécial”,
Isadora Moon is telling to Greg
Says Asterix, “what’s up?”
“It’s dinner time”,
Obelix and Naruto will be upset
Wait for me
In Lilliput, in Narnia, in Oz, in Neverland.
I can see the colours of my…
I can see the colours of my dreams,
I can feel a million lives on me,
A million lives on me.
And I’ll sing through sky, sea and land,
Far beyond, I want to dream again.
When I read I feel
That everything is possible
Everything is possible
Everything is possible
When you read,
When you read,
When you read,
When you ohhhh
And I’ll sing through sky, sea and land,
Far beyond, I want to dream again.
When I read I feel
That everything is possible,
Everything is possible!!
Spain in Junior Eurovision
Spain debuted in Junior Eurovision in Copenhagen 2003, being one of the 16 founding countries. In this first edition, Sergio García with “Desde El Cielo” achieved 2nd place with 125 points. One year later, in Lillehammer 2004, María Isabel reached Spain’s only victory to date with “Antes Muerta Que Sencilla”, scoring 171 points and receiving the highest scores from eight countries.
In 2005, Spain again achieved 2nd place, and in 2006 a 4th place, thus closing a very successful first stage. These four consecutive editions enjoyed great popularity in Spain, driven by the Eurojunior pre-selections, which served as a springboard for artists such as Blas Cantó, Dani Fernández, and Antonio José.
Despite the success, RTVE withdrew in 2007, claiming the format “promoted stereotypes that were not shared”. However, public interest remained, and the EBU tried on several occasions to bring Spain back, which finally happened on June 25, 2019, after 13 years of absence.
In this second stage, RTVE opted for internal selections, managing to maintain a high competitive level. Melani with “Marte” (2019) and Soleá with “Palante” (2020) both achieved 3rd place, while Levi Díaz with “Reír” (2021) finished 15th. In Yerevan 2022, Carlos Higes with “Señorita” was 6th with 137 points, and in Nice 2023, Sandra Valero with “LOVIU” secured 2nd place with 201 points. Finally, in Madrid 2024, Chloe DelaRosa with “Como La Lola” obtained 6th place with 144 points, consolidating the Spanish resurgence in the festival.