Spanish broadcaster RTVE has announced this morning during a press conference the 14 acts that will compete in the Spanish new national preselection for Eurovision 2022, the renewed edition of the mythical “Benidorm Festival” renamed as Benidorm Fest 2022.
Although originally the number of contestants set to take part was 12, today RTVE has announced by surprise that there will finally be 14 contestants competing at Benidorm Fest 2022 among which is the next representative of Spain for Eurovision 2022. The head of delegation, Eva Mora, together with the director of Communication and Participation of RTVE, María Eizaguirre, have been in charge of unveiling the names of the 14 Spanish hopefuls for the contest.
On December 23rd, RTVE will held another press conference together with all the artists to reveal the 14 selected songs, and we will also finally know all the details of Benidorm Fest 2022: venue, hosts, organization of the semifinals, logo…
The 14 names
These are the 14 artists and songs chosen by RTVE’s expert panel to participate in Benidorm Fest, with 5 of 6 were already known after they were leaked last week:
AZúcar MORENO – ‘POSTUREO’
31 years after their fifth place achieved in the Eurovision 1990 stage with the song “Bandido”, the duo formed by Encarna and Toñi Salazar is ready to return to the biggest musical competition in the world with their new song “Postureo”. But to gain the ticket to Eurovision, they should first win Benidorm Fest 2022. Are you excited to discover what they have prepared for their comeback?
Other songs in their long career are “Devórame otra vez”, “Sólo se vive una vez” and “Hoy tengo ganas de ti”.
BLANCA PALOMA – ‘SECRETO DE AGUA’
Blanca Paloma is a real discovery. She is a set designer and theater costume designer, always behind the scenes, but there she discovered that her thing was to be on stage. “Secreto del agua” is the first song that she has edited in a recording studio and is the theme of the docuserie Lucía la Telaraña, from RTVE Play.
CHANEL – ‘SLO MO’
Chanel is an actress, dancer, singer born in Cuba in 1991 and raised in Spain since she was 4 years old. He has been part of the great musicals in our country and has participated in TV series such as “Águila Roja”, “Wake Up”, “Gym Tony”, “El Continental”, “Cupido”, “El Secreto de Puente Viejo”, and “ The Immortal ”, among others. Her song has been composed by authors who have worked with Madonna, Black eyes pies, Britney Spears, Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey or Niki Minage.
GONZALO HERMIDA – ‘QUIÉN LO DIRÍA’
Gonzalo Hermida is a young singer-songwriter who has published great songs as a composer and / or producer for artists such as Sergio Dalma, Pastora Soler (Spanish 2012 ESC representative), Malú, India Martínez, Antonio José (Spanish 2005 JESC representative) and Julia Medina, among others. In this last year, he has hung the sold out poster in several theaters in Spain, interpreting the songs collected on his album Inífugo and his first EP Natural.
JAVIERA MENA – ‘CULPA’
Javiera Mena, icon of electro pop, is a Chilean singer and songwriter who lives in Spain, nominated for a Latin Grammy. She has six albums on the market and has collaborated with Julieta Venegas, Miss Cafeina, La casa Azul or el Guincho.
LUNA KI – ‘VOY A MORIR’
Luna Ki is a one-of-a-kind artistic force. After the release of her hit “September” in 2019 – included in her first EP Unknown 2034 -, Luna positioned herself as one of the ‘artist to watch’ at the national level. Media such as Billboard, Vogue or Metal have echoed her work and agreed on the same thing: Luna is creating the sound of a new generation.
MARTA SANGO – ‘SIGUES EN MI MENTE’
Marta Sango has been dedicated to music practically since she was born. She rose to national fame after passing her through in the talent show Operación Triunfo 2018 and since then, she has worked to create her professional career. She plays the role of Susana Romero in the musical La Llamada and is preparing her first album, which will be released in 2022. Her first singles, “Por ti” and “Qué más quiero de mí” have had a great reception among the public.
RAYDEN – ‘CALLE DE LA LLORERÍA’
Rayden is a multidisciplinary artist who has stood out throughout his musical career thanks to his ability to fuse musical genres, his originality, and the lyrical touch of his lyrics, always defined by his genre of origin: rap. He has collaborated with people like Pablo López, Leiva, Rozalén, Sidecars, Iván Ferreiro, Andrés Suárez and Bely Basarte. He has released six solo studio albums that have earned him MTV EMAs and 40 Awards nominations.
RIGOBERTA BANDINI – ‘AY MAMÁ’
Rigoberta Bandini is one of the most versatile artists on the Spanish music scene. She is a voice actress, songwriter, and singer. In 2020 she swept and her single “In Spain we called Soledad” went viral on Spotify, giving her more than 200 thousand listeners per month. This year she has been included in the list of the 100 most creative Spanish by Forbes magazine in the art category.
SARA DEOP – ‘MAKE YOU SAY’
Sara Deop is an emerging artist who participated in the Spanish version of The Voice Kids at the age of 13, ending as one of the finalists and has two songs on the market. Behind her song are authors who have composed for world-renowned artists such as Dua Lipa, The Saturdays and Little Mix.
TANXUGUEIRAS – ‘TERRA’
Sabela, Olaia and Aida form the Tanxugueiras group, which represents strong, are brave and empowered women through their Galician folk music. Cantareiras of a new decade, are exponents of a generation open to the evolution of traditional songs and sounds of their region. They have released four singles in 2021 and have passed through more than 100 stages of the world accompanied by their tambourines.
It will be the first song competing in a Spanish national selection written in a co-official language of Spain, in Galician.
UNIQUE – ‘MEJORES’
Unique is a boyband made up of Mat, Armand, Dani and Valen. Young people have burst in Spain with force and bet on Latin and urban rhythms. Its producers have worked with David Bisbal, Juan Magán and Chenoa among others. His music is influenced by Michael Jackson and Juan Luis Guerra.
VARRY BRAVA – ‘RAFFAELLA’
Varry Brava has been in the music world for 13 years, they have six albums on the market and have performed on stages throughout Spain with their casual electronic pop style, with a spirit of madness and optimism. His musical influences are identified with the Spanish pop of the 80s.
XEINN – ‘ECO’
Xeinn is a 23-year-old singer from Madrid, graduated in Political Science and began to show singing skills very early on. He started by uploading covers to his YouTube channel and currently has 222,000 followers and more than 18 million views. This year independently he released his first studio album with 11 songs and his influences are Justin Bieber, Post Malone and The weekend.
ABOUT BENIDORM FEST
Benidorm Fest 2022 will consist of three shows, two semifinals and a final, which will be broadcast both by La 1 and by Radio Nacional de España. The event will be possible as a result of a collaboration agreement between Spanish Television and public institutions of Spain: the Benidorm City Council and the Government of the Valencian Community, Generalitat Valenciana.
7 participants will battle on each semi-final to be one of the qualifiers for the Benidorm Fest Grand Final that will feature 8 artists (4 from each semi-final).
The winner of Benidorm Fest 2022, who will be the next representative for Spain at Eurovision 2022, will be chosen 50% through a professional jury made up of music Spanish professionals (30%) and prestigious international personalities (20%) and 50% public vote (25% televoting and 25% demographic group). In the case of a tie in the first place, the public’s opinion will determine the winner.