Spain selects uptempo tune ‘La Venda’ by Miki in talent show
Although Spain belongs to the ‘Big 5’ countries that pay the most to participate in Eurovision and therefore land a spot in the final without competing in the semi’s, their results in the past few years have been simply lacklustre. In the past four editions, they did not manage to crack the top 20 (out of 26 or 27 competing countries in the final) even once. They changed their method of selection back to talent show Operación Triunfo last year, when couple Alfred and Amaia were the chosen ones. This year they opted for the same show, with singer Miki and his track ‘La Venda’ coming out as the winner!
Let us cut to the chase here. Does Spain stand any chance of Eurovision success with Miki’s ‘La Venda’? Let me start by saying that it seems highly unlikely that Spain will be organizing the contest next year. Nothing about ‘La Venda’ screams ‘contemporary’ or ‘obvious hit’. It seems that Spain has trouble thinking even slightly out of the box when selecting their Eurovision entry; they almost always come up with a dramatic ballad or uptempo tune by the numbers that you never really hear outside of the Eurovision bubble.
Having said that, ‘La Venda’ (which means ‘The Blindfold’, cue the Birdbox memes) does have a very contagious hook and rhythm. The track swings from start to finish and it is almost impossible to sit still during that chorus. To make Miki and ‘La Venda’ stand a chance to approach top 10, the Spanish team members need to keep their fingers crossed for a lot of other countries to select ballads, so that this party entry could stand out in a positive light. For that to happen, a lot of work needs to be done on the performance too. Miki is a charismatic performer and will no doubt look the part on camera in May, but his vocals could be slightly better. The stage act with the girls pretending to play instruments should be scrapped completely as it is rather distracting and silly. If they can turn the stage into a proper party with maybe some choreography that translates the contagious vibe of the song into a memorable visual, Miki could at least take Spain away from the bottom of the scoreboard for a year.
Update: Miki released a new version of his contagious ‘La Venda’. The production is more refined and the instrumentation sounds more slick than the earlier version. The music video is upbeat and it has exactly the vibe we want to see on stage during his performance in May. ‘La Venda’ has grown on me and this catchy tune deserves to stay away from the bottom of the scoreboard!
Review of final performance and result:
Miki from Spain ended the grand final with a big bang. His party number ‘La Venda’ brought a fiesta to the arena in Tel Aviv. The Spanish delegation finally made some effort with the staging and the colourful, high energy performance was a great way to end the show. Unfortunately, juries did not appreciate Spain one bit and let Miki finish last. Televoters at least let a bit of a party in their lives as they placed him 14th, which delivered Spain the 22nd position overall. Miki was, as the Eurofans call it these days, robbed! It sure wasn’t the best vocal performance of the night but 22nd is a bit harsh.
MORE EUROVISION 2019 REVIEWS: ALBANIA – ARMENIA – AUSTRALIA – AUSTRIA – AZERBAIJAN – BELARUS – BELGIUM – CROATIA – CYPRUS – CZECH REPUBLIC – DENMARK – ESTONIA – FINLAND – FRANCE – GEORGIA – GERMANY – GREECE – HUNGARY – ICELAND – IRELAND – ISRAEL – ITALY – LATVIA – LITHUANIA – MALTA – MOLDOVA – MONTENEGRO – THE NETHERLANDS – NORTH MACEDONIA – NORWAY – POLAND – PORTUGAL – ROMANIA – RUSSIA – SAN MARINO – SERBIA – SLOVENIA – SWEDEN – SWITZERLAND – UNITED KINGDOM