Melody will represent Spain at Eurovision 2025
Spain has a representative for Eurovision 2025: Melody. The Sevillian, who rose to fame with El baile del gorila, has won the Benidorm Fest with Esa Diva. With 150 points, she beat Daniela Blasco (141) and J Kbello (134), thanks to the support of the televoting and the professional jury.
Melody had a difficult path: the leak of a rehearsal and a technical error in the semi-finals put her triumph in doubt, but her powerful performance has led her to victory.
The Benidorm Fest has been a success with audiences, with records in its three nights and sold-out tickets.
In addition, the proceeds will go to the victims of the dana.
Melody reclaims her diva throne and wins the Benidorm Fest 2025 to represent Spain in Eurovision
The Sevillian, who had already unsuccessfully tried to compete in the European song festival, has managed to win with her powerful and baroque interpretation of 'Esa diva' thanks to the support of the televoting.
Melody began her interpretation of Esa diva on the stage of the Benidorm Fest this Saturday as if she were swinging on Fragonard's El columpio. The Sevillian has won the contest with a proposal full of visual and sound stimuli. Hers has been pure rococo adapted to her own style. Accompanied by a giant comb that looked like a throne of thorns and wearing an Andalusian hat, she has openly shown, between choreographic pirouettes, that her musical influences come from the Mexican Gloria Trevi.
The singer will represent Spain in Eurovision next May, after beating the almost thousand candidate songs that have been presented to this edition of the Alicante contest and obtaining 150 points in the final. Daniela Blasco was in second position (141 points) and J Kbello (134 points) closed the podium.
It has not been an easy road for the 34-year-old artist, who had already participated unsuccessfully in the Eurovision preselection in 2009, finishing second to Soraya Arnelas. —«Over time I was glad, because I have grown as an artist since then,» Melody commented in front of the press in the early hours of Saturday to Sunday, after finishing the Benidorm Fest—. A few days ago, one of her rehearsals was leaked in the form of a video on social networks, then she saw how a technical error during her performance in the semi-finals marred the high point of her proposal. But the singer promised to grow in the decisive performance, this Saturday. And she has kept her promise. Supported by the televoting, Melody will travel to Basel (Switzerland) in May. She had been announcing all week that, if she goes to Eurovision, she will adapt the concept of Esa diva to the international public. And if there is one thing the Andalusian has proven to be, it is that she is solid and practically infallible live.
“The [music] industry doesn't value me the same as the public. But time puts everyone in their place,” said the Sevillian in 2023 on television, while promoting her latest album, financed by herself. It was very difficult that, after her powerful performance, the audience that has seen Melody grow on television would not cheer her on to victory, offsetting the score of the professional jury, which has relegated Esa diva to third position in its voting ranking. 39% of the viewers voting through the RTVE application and the telephone have chosen Melody from among the eight candidates. The second most voted, Daniela Blasco, has kept half: 18% of the votes registered.
This year, the matter has not been reduced to a duel between the winners of the two semi-finals, since the organization has decided not to reveal the scores obtained by the candidates in the previous phase. The jury has given J Kbello the highest score, but almost the same as Daniela Blasco and Melody. The difference in points at this stage of the voting has been minimal.
Melody's overwhelming presence at the Benidorm Fest personifies one of the great evils of the Spanish music industry. There are not enough good pop composers for so much stage talent, mainly female. The powerful voice and drive of Ruth Lorenzo, Chenoa, Soraya Arnelas, Roko, Angie Fernández and Melody herself (as well as Blas Cantó, Agoney and Jorge González) do not find the right repertoire or musical concept to sustain a successful recording career over time, which should also be international. In short, they do not find the Manuel Alejandro, Juan Carlos Calderón or Augusto Algueró of the 21st century. It does not help that current musical trends have betrayed themselves so much that they have reached the point of abandoning melodies. Another example: the most recent song that Chenoa included in the greatest hits medley that she performed so well at the start of Thursday's semi-final dates back 23 years.
J Kbello arrived at the Benidorm Fest sponsored by Chanel, the first winner of the contest, and also by Blas Cantó, who has represented Spain in Eurovision twice in a row, virtually in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and in Rotterdam in 2021. As J Kbello himself explained to the press, the song VIP arose from a studio session for a song that was intended for Cantó himself, who ended up co-directing the official video for the song by the Cadiz native.
After the two semi-finals held on Tuesday and Thursday, Melody had managed to overtake Lachispa in the official polls, beating her favourite after showing her Hartita de llorar (which finally came fifth, with 98 points) in a live show that convinced neither the audience nor the jury nor the experts. After seeing all the proposals on stage throughout the week, the Eurofans supported J Kbello as the best possible candidate to represent Spain in Eurovision. A few minutes before the start of the final, she was in second place in those predictions, the same place was occupied by the other winners of the Benidorm Fest: Chanel, Blanca Paloma and Nebulossa. But this time this curious tradition has not been followed. Daniela Blasco, with a proposal very similar to Chanel's SloMo but without her rotundity on stage, has been left nine points away from victory. Fourth place went to the revelation of this edition, the Canarian Mel Ömana (117 points), who gained followers this Thursday after her live performance of the song I’m a Queen.It has not been an easy road for the 34-year-old artist, who had already participated unsuccessfully in the Eurovision preselection in 2009, finishing second to Soraya Arnelas. —«Over time I was glad, because I have grown as an artist since then,» Melody commented in front of the press in the early hours of Saturday to Sunday, after finishing the Benidorm Fest—. A few days ago, one of her rehearsals was leaked in the form of a video on social networks, then she saw how a technical error during her performance in the semi-finals marred the high point of her proposal. But the singer promised to grow in the decisive performance, this Saturday. And she has kept her promise. Supported by the televoting, Melody will travel to Basel (Switzerland) in May. She had been announcing all week that, if she goes to Eurovision, she will adapt the concept of Esa diva to the international public. And if there is one thing the Andalusian has proven to be, it is that she is solid and practically infallible live.
“The [music] industry doesn't value me the same as the public. But time puts everyone in their place,” said the Sevillian in 2023 on television, while promoting her latest album, financed by herself. It was very difficult that, after her powerful performance, the audience that has seen Melody grow on television would not cheer her on to victory, offsetting the score of the professional jury, which has relegated Esa diva to third position in its voting ranking. 39% of the viewers voting through the RTVE application and the telephone have chosen Melody from among the eight candidates. The second most voted, Daniela Blasco, has kept half: 18% of the votes registered.
This year, the matter has not been reduced to a duel between the winners of the two semi-finals, since the organization has decided not to reveal the scores obtained by the candidates in the previous phase. The jury has given J Kbello the highest score, but almost the same as Daniela Blasco and Melody. The difference in points at this stage of the voting has been minimal.
Melody's overwhelming presence at the Benidorm Fest personifies one of the great evils of the Spanish music industry. There are not enough good pop composers for so much stage talent, mainly female. The powerful voice and drive of Ruth Lorenzo, Chenoa, Soraya Arnelas, Roko, Angie Fernández and Melody herself (as well as Blas Cantó, Agoney and Jorge González) do not find the right repertoire or musical concept to sustain a successful recording career over time, which should also be international. In short, they do not find the Manuel Alejandro, Juan Carlos Calderón or Augusto Algueró of the 21st century. It does not help that current musical trends have betrayed themselves so much that they have reached the point of abandoning melodies. Another example: the most recent song that Chenoa included in the greatest hits medley that she performed so well at the start of Thursday's semi-final dates back 23 years.
J Kbello arrived at the Benidorm Fest sponsored by Chanel, the first winner of the contest, and also by Blas Cantó, who has represented Spain in Eurovision twice in a row, virtually in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and in Rotterdam in 2021. As J Kbello himself explained to the press, the song VIP arose from a studio session for a song that was intended for Cantó himself, who ended up co-directing the official video for the song by the Cadiz native.
After the two semi-finals held on Tuesday and Thursday, Melody had managed to overtake Lachispa in the official polls, beating her favourite after showing her Hartita de llorar (which finally came fifth, with 98 points) in a live show that convinced neither the audience nor the jury nor the experts. After seeing all the proposals on stage throughout the week, the Eurofans supported J Kbello as the best possible candidate to represent Spain in Eurovision. A few minutes before the start of the final, she was in second place in those predictions, the same place was occupied by the other winners of the Benidorm Fest: Chanel, Blanca Paloma and Nebulossa. But this time this curious tradition has not been followed. Daniela Blasco, with a proposal very similar to Chanel's SloMo but without her rotundity on stage, has been left nine points away from victory. Fourth place went to the revelation of this edition, the Canarian Mel Ömana (117 points), who gained followers this Thursday after her live performance of the song I’m a Queen.
It was a final in which all the participants maintained or improved the level of their performances in the semi-finals, probably boosted by an audience that supported and cheered them all on. Part of the credit goes to the professional jury, who ensured that two great vocal performances reached this final. One of them was Mawot's Raggio di Sole and the other was Lucas Bun's Te escribo en el cielo. Although neither of the two were among the audience's favourites, they made it through to the next round thanks to the points of the eight music professionals whose opinion counted for 50% of the points distributed.
Audience success
This edition has been, so far, a success with the public, with the stands full on all three nights of the live broadcast. It has also been a triumph in terms of audience for RTVE, which has obtained 13.1 and 11.7% in the broadcast of its two semi-finals, surpassing last year's figures. An hour before the start of this Saturday's final, a group of friends from Castilla La Mancha were already situated in the front row to have a privileged view of the stage. They had been waiting for another hour in the street of a rainy and wintry Benidorm to be as close as possible to the artists during their performances. Their tickets, obtained on the black market, cost them between 40 and 50 euros.
This year, the amount raised from the thousands of tickets that RTVE has officially put on sale for the two semi-finals and the final will be donated in full to the victims of the dana, which hit the region especially hard. Just over 100 kilometres away from the Palau d’Esports l’Illa in Benidorm, thousands of people have once again demanded this afternoon in the rainy streets of Valencia the resignation of the president of the Generalitat, Carlos Marón, for his management of this crisis. Called by more than 200 civic, social and union entities in the region, it is the fourth mass demonstration since October, when the catastrophe occurred.
Melody will fulfil her lifelong dream and will represent Spain in the 69th edition of the Eurovision Festival. The Sevillian won her passport to Basel after winning the fourth edition of the Benidorm Fest, the Spanish preselection to choose the representative for Eurovision. Melodía Ruiz Gutiérrez, Melody, won after receiving 150 points, being the most voted by the public and the third favourite of the jury. «ESA DIVA» will be heard for the first time on the Eurovision stage next Tuesday, May 13, during the First Semi-Final.
The Sevillian will take over from Nebulossa, winner of the Benidorm Fest 2024 and representative of Spain in Malmö. Her song, «ZORRA», finished in 20th place with a total of 30 points. Now, Melody will have the opportunity to take to one of the largest stages in the world: that of the Eurovision Song Contest. «I'm going to give it my all so that people think about our land and know that there are great voices in Spain,» she said. There is no doubt that she will fight hard to achieve Spain's third victory in the contest.
Spain celebrates Benidorm Fest 2025
For the fourth consecutive year, the Alicante city of Benidorm became the epicentre of music with a new edition of the Benidorm Fest. From 27 January to 1 February, the Palau d'Esports l'Illa vibrated with the performances of the 16 participants, all with the same goal: to win the bronze microphone and get the ticket to Basel.
Daniela Blasco, runner-up of the Benidorm Fest 2025, was in charge of opening the performances of the grand final. The Mallorcan dazzled the audience with «UH NANA!», showing her talent for singing and dancing like never before. The icing on the cake was Melody, who closed the gala and ended up taking the victory, honouring the saying: the last will be the first. In addition to the performances of the eight Benidorm Fest finalists, the night featured guest artists such as Amaral and Rigoberta Bandini, who returned to the festival three years after her second place with «Ay mamá». Meanwhile, Nebulossa, winner of the last edition, reappeared to crown her successor as Spain's representative at Eurovision, as well as opening the gala with her iconic performance of «ZORRA».
Melody, Daniela Blasco and J Kbello completed the podium at Benidorm Fest 2024, although the jury and the public had different opinions about the winner. The professional jury, made up of eight members, chose J Kbello as their favourite with 74 points, closely followed by Daniela Blasco with 71 and Melody with 70. However, the public vote, through calls, SMS and RTVE Play, turned the rankings around: Melody swept the board with 80 points, while Daniela Blasco came second with 70 and J Kbello third with 60.
The sum of both votes crowned Melody as the winner with 150 points, followed by Daniela Blasco with 141 and J Kbello with 134. The final ranking is completed by Mel Ömana (4th with 117 points), Lachispa (5th with 98 points), Kuve (6th with 96 points), Lucas Bun (7th with 70 points) and Mawot (8th with 59 points).
Melody wins the Benidorm Fest 2025 and will represent Spain at Eurovision with «ESA DIVA»
Melody wins the Benidorm Fest with the song «ESA DIVA» and will represent Spain at Eurovision 2025, on May 17, in the Swiss city of Basel. The Andalusian has beaten Daniela Blasco and J Kbello, the other big favorites of the night, and has been crowned in the fourth edition of the contest, held at the Palau d'Esports l'Illa in Benidorm by receiving a total of 150 points. The Sevillian captivated the televote by getting the maximum score from them, being 80. On the part of the jury of professionals, Melodía was in third position with 70 points.
Since RTVE announced the 16 contestants in November, the Andalusian started as the big favorite of the edition. And tonight she confirmed it: her performance was the most applauded, with a totally devoted audience, making it clear that her victory was almost guaranteed. For the fourth consecutive year, Spain will take a woman to Eurovision. The artist has won the bronze microphone thanks to her song «ESA DIVA», an anthem to female power and the diversity of women, reminding us that true divas can be anywhere. With a strong message of empowerment, Melody invites everyone to feel like divas in their daily lives.
«I dedicate it to my whole family and especially to my son,» said the artist as soon as she received the bronze microphone from Nebulossa, the winners in 2024. Melody will also be Spain's representative at Eurovision and has left a message: «Let you know from the bottom of my heart that I am going to do everything in my power to make people think about our land, to know that in Spain there are great voices.»
19 years ago, Melody tried to represent Spain at Eurovision in 2009, the Moscow edition. Now, the Sevillian has achieved her dream and will finally be able to go up on one of the biggest stages in the world, like the one at the Song Festival. «The only thing I can say is that I have felt so much love from the public that as an artist, there is nothing that fills my heart with more joy than all of you being with me.»
Melody has managed to beat the other seven candidates who were competing in the final of the fourth edition of the Benidorm Fest: Daniela Blasco, J Kbello, Mel Ömana, Kuve, Lucas Bun and Mawot. Less than 100 days remain until the final of the Eurovision event, an event that will take place on May 17 in Basel, Switzerland, after Nemo's victory with «The Code.» The Sevillian will have enough time to perfect her proposal with the aim of offering the best possible performance and captivating all of Europe.
Melody wins Benidorm Fest 2025 with «ESA DIVA»
The song that will represent Spain in the 69th edition of Eurovision has a lot to do with Melody's own story. With autobiographical lyrics, composed together with Alberto Fuentes Lorite, the artist connects with her childhood when she sings «Fui del mundo la rumbera». For many, she is still 'the gorilla's girl', but at 34 years old, she is an established artist who has set foot on stages all over the world. The song also pays tribute to mothers who get up early, a verse with a special meaning for her. Just a year ago her first son, Cairo, was born, and as she has confessed, since then she has sung with more passion than ever.
One more night, Melodía Ruíz has shone again on stage, with that energy and passion that characterizes her so much. The Sevillian was born for this: the stage is her home, and she, its undisputed owner. As she herself says in her song, she is a simple, mortal, human, brave and powerful diva. And tonight, without a doubt, she has been a great diva, one of those we all have in mind. The winning song maintains the essence of Melody, with nods to her musical past through guitar strumming and castanets, but with a more modern base of electronic pop with a Spanish essence. The Andalusian has put the finishing touch to the grand finale of the Benidorm Fest 2025, closing the night with her great performance. Today, the saying has come true and the last have been the first.
This is how Melody performed
Of the eight artists competing tonight to win the fourth edition of the Benidorm Fest, Melody was the best known. The artist felt the eyes of the Palau audience on her, but also the gaze of millions of viewers who followed the gala on television or RTVE Play. However, with more than 25 years in the profession and great experience on stage, Melody has given us a performance for posterity.
The artist has opted for a staging full of symbolism, which from the first moment promised to be spectacular. Melody started her performance sitting on a swing suspended several meters above the ground. From the highest point of the Palau she began to sing «ESA DIVA», with a firm look, wearing a black dress with a train and a Cordovan hat. As she descended like a true diva, faithful to the title of her song, she gradually removed her hat and the ruffles of her dress, until she was finally left with a semi-naked jumpsuit adorned with rhinestones.
After this shocking start, Melody displayed all her vocal power, dancing and performing acrobatics with her dancers to create a dramatic effect. The Andalusian's performance came to life in an atmosphere of chiaroscuro, intensified by the visuals of thorns projected on the triangular screen. This time, without technical problems, the artist was able to finish her performance from a throne in the shape of a comb, where she achieved, with great force, the sustained note that she was unable to achieve with her voice during the second semi-final.
Eurovision, Melody's most ambitious dream
Second time lucky, and if not, just ask Melody. The Spanish representative at Eurovision 2025 has achieved her long-awaited victory, 16 years after her first attempt in 2009. At last, the Andalusian will fulfil her dream of representing Spain at the European competition. This was her second attempt: at Eurovision 2009: El Retorno, the TVE preselection of that year, she tied on points with Soraya Arnelas. However, the public vote broke the tie, and the Extremaduran won the ticket to Moscow. Now, 16 years later, fate has given her a new opportunity, and it will be Melody who will travel to Basel.
In 2009, Melody tried to represent Spain with «Amante de la luna», a song with a very Spanish sound but with international projection and a lot of rhythm. At that time, her intention was to carry the Spanish flag high. Although she was the most voted candidate on the Internet, she had to settle for the silver. Far from seeing it as a setback, she has always believed that everything happens for a reason, and that at that time fate simply marked out a different path for her. Even so, her song was a success and, to this day, it continues to be played at many Eurovision parties.
Professional jury vote (50%)
74 points to J Kbello
71 points to Daniela Blasco
70 points to Melody
61 points to Mel Ömana
52 points to Kuve
48 points to Lachispa
38 points to Lucas Bun
18 points to Mawot
Public vote (50%)
80 points to Melody
70 points to Daniela Blasco
60 points to J Kbello
56 points to Mel Ömana
50 points to Lachispa
44 points to Kuve
40 points to Mawot
32 points to Miss Caffeina
Benidorm Fest 2025 results: this is the final classification
Melody: 150 points
Daniela Blasco: 141 points
J Kbello: 134 points
Mel Ömana: 117 points
Lachispa: 98 points
KUVE: 96 points
Lucas Bun: 70 points
Mawot: 59 points
Melody: from a rumba girl to a diva
Melody, whose full name is Melodía Ruiz Gutiérrez, was born in 1990 in Dos Hermanas, Seville, to a family with deep artistic roots. From a very young age she showed an innate passion for music and dance, which marked the beginning of a career full of versatility. Singer, songwriter, actress and model, Melody debuted in 2001 and, since then, has established herself as one of the most complete artists in Spain. We tell you about her career!
Melody rose to international fame with «El Baile del Gorila», one of the 12 songs included in her debut album De pata negra. The song became one of the biggest hits of 2001, selling millions of copies and obtaining double platinum status. In the following years, the singer continued to consolidate her career, releasing her second, third and fourth studio albums.
Eight years after her rise to fame, Melody was selected by RTVE to participate in the El Retorno preselection with the aim of representing Spain at Eurovision 2009. With her song “Amante de la luna” and backed by Los Vivancos in the first semi-final, Melody tied in points with Soraya Arnelas. However, the televoting ended up tipping the balance in favor of the Extremaduran.
In the last decade, Melody has continued to shine on the artistic scene. She was runner-up in Tu cara me suena and released singles such as “Parapapá” and “Rúmbame”. In 2023, she surprised with “Mujer loba”, one of her most successful songs to date. Last year, Melody teamed up with María Peláe, a finalist at Benidorm Fest 2024, to release “Putukita”, a flamenco song in which both talk about their personal journeys. “This song could only be with her. “Thank you, Melody, for wanting to be part of this, for your dedication, your professionalism and your art,” Peláe said.
Spain at Eurovision
Spain made its debut at the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest held in Cannes, France. Conchita Bautista was the country's first standard-bearer with the song «Estando contigo», with which she achieved ninth place out of a total of 16 proposals. Since then, Spain has participated uninterruptedly in the European competition (with the exception of 2020, when the European Broadcasting Union decided to cancel the festival due to the spread of the coronavirus) always managing to be present in the final of the contest.
Seven years after its debut, in 1968, Spain achieved the first victory in Eurovision with Massiel and her «La, La, La». The Madrid native managed to win the 13th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with 29 points, just 1 more than the British Cliff Richard and his «Congratulations». A year later, in 1969, the Teatro Real in Madrid became the venue for the festival presented by Laura Valenzuela. Four countries emerged as winners: Salomé with “Vivo cantando” for Spain, Lulu with the song “Boom Bang-a-Bang” for the United Kingdom, Lenny Kuhr with “De troubadour” for the Netherlands and Frida Boccara for France with “Un jour, un enfant”. It was the first time that a tie had occurred and there were no rules to break it, so all four artists were crowned winners.
Since then, Spain has not won Eurovision again, but it has come very close on several occasions. In 1971, just two years after Salomé's victory, Karina with “En un mundo nuevo” was just 12 points away from achieving Spain's third victory in the contest. Two years later, in 1973, Mocedades was just 4 points away from victory. Their “Eres tú” could not beat the ballad “Tu te reconnaîtras” by Anne-Marie David of Luxembourg. In Jerusalem 1979, Betty Missiego was in the lead with “Su canción”, but the Spanish jury, the last to vote, awarded 10 points to Israel’s “Hallelujah”, giving it the win by 9 points. We had to wait until Dublin 1995 to taste glory again. Anabel Conde achieved a historic second place with “Vuelve Conmigo”, 29 points behind the winner, the Norwegian Secret Garden and its “Nocturne”
In 2022, and after several years of ups and downs, Chanel once again excited Spain. Its “SloMo” conquered Europe, achieving the country’s best result in 27 years: a third place with 459 points. The Catalan was the third most voted by the professional jury (231 points) and the third most voted by the spectators (228 points). Will Melody manage to fly to first place? We will find out on May 17.
Melody sings ESA DIVA in the final of the Benidorm Fest, where Spain will choose its representative at Eurovision 2025
The Sevillian returns to a Spanish preselection 16 years after her participation in Eurovision 2009: El regreso, where she reached second place with “Amante de la luna”, only behind the winner and representative in Moscow, Soraya Arnelas, with “La noche es para mí”. Now, she arrives at the Alicante contest with “ESA DIVA”, a song with which she reached the grand final of the edition.
The artist performs the song “ESA DIVA” to represent Spain at Eurovision.