Nebulossa wins Benidorm Fest 2024 thanks to public support
Nebulossa has won Benidorm Fest with the song Zorra and will be the representative of Spain at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö. The duo beat St. Pedro, the big favorite of the bets and the professional jury, and won in the final held on the stage of the Palau d'Esports l'Illa in Benidorm.
The finalists of the Benidorm Fest 2024, before the draw for the order of the final
In a very close final, the duo beat St. Pedro, the big favorite. Angy was third
Nebulossa has won Benidorm Fest with the song Zorra and will be the representative of Spain at Eurovision 2024, in May, in the Swedish city of Malmö. The duo beat St. Pedro, the big favorite of the bets and the professional jury, and won in the final held on the stage of the Palau d'Esports l'Illa in Benidorm. The audience was dedicated during their performance, something that suggested a closer result than expected. In the end, they prevailed. The winner was decided by a vote in which the opinion of the professional jury had a weight of 50%. The other half has fallen on the public vote, divided in two: 25% corresponds to the demoscopic jury — a statistical selection of 350 people that represents the Spanish population — and 25% comes from televoting, messages and live calls.
After an unprecedented tie for first place in the vote of the professional jury, the public has been the one who has decided that Nebulossa, with the song Zorra, are the representatives of Spain in Eurovision 2024. They themselves have confessed that Rigoberta's Ay Mama In the first edition of the festival, Bandini encouraged them to think that they too could have a place in the contest. On this occasion, they have managed to get their song to Eurovision. Here you can read Héctor Llanos Martínez's chronicle of the final of the Benidorm Fest 2024. Thank you for reading us. See you on May 11 in Malmö with Zorra.
It had already become the anthem of this Benidorm Fest and is now the representative of Spain in Eurovision 2024. This was the performance of Nebulossa with which they won the festival and this is part of the lyrics of the song:
I already know that I am not who you want
I understand that it makes you desperate
But this is my nature
Changing for you makes me lazy.
I'm in a good moment
It was only a matter of time.
I'm going to go out into the street to shout what I feel
To the four winds.
Nebulossa's 'Zorra' comes to Rigoberta Bandini and wins the Benidorm Fest 2024
'Ay mama', which failed to win the first edition of the festival, was the inspiration for this Valencian couple to decide to enter the contest, with a provocative and empowered message.
The headbands with fox ears sold out days ago in all the bazaars of Benidorm. And there are a few. Nebulossa, a couple with more than 20 years of history together but only five as an artistic couple, will travel to Malmö (Sweden) in mid-May to represent Spain with the hedonistic, camp, provocative and vindictive Zorra. The song, as they themselves acknowledge, is the heir to Rigoberta Bandini and hers Ay Mama de ella, which was the protagonist of the festival's first major controversy two years ago when it lost to Chanel's sensual SloMo and was the public's favorite. Their confrontation even generated a feminist debate around the TVE musical program. Now, the duo has expanded it: “We have redefined the word bitch!” they celebrated after their victory.
Mery Bas has achieved her goal by participating in the Spanish pre-selection for Eurovision: defeating, at least briefly, ageism in the music industry and making women over 50 visible with a song with the essence of synthpop from the eighties. “I already know that I am just a bitch / That my past devours you / I already know that I am the black sheep / The misunderstood, the stone one,” she sings in the song that has given her victory. “More than an emerging group, we are an emergency group,” the duo jokes.
Her husband, Mark Dasousa, in a discreet background, explained to this newspaper hours before winning in Benidorm that the issue sends a message of tolerance that is not only feminist, but also suitable for anyone who has ever felt displaced. “With this path that Rigoberta Bandini opened and that we try to follow, this spirit will grow. Next year, other people are going to think what we thought when we saw her: “Well, we could also introduce ourselves…”, she said in the Alicante city.
Zorra, with 156 points, has surpassed the great favorite for betting, St. Pedro and his bolero Two Strangers, which has finally achieved 139 points after losing the support of the audience and finishing in fifth place in the televoting. Caliente, by Jorge González, who played with Latin topics, was the public's favorite option in the semifinals, but has finished in fourth position (124 points), surpassed by Angy's emotional and autobiographical rock with Sé qué soy (128). For the first time, the jury has changed its opinion with respect to the previous phases and has caused St. Pedro and Nebulossa to tie their votes, with 86 points each. The experts left the decision in the hands of the public.
Since this Thursday the Canarian went to the final of the festival, he established himself as the great favorite for the betting houses and managed to concentrate 51% of the chances of victory among the eight candidates. However, it was the Valencian couple who made it to Eurovision. Its song, whose message is also reminiscent of Who Cares by Alaska and Dinarama, has been the most chanted by those attending the gala. It has also become the most danced by the jury while the duo performed with their dancers, from the drag scene, on the stage of the Palau d'Esports l'Illa in Benidorm.
The best vocal performance of the night was the first, that of the gala's own presenter, Ruth Lorenzo, who celebrated the tenth anniversary of her participation in Eurovision by reinventing the song she sang in Copenhagen in 2014: Dancing in The Rain. But overall, Saturday's eight live performances were improved over those in the semifinals. After two galas with technical or tuning problems, the public enjoyed the final performances and RTVE offered a high-level television show. It is true that the Benidorm Fest 2024 audience is a captive audience, that of the Eurofan, and in this preselection there have been some hooligan outbreaks with boos towards presenters and the jury to defend the eight artists who have reached the final.
Nebulossa, parents of two children, is made up of Mery Bas and her husband, a veteran producer of the Valencian music scene. Thanks to consensus, and obtaining high votes in the three possible categories, they became the winners of the first semifinal on Tuesday. The song Zorra and, especially its staging, follows the irreverent, unprejudiced and empowered line of some of their previous songs. “When I sent the proposal, I didn't expect it to be so well accepted. Especially because of the title. And for its message itself, for what the song defends,” the singer commented about her after Tuesday's semifinal. “Before taking it to TVE, we did the test with our neighbors. They enjoyed it and the word slut didn't shock them," the duo revealed.
In fifth position is Almácor with Brillos platino, whose chorus has been one of the most celebrated by the followers of the Benidorm Fest. She has been left with 99 points, while María Peláe (86 points), despite adding the rest on Saturday night and demonstrating her excellence with Remitente, has been penalized for offering a flamenco proposal after the recent passage of Blanca Paloma for Eurovision, which was the least voted by the European audience. Sofia Coll (73 points, seventh position) had one of the most played songs of the 16 participants in this edition, Here to Stay, but suffered from last year's Fucsa Nocta effect: her live performance spoiled the song and caused her to lose support almost immediately. Rounding out the classification for this final are the veterans Miss Caffeina, an independent trio that has made itself known to the mainstream audience with Blah, blah, blah.
Artists and songs that are playing to go to Eurovision
The order of performance of the grand final of the Benidorm Fest 2024 is now known. After the second semi-final and the classification of the last four finalists, TVE has carried out its classic draw to determine in which position the 8 artists will perform at the event. in which it will be decided who represents Spain in the next Eurovision Song Contest.
As already happened this Thursday in the second qualifying gala, María Peláe will be in charge of opening the final of the festival this Saturday with the powerful message of Remitente, and Almácor will close the party with herBrillos Platinum. St. Pedro, a big favorite after being crowned winner of 'semi' 2, will perform second with their bolero Two Strangers, while Nebulossa, winners in the first semi-final, will be fifth with Zorra.
“In all the competitions in my life I have been in first place and it is going to be quite an honor. If yesterday I had to stomp my feet, then tomorrow I'll throw myself into a bomb,” the woman from Malaga reacted after learning, in a press conference attended by verTele, that she will once again raise the curtain on the gala. “The pressure is over, this is a gift and let's enjoy the teammates and the whole atmosphere,” said the Canarian St. Pedro, who will sing next to try to win the Bronze Microphone.
- María Peláe — Remitente
- St. Pedro — Dos extraños
- Angy Fernández — Sé quién soy
- Jorge González — Caliente
- Nebulossa — Zorra
- Sofía Coll — Here to stay
- Miss Caffeina — Bla bla bla
- Almácor — Brillos platino
In their appearance before the media after the draw, whose 'innocent hand' was that of Blanca Paloma, the eight finalists have assessed their order of action in the final and have also expressed how they are preparing for that great event in which they will be played. the ticket to Malmö.
“All the messages I have read are of emotion, of fist in the chest. Tomorrow we open the final with Remitente and we are going to throw everything at it with all the force in the world. I came to sing and tell, yesterday I did it and tomorrow I will do it multiplied by 100”, María Peláe commented in the first instance, of whom we analyzed the message of her song and its staging in this other news item.
St. Pedro, favorite in the final due to his victory in the second 'semi', thanked his team and the Eurofans for the support they have given to his proposal: “I didn't expect them to welcome me with such open arms.”. “They have a place on my chest that I didn't know was there.”
Visibly excited, Angy Fernández has stated that she is living the experience “from enjoyment.” “I feel super grateful for my return to music here…” she said, on the verge of breaking down. “I don't know what's going to happen, I didn't see myself in Malmö, and now that we all have one foot it's like 'oysters'. If I go it will be incredible and if not, I will keep this beautiful experience. Without my team, I wouldn't have gotten that strength. Sometimes it is difficult and it is important to surround yourself with people who love you and support you,” added the artist.
Jorge González, for his part, has responded to comparisons of his Caliente number with Chanel's SloMo: “I have never wanted to compare myself. Not at all, it's simply true: he is a man doing what perhaps we are not used to seeing. I don't know what the jury didn't like, but I'm going to take every last breath out of me,” he commented, in line with what was said a few hours before. At that time, Angy added: “Women are required to do much more in everything, we have to sing and dance. Like Ana Mena, Rosalía, Lola Índigo. That suddenly there is someone so complete among the boys should not be penalized.”
Nebulossa, winners of the first 'semi' with Zorra, have been grateful for the platform: “I have to thank Benidorm Fest because we did not expect them to give us this opportunity to an emerging group, which was not known. We have all worked hard to make sure everything turned out well and beautifully. “If we could take Zorra to Europe, it would be a great dream.”
Along the same lines, Sofía Coll has thanked for the “unconditional support that there has been from many people who did not know my name or my universe. “I am so grateful to the team that has created this and I make one more invitation to this fantasy world and not to judge the work, but to enter this dream together.”
“We are going to be left with the feeling that we have been part of a super diverse edition. There will be a final in which Spanish music will be represented in all its aspects. It has been an opportunity to be in such a beautiful showcase that shows the quality of Spanish music,” commented the members of Miss Caffeina.
Almácor, who will close the gala, has shown himself “looking forward to the moment.” “I'm quite calm, the staging has already been revealed and now we only have to detail a couple of things. But honestly, a little fuss, or what?”
Demeaning to women or anthem for freedom? Eurovision entry splits Spain
Critics of the song entitled Bitches say it is misogynistic but the tune has its fans — including the country’s prime minister
Eurovision has a reputation for bland song titles and lyrics but it is a tradition Spain will not be following this year.
Bitches (Zorras), performed by the duo Nebulossa, was selected as Spain’s entry for Eurovision during a competition in Benidorm at the weekend.
The country has just selected its entry for this year’s contest, the title of which, Bitches (Zorras), has caused a national debate, with feminists attacking it for demeaning women and Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister, praising it as “fun”.
Selected in Benidorm at the weekend, the electro-pop song is by the duo Nebulossa and features gyrating male dancers dressed in corset bustiers.
Its lyrics include: “If I head out solo, I’m a bit of a bitch/ If I’m having fun, I’m the biggest bitch/…When I get what I want (bitch, bitch) /It’s never ‘cause I deserve it (bitch, bitch) … Well, she’s been.