Spain in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023

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Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023
Country Spain
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 7 July 2023
Song: 3 October 2023
Selected entrantSandra Valero
Selected song"Loviu"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Luis Ramiro
  • David Parejo Martín
  • Alejandro Martínez Valderrama
  • Diego Cantero
Finals performance
Final result2nd, 201 points
Spain in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
◄2022 • 2023

Spain competed in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023, which was held on 26 November 2023 in Nice, France. Spanish broadcaster RTVE was responsible for their participation and selected the nation's song and artist by internal selection.[1] Sandra Valero was eventually selected to represent the country with the song "Loviu".

The singer performed first in the running order, preceding the entry from Malta. Spain finished in second position with 201 points, marking the seventh time the country finished in the top five at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and its best result since the 2005 contest.

Background[edit]

Prior to the 2023 contest, Spain had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest on eight occasions since its debut in the inaugural 2003 contest. Spain won the 2004 contest with the song "Antes muerta que sencilla", performed by María Isabel.[2] In the 2022 contest, Carlos Higes represented Spain with the song "Señorita", achieving 6th place out of 16 countries with 137 points.[3]

Before Junior Eurovision[edit]

Upon confirming its participation in the 2023 contest, on 7 July, RTVE announced Sandra Valero as the Spanish representative.[4][5] She was chosen based on the unanimous decision of a jury panel made up of Ana María Bordas [es] (head of the Spanish delegation for the contest and co-director of Benidorm Fest), María Eizaguirre (director of communication and participation at RTVE), Miriam Corrales (director of RTVE Entertainment), César Vallejo (co-director of Benidorm Fest), Rayden (musical advisor, Benidorm Fest 2022 contestant), Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson (musical advisor, songwriter of Spanish entries for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007, 2012 and 2015) and Pablo Rodríguez (musical advisor), following a live audition round held the previous day at Prado del Rey studios in Madrid.[6] RTVE had received a total of 114 applications (19 more than in 2022), of which 14 progressed to the auditions.[7] Valero had previously competed in season 7 of La Voz Kids.[8][9] The singer presented a rendition "Parte de tu mundo", a Spanish-language version of "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid (1989) soundtrack during her winning audition.[10]

During the schedule presentation gala of the 2023 and 2024 season of RTVE on 15 September, it was revealed that Valero would sing "Loviu" in Nice, and a week later a press conference dedicated to the presentation of some details about the entry was organised.[11][12][13] The song was selected following an open call for entries, after the closing of which 60 songs were assessed and three were shortlisted, including the selected entry as well as "Superwoman" and "La música".[6] However, the former entry was soon later discarded due to "impossibility of adjusting Sandra Valero's vocal range to that of the song", after which "Loviu", composed by Luis Ramiro, David Parejo Martín, Alejandro Martínez Valderrama and Diego Cantero, was selected with a majority of the votes from the committee.[6][14]

The factors taken into consideration during the selection of "Loviu" were also later revealed by RTVE to be an "universal theme and message", "catchy melody and energetic rhythm to stand out on the Junior Eurovision stage" and the possibility of creating a "creative and dynamic visual interpretation on stage".[15][16] "Loviu" was released on 3 October.[17][18] The song contains repeated phrases in English, French, Italian and Portuguese.[19] A music video directed by Jimmy Llamas and recorded in a Boadilla del Monte virtual reality studio was later teased by RTVE during a press conference on release day, which would go on to be released on 11 October.[20][21]

At Junior Eurovision[edit]

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 took place at Palais Nikaïa in Nice, France on 26 November 2023. The event was broadcast live on La 1 and TVE Internacional. RTVE also confirmed that Tony Aguilar and Julia Varela would return as commentators for the third year running.[22][23]

Sandra Valero and the Spanish delegation also participated in the Opening Ceremony for the contest, which was held in Hotel Negresco in Nice on 20 November 2023, during which the running order was also determined. Spain was drawn to open the contest, and following the ceremony it was revealed that it would be preceding the entry from Malta.[24][25]

Performance[edit]

Sandra Valero performing during the jury show

The live performance for the Spanish entry in Nice featured similarities to the music video for the song, with RTVE previously stating that Javier Pageo, the creative director for the song, who had previously done stagings for multiple contestants of Benidorm Fest and would go on to stage the Sammarinese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 performed by Megara, would "be in charge of bringing the universe of the "Loviu" official video live into the Palais Nikaïa’s stage".[26] Accompanying Valero was a four-piece dance troupe consisting of Juan Diego Álvarez, Elia Cobo, Marcos Pelado and Evelyn Casteñada, some of whom had previously regularly appeared as dancers for the Spanish entrants in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.[27][28] Vicky Gómez was appointed as choreographer, while Verónica Ferreira was appointed Valero's lead vocal coach and Raúl Amor was appointed as the stylist for the entry.[29][30]

The song was performed on a stage made of suitcases, while bright and colourful pastel visuals were displayed on the backing LED's showed a journey through Europe and space. The costumes for Valero and her dancers were inspired by aviator suits, including the one worn by Amelia Earhart.[31][32] When naming "notable moments" in the performance, RTVE mentioned the opening shot, where the singer can be seen sitting on a suitcase and a background of stars, which progressively lights up and "symbolizes the beginning of her dream from the roof of her room".[30][33] Valero's jacket included inscriptions of the words "love you" in 34 languages, including all co-official languages of Spain, while in the final shot the words were displayed on the backing LED's in the 16 official languages of the countries participating in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023.[30]

The performance has a calmer stage basis because the song is already very frantic in itself and could not be given rhythm through them, since it would be very epileptic. Therefore, we give the rhythm with the constant changes of plane intentionally to enhance the different scenes

— Javier Pageo[33]

Voting[edit]

The same voting system that was introduced in the 2017 edition was used, where the results were determined by 50% online voting and 50% jury voting. Every country had a national jury that consisted of three music industry professionals and two children aged between 10 and 15 who were citizens of the country they represented. The rankings of those jurors were combined to make an overall top ten.[34]

The online voting consisted of two phases. The first phase of the online voting began on 24 November 2023 when a recap of all the rehearsal performances was shown on the contest's website Junioreurovision.tv before the viewers could vote. After this, voters also had the option to watch longer one-minute clips from each participant's rehearsal. This first round of voting ended on Sunday 26 November at 15:59 CET. The second phase of the online voting took place during the live show and began right after the last performance and was open for 15 minutes. International viewers were able vote for three songs.[35] They were also able to vote for their own country's song. These votes were then turned into points which were determined by the percentage of votes received. For example, if a song received 10% of the votes, it received 10% of the available points.

At the end of the show, Spain received 115 points from juries and 86 points from online voting, placing 2nd behind France.[36]

Detailed voting results[edit]

Each nation's jury consisted of five members: three adult music industry professionals and two children, who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the contest.

The following members comprised the Spanish jury:[37][38]

Detailed voting results from Spain[36]
Draw Country Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Average Rank Points Awarded
01  Spain
02  Malta 7 13 14 7 8 12
03  Ukraine 10 7 6 11 11 10 1
04  Ireland 9 10 15 15 15 15
05  United Kingdom 8 2 1 6 6 2 10
06  North Macedonia 6 11 8 9 5 9 2
07  Estonia 11 12 9 14 4 11
08  Armenia 5 3 10 10 7 8 3
09  Poland 4 6 7 2 9 3 8
10  Georgia 12 14 13 1 2 6 5
11  Portugal 1 9 11 8 3 4 7
12  France 3 1 2 3 1 1 12
13  Albania 13 15 4 13 10 13
14  Italy 2 8 5 4 12 5 6
15  Germany 15 5 12 12 14 14
16  Netherlands 14 4 3 5 13 7 4

After Junior Eurovision[edit]

Following Sandra Valero's return to Spain after the contest, a welcome press conference was organised on 28 November in Torrespaña, Madrid, led by María Eizaguirre, where the singer spoke about her experience performing in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, reminiscing returning to the hotel after the contest where a group of Spaniards was waiting for her, including her family and friends, as well as the time spent with other contestants, as the most special moments of her experience, after which she and Eizaguirre thanked the press for the coverage given to Spain's participation in the contest.[39][40][41]

On 14 February 2024, the EBU and RTVE announced that Spain will host the 2024 contest after previous winners France opted against hosting. It will be the first time that Spain has hosted the contest and the first Eurovision event to be held in the country since the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 in Madrid.[42]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cole, Jessica (30 May 2023). "Spain begins selection process for Junior Eurovision 2023". Eurovoxx. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Spain - Junior Eurovision Song Contest". Junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Final of Yerevan 2022 - Eurovision Song Contest". Junioreurovision.tv. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  4. ^ Pons, Miguel (7 July 2023). "Sandra Valero to represent Spain at Junior Eurovision 2023". ESCplus. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  5. ^ RTVE, PRENSA (7 July 2023). "Sandra Valero, representante de España en Eurovisión Junior 2023". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Mancheño, José Miguel (13 December 2023). "Así fue el proceso de selección de Sandra Valero como representante de España en Eurovisión Junior 2023". ESCplus España (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  7. ^ Córdoba, Adrián (26 November 2023). "Quién es Sandra Valero, la representante española con la canción 'Loviu' en Eurovisión Junior 2023". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Así es Sandra Valero, la representante española en Eurovisión Junior 2023 que canta desde los cuatro años". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 22 November 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Aitana y Sandra Valero pura ternura cantando a dúo 'Vas a quedarte' en 'La Voz Kids'". www.antena3.com (in Spanish). 27 May 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Eurovisión Junior 2023: Sandra Valero explica cómo le gustaría que fuera su canción". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 28 July 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  11. ^ Mancheño, José Miguel (15 September 2023). "Revelados los compositores de «LOVIU», la propuesta de Sandra Valero para Eurovisión Junior 2023". ESCplus España (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  12. ^ Granger, Anthony (14 September 2023). "🇪🇸 Spain: Sandra Valero to Perform "LOVIU" at Junior Eurovision 2023". Eurovoix. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Spain: Sandra Valero reveals more details about song". junioreurovision.tv. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  14. ^ Mancheño, José Miguel (28 December 2023). "Recordando Eurovisión Junior: Niza 2023, Francia arrasa en una edición donde todos fueron "heroes"". ESCplus España (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  15. ^ Yotele, Redacción (15 September 2023). "Sandra Valero ya tiene canción para representar a España en Eurovisión Junior 2023". www.epe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  16. ^ Press, Europa (15 September 2023). "Sandra Valero representará a España en Eurovisión Junior con la "alegre y movida" 'Loviu': "Me encanta la canción"". www.europapress.es. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  17. ^ Farren, Neil (3 October 2023). "🇪🇸 Spain: Sandra Valero Releases "Loviu"". Eurovoix. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  18. ^ Perez, Marc (3 October 2023). "RTVE releases LOVIU, Sandra Valero's song for JESC23!". escYOUnited. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Listen to the Spanish entry for Junior Eurovision 2023 'Loviu'". ESCBubble. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Spain: Sandra Valero films video for 'Loviu' and shares snippet". junioreurovision.tv. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  21. ^ ESCOT, DANIEL BORREGO; Escot, Daniel Borrego (11 October 2023). "Sandra Valero estrena el videoclip de "Loviu", un tema alegre, pegadizo y con un estribillo internacional". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  22. ^ "Eurovisión Junior 2023 se podrá ver en todo el mundo a través de TVE Internacional". ESCplus España (in European Spanish). 16 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Sandra Valero: "lo que más ganas tengo es de ver el escenario"". RTVE. 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  24. ^ RTVE, PRENSA (26 November 2023). "España actuará en primera posición en Eurovisión Junior 2023". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  25. ^ "Opening Ceremony and Junior Eurovision 2023 Running Order!". junioreurovision.tv. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  26. ^ Cília, João (27 October 2023). "🇪🇸 Spain: Artistic Director and Vocal Coach for Junior Eurovision 2023 Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  27. ^ Grace, Emily (17 October 2023). "🇪🇸 Spain: Sandra Valero to Be Joined By Four Backing Dancers at Junior Eurovision". Eurovoix. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  28. ^ "🇪🇸 Sandra Valero to be joined on stage by four dancers at Junior Eurovision 2023". That Eurovision Site. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  29. ^ ESCOT, DANIEL BORREGO; Escot, Daniel Borrego (17 October 2023). "Estos son los cuatro bailarines que acompañarán a Sandra Valero en Eurovisión Junior". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  30. ^ a b c "La vuelta al mundo de Sandra Valero en 56 planos. ¡El vídeo de su segundo ensayo en Eurovisión Junior!". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 24 November 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  31. ^ Mancheño, José Miguel (22 November 2023). "Gallery: All the images of Sandra Valero (Spain) in her first Junior Eurovision 2023 rehearsal". ESCplus. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  32. ^ CAMPOS, PATRI; Campos, Patri (26 November 2023). "Quién es Sandra Valero, subcampeona de Eurovisión Junior por España". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  33. ^ a b Dijk, Sem Anne Van (24 November 2023). "🇪🇸 Spain: New Details of Sandra Valero's Junior Eurovision Performance Released". Eurovoix. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  34. ^ Granger, Anthony (15 November 2018). "Junior Eurovision 2018 – How Does The Voting Work?". Eurovoix.
  35. ^ How To Vote on Junior Eurovision 2023. Junioreurovision.tv (video). European Broadcasting Union. 14 November 2023.
  36. ^ a b c d "Results of the Final of Nice 2023". Junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023.
  37. ^ "Final of Nice 2023". junioreurovision.tv.
  38. ^ Cervera, Marc (26 November 2023). "Desvelados los miembros del jurado español en Eurovisión Junior 2023". escplus.es (in European Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  39. ^ Carros, Enrique García y David (28 November 2023). "Sandra Valero aterriza en Madrid tras su experiencia en Eurovisión Junior 2023 y su merecido segundo puesto". ESCplus España (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  40. ^ Sempere, Elian Vayá (28 November 2023). "Sandra Valero recuerda su metedura de pata en Eurovisión Junior 2023 y responde a su comparación con Rosa López". cadena SER (in European Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  41. ^ RTVE, PRENSA (28 November 2023). "Sandra Valero, tras hacer historia en Eurovisión Junior: "Al actuar me sentí feliz y muy orgullosa. Ha sido un honor"". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  42. ^ "Spain will host Junior Eurovision 2024". Junioreurovision.tv. EBU. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
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