I think it's a real shame that María Peláe has been marked down, consciously or not, because of Blanca Paloma's underperformance last year. I think "Remitente" is pure magic but I understand it would probably get a similar result to Blanca. My second favourite is definitely St Pedro, and I'm 90% sure he'll win, but the female dancers are so distracting and moving far too quickly.
You're spot on, Stuart! It's so refreshing to hear someone that goes beyond their personal preferences/biases and puts together an objective analysis. Love your work!
Very good summary. I had Almacor as my no1 despite the vocals as the rest was good enough for me and he apparently sings fine normally, so maybe it was an audio issue or something else. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. I'm very conflicted about Jorge. On the other hand the performance does elevate the song, but on the other, the choreo wasn't as jaw-dropping as I felt it needed to be. And the dance break was, well, interesting. Agree that st Pedro is the best option, but the staging needs to be more intimate. Other reactors have pointed out that in a year that seems to have a lot of loud and uptempo songs, he could really stand out a mile. And while st Pedro's song isn't normally my cup of tea, I certainly wouldn't mind him winning ESC. Spain are long overdue a victory, and it's been a while since a ballad won.
I agree with the St. Pedro's staging, the song makes me feel calm and at peace but the staging gave me none of that. Still an amazing voice and performance!
St Pedro needs a more suitable staging, I think. The dance in the shadows made no sense with the story behind the song. But I think he will still win Benidorm Fest. I agree with you regarding JG. He wants so much to be the next Chanel, but Chanel had a better song with a self empowerment message whereas Caliente is just a bunch of clichés mixed together.
There is an excellent narrative in the staging of st. Pedro. The song speaks of a love ended without reproaches, without guilt, from the pain and bitterness of memory. Shadows are loves that have been lost but that stir in memory. The journey across the stage is a path from pain to oblivion. The rose that falls at the beginning is a broken heart. I like the contrast between the classical sound and the modern performance of the dancers. A slower dance would have fallen into clichés. Risky, but great. I think he would have to open his eyes to the camera at some key moment and a little more light.
Thank you for this great review. Especially for jorge you verbalized what until now was just "its too much and also not enough" in my head so thanks for that 🎉
My fav are Angy and St Pedro. Love both songs although i was a bit disappointed with St Pedro staging. I feel it really needs to be elevated way more and get a bit closer to that high and intimate level of his two videos. Even the first video of his song (that actually nothing happens) is so beautiful that he just needed to recreate that type of intimacy. He doesn't need dancers we just need to connect with him and the universe where he's at. On the other side, Angy is my top fav, she was the only one who really made me feel emotionally connected with her, that scene where her dancers hug her (representing her fears and how she starts to accepting them to finally dance with them) was so powerful and beautifully done.
Agree in all your thoughts. The best of the bunch for all that you have said in the video is st. Pedro. But the staging must be changed. The focus must be more on him. This can be improved in three months. It's the best option for Malmö because the other songs or vocals can not be improved. They are bad and nothing gonna change that in three months, not even a dance break, a steamy or a showy staging.
Overall, I thought the actual singing was pretty lackluster across both semi finals. I don't know if the sound engineers have anything to do with it, but yeah. I liked Angy and St. Pedro, those are my favorites from Spain this year
I was hoping until the very last second that Roger could squeeze theough to the final, but he just missed out. It was a stacked semi-final and I never expected him to make it, but when I saw the performance I really got my hopes up and think he really would've deserved a breakthrough by qualifying. Still, best of the rest isn't too bad 😄
I've commented on other analyses of Benidorm with the feeling that Maria would give the same result as Blanca Paloma, so, although a great song. Spain would hesitate. Do you feel St. Pedro, again also good, would have direct competition from Slimane?
I think they are offering very different styles of ballads, so not really. I'm not sure I see st. Pedro winning Eurovision in the end, but I think he is Spain's best choice.
It is interesting, Spain never has had anything interesting for me in ESC. I am little bit disappointed of St. Pedro leading the odds, cause I feel is not authentic at all, and it is something seen many times before in ESC. The only one that would get my vote is honestly Nebulossa... i dont care so much about the voice cause I have seen not great singers (Kaarija as example) doing it very well in Eurovision.. but well... lets see..
Sofia Coll is ofc the one who could do the best in ESC. If you watch video recorded by audience member at the arena you can hear that her vocals sounded much better there and the sound mixing was just bad
One thing with Pedro's performance are the dancers: with a very sweet bolero song and then you look at the dancers and it feels like a pussycat dolls rutine, It downgrade much of the romantic atmosfere For almacor at this time Spain is like a civil eurofan war between the people who wish the song in ESC and the others who doesn't (I feel in the Loreen vs Kaarija era hahahahah), in my opinion he is a big NO (Sorry for my english, it have been a long time since i wrote a sentence 😂)
No pasa nada! 😉 On a positive note, that means that he will have found a larger audience by participating, which is one of the best ways to gain something from BF without winning 😊
My issue with Caliente is the lackluster energy during his performance. I didn't feel the performance matched the high energy of the song, despite the beginning of the performance was actually pretty good but after that, I'm struggling to gain the energy to enjoy the performance.
my personal faves after all performances are Angy and St. Pedro, with Jorge and Sofia coming close as my co-runners-up. I think all of them have complete packages, but I slightly lean towards Angy because her package is more refined. -the "issue" I see in St Pedro's staging is the overmovement of the background dancers; I think they should reduce the movement and focus on the interpretation (because there are parts of the dancers that are really spot on). -Jorge's performance is very energetic, but too striking and forceful. it relies too much on the "have you seen that I am hot?" concept. it would be far better if he and his team toned down their movement to a certain degree (like Chanel's or Eleni's) -for Sofia, the staging is good but the song is a bit too generic. Also, the part when she walked on the stairs should be fixed (at least from the camera angle perspective); no way she should turn back from the audience unless you were filmed at that camera angle for television viewers.
About talking Mantra's winning moment. This isn't the moment we should be questioning the voting system. It's the moment we should be THANKING the voting system since it clearly shows how faulty the televote is.
I think it supports the argument for a demoscopic jury, because that way songs are less likely to get tonnes of televotes because of a few demographics voting in high numbers. But when you see it played out on TV it certainly looks discouraging. They'll have to think about it in the future.
Last year everyone or almost everyone praised Blanca Paloma,, and we all know what happened, Eurovision is a bit trashy and the general public is what it is, I think Jorge like it or not delivers what in general people expect from Spain.BF is not really about which one is the best song, but which so g and package is best for Eurovision.Jorge has it, and I should say before the semi he wasnt i. my top 5, "pero al César lo que es del César"
Como cantante y cancion St Pedro pero no me gusta la puesta en escena, me parece sosa y las bailarinas distraen de la canción y su movimiento no concuerda en el ritmo. Yo añadiría calidez, resaltaria la instrumentación y mejoraria su interpretacion facial y corporal, el resto lo lleva .
I do think your comments are a bit unfair regarding Jorge - would you be describing a female performer performing a 'sexual' routine as shameless and self indulgent? It's not just you saying this, it just feels like a bit of a weird double standard between how we treat the small number of male performers who go down this route.
Well if we compare this to Chanel for example (which is inevitable given the event and the timing), it was also highly sexual and a bit shameless. But these are the differences IMO: - SloMo was built on a dembow rhythm, which pays tribute to Chanel's Cuban heritage. Some people interpret Spanish artists doing Latin pop as inappropriate given their colonial history, but in this case you can't make the same argument. - The choreography was top notch and high above everything else at Benidorm and Eurovision. That can't be overstated. - SloMo wasn't necessarily the most original song from a songwriting point of view. But as a sum of all it's parts it still feels like much more of a song with character and identity. Jorge's song is a collection of Latin Lover cliches that have nothing to do with Spain or Spanish people with rhythms and melodies that we've already heard before. It's not to say that there isn't an audience for it and that it couldn't do well. It's just been done to death. And so it's very clearly leaning on sex appeal to compensate for everything that it lacks. For that I can't respect it.
I was just about to make the same point about the double standard between men and women. But Stuart gave some good points back. But I think it’s unfortunate that he’s being compared to Chanel because who can live up to that standard? 😝 But I do think many female dancers if not the main performer also, are portrayed as being practically orgasmic during their routine. And are not accused of being self indulgent. I loved Jorge’s routine. It’s not Chanel but it has its own creativity, and expression.
@@myrawatters1036 Don't get me wrong, I do not think this is at the level of Chanel, and I don't necessarily think this is the best choice for Spain! There's been quite a lot nastiness today re. Jorge (some of it quite overtly homophobic). I know it wasn't Stuart's intention (and I'm sorry Stuart if it seems like I'm picking on you when there has definitely been a lot worse said today!) but I do think there are fairer ways to critique an entry than suggesting a sexualised male performance (even if the song itself is mediocre) is in some way shameful.
No worries here. I think you raise a good point. We've seen a lot of tasteful displays of male sexuality nowadays, and even some of those face similar criticisms. But in my case it's not just that it's a sexualized performance because there is nothing wrong with expressing sexuality. It's how it goes about it and that it's clearly indulgent.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
I think it's a real shame that María Peláe has been marked down, consciously or not, because of Blanca Paloma's underperformance last year. I think "Remitente" is pure magic but I understand it would probably get a similar result to Blanca. My second favourite is definitely St Pedro, and I'm 90% sure he'll win, but the female dancers are so distracting and moving far too quickly.
You're spot on, Stuart! It's so refreshing to hear someone that goes beyond their personal preferences/biases and puts together an objective analysis. Love your work!
Thank you Fernando! 😁
Very good summary. I had Almacor as my no1 despite the vocals as the rest was good enough for me and he apparently sings fine normally, so maybe it was an audio issue or something else. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. I'm very conflicted about Jorge. On the other hand the performance does elevate the song, but on the other, the choreo wasn't as jaw-dropping as I felt it needed to be. And the dance break was, well, interesting. Agree that st Pedro is the best option, but the staging needs to be more intimate. Other reactors have pointed out that in a year that seems to have a lot of loud and uptempo songs, he could really stand out a mile. And while st Pedro's song isn't normally my cup of tea, I certainly wouldn't mind him winning ESC. Spain are long overdue a victory, and it's been a while since a ballad won.
Thank you for this insightful analysis!
Glad you enjoyed it! 😁
Totally agree with you on everything. My fav is St. Pedro but I agree he has to largely improve the staging.
I agree with the St. Pedro's staging, the song makes me feel calm and at peace but the staging gave me none of that. Still an amazing voice and performance!
St Pedro needs a more suitable staging, I think. The dance in the shadows made no sense with the story behind the song. But I think he will still win Benidorm Fest.
I agree with you regarding JG. He wants so much to be the next Chanel, but Chanel had a better song with a self empowerment message whereas Caliente is just a bunch of clichés mixed together.
There is an excellent narrative in the staging of st. Pedro. The song speaks of a love ended without reproaches, without guilt, from the pain and bitterness of memory. Shadows are loves that have been lost but that stir in memory. The journey across the stage is a path from pain to oblivion. The rose that falls at the beginning is a broken heart. I like the contrast between the classical sound and the modern performance of the dancers. A slower dance would have fallen into clichés. Risky, but great.
I think he would have to open his eyes to the camera at some key moment and a little more light.
@@joanvicentsempere447 The sensual dancing doesn't really match the narrative of the song in my opinion.
El" trenecito" tiene delito 😑 Del exceso al ridículo hay una línea muy fina.😒
@@joanvicentsempere447No por dios, las bailarinas parecían bailar esa de Bangles 😅 distraían porque iban a su bola!!
@@joanvicentsempere447gracias, no lo vi así, pero creo visualmente no conecta con el publico por muy profundo q sea su mensaje
Thank you for this great review. Especially for jorge you verbalized what until now was just "its too much and also not enough" in my head so thanks for that 🎉
Haha, I know that feeling! Glad you enjoyed it!
My fav are Angy and St Pedro. Love both songs although i was a bit disappointed with St Pedro staging. I feel it really needs to be elevated way more and get a bit closer to that high and intimate level of his two videos. Even the first video of his song (that actually nothing happens) is so beautiful that he just needed to recreate that type of intimacy. He doesn't need dancers we just need to connect with him and the universe where he's at. On the other side, Angy is my top fav, she was the only one who really made me feel emotionally connected with her, that scene where her dancers hug her (representing her fears and how she starts to accepting them to finally dance with them) was so powerful and beautifully done.
Agree in all your thoughts. The best of the bunch for all that you have said in the video is st. Pedro. But the staging must be changed. The focus must be more on him. This can be improved in three months. It's the best option for Malmö because the other songs or vocals can not be improved. They are bad and nothing gonna change that in three months, not even a dance break, a steamy or a showy staging.
JORGE GONZÁLEZ with Caliente . Si THE PERFECT PACK . Voice, performance , oufit , coreo 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 in love with this team. 🥰🥰🥰
Overall, I thought the actual singing was pretty lackluster across both semi finals. I don't know if the sound engineers have anything to do with it, but yeah. I liked Angy and St. Pedro, those are my favorites from Spain this year
Yeah, it's quite clear that something is off. Many of these performers have no issue in live settings or on other TV shows.
I was hoping until the very last second that Roger could squeeze theough to the final, but he just missed out.
It was a stacked semi-final and I never expected him to make it, but when I saw the performance I really got my hopes up and think he really would've deserved a breakthrough by qualifying.
Still, best of the rest isn't too bad 😄
Roger performed wonderfully! I would have liked for either him or Yoly Saa to advance, but you're right it was a stacked semifinal.
I've commented on other analyses of Benidorm with the feeling that Maria would give the same result as Blanca Paloma, so, although a great song. Spain would hesitate. Do you feel St. Pedro, again also good, would have direct competition from Slimane?
I think they are offering very different styles of ballads, so not really. I'm not sure I see st. Pedro winning Eurovision in the end, but I think he is Spain's best choice.
Also agree about everything with Jorge.
back here, kinda heartbroken with the result.
It is interesting, Spain never has had anything interesting for me in ESC. I am little bit disappointed of St. Pedro leading the odds, cause I feel is not authentic at all, and it is something seen many times before in ESC. The only one that would get my vote is honestly Nebulossa... i dont care so much about the voice cause I have seen not great singers (Kaarija as example) doing it very well in Eurovision.. but well... lets see..
Sofia Coll is ofc the one who could do the best in ESC. If you watch video recorded by audience member at the arena you can hear that her vocals sounded much better there and the sound mixing was just bad
Some videos of other countries say St Pedro is boring,too slow.They don't understand the bolero.They want dance , more rhythm
One thing with Pedro's performance are the dancers: with a very sweet bolero song and then you look at the dancers and it feels like a pussycat dolls rutine, It downgrade much of the romantic atmosfere
For almacor at this time Spain is like a civil eurofan war between the people who wish the song in ESC and the others who doesn't (I feel in the Loreen vs Kaarija era hahahahah), in my opinion he is a big NO
(Sorry for my english, it have been a long time since i wrote a sentence 😂)
No pasa nada! 😉
On a positive note, that means that he will have found a larger audience by participating, which is one of the best ways to gain something from BF without winning 😊
My issue with Caliente is the lackluster energy during his performance. I didn't feel the performance matched the high energy of the song, despite the beginning of the performance was actually pretty good but after that, I'm struggling to gain the energy to enjoy the performance.
my personal faves after all performances are Angy and St. Pedro, with Jorge and Sofia coming close as my co-runners-up. I think all of them have complete packages, but I slightly lean towards Angy because her package is more refined.
-the "issue" I see in St Pedro's staging is the overmovement of the background dancers; I think they should reduce the movement and focus on the interpretation (because there are parts of the dancers that are really spot on).
-Jorge's performance is very energetic, but too striking and forceful. it relies too much on the "have you seen that I am hot?" concept. it would be far better if he and his team toned down their movement to a certain degree (like Chanel's or Eleni's)
-for Sofia, the staging is good but the song is a bit too generic. Also, the part when she walked on the stairs should be fixed (at least from the camera angle perspective); no way she should turn back from the audience unless you were filmed at that camera angle for television viewers.
About talking Mantra's winning moment. This isn't the moment we should be questioning the voting system. It's the moment we should be THANKING the voting system since it clearly shows how faulty the televote is.
I think it supports the argument for a demoscopic jury, because that way songs are less likely to get tonnes of televotes because of a few demographics voting in high numbers. But when you see it played out on TV it certainly looks discouraging. They'll have to think about it in the future.
Last year everyone or almost everyone praised Blanca Paloma,, and we all know what happened, Eurovision is a bit trashy and the general public is what it is, I think Jorge like it or not delivers what in general people expect from Spain.BF is not really about which one is the best song, but which so g and package is best for Eurovision.Jorge has it, and I should say before the semi he wasnt i. my top 5, "pero al César lo que es del César"
Como cantante y cancion St Pedro pero no me gusta la puesta en escena, me parece sosa y las bailarinas distraen de la canción y su movimiento no concuerda en el ritmo. Yo añadiría calidez, resaltaria la instrumentación y mejoraria su interpretacion facial y corporal, el resto lo lleva .
I do think your comments are a bit unfair regarding Jorge - would you be describing a female performer performing a 'sexual' routine as shameless and self indulgent?
It's not just you saying this, it just feels like a bit of a weird double standard between how we treat the small number of male performers who go down this route.
Well if we compare this to Chanel for example (which is inevitable given the event and the timing), it was also highly sexual and a bit shameless. But these are the differences IMO:
- SloMo was built on a dembow rhythm, which pays tribute to Chanel's Cuban heritage. Some people interpret Spanish artists doing Latin pop as inappropriate given their colonial history, but in this case you can't make the same argument.
- The choreography was top notch and high above everything else at Benidorm and Eurovision. That can't be overstated.
- SloMo wasn't necessarily the most original song from a songwriting point of view. But as a sum of all it's parts it still feels like much more of a song with character and identity.
Jorge's song is a collection of Latin Lover cliches that have nothing to do with Spain or Spanish people with rhythms and melodies that we've already heard before. It's not to say that there isn't an audience for it and that it couldn't do well. It's just been done to death. And so it's very clearly leaning on sex appeal to compensate for everything that it lacks. For that I can't respect it.
I was just about to make the same point about the double standard between men and women. But Stuart gave some good points back.
But I think it’s unfortunate that he’s being compared to Chanel because who can live up to that standard? 😝
But I do think many female dancers if not the main performer also, are portrayed as being practically orgasmic during their routine. And are not accused of being self indulgent.
I loved Jorge’s routine. It’s not Chanel but it has its own creativity, and expression.
@@myrawatters1036 Don't get me wrong, I do not think this is at the level of Chanel, and I don't necessarily think this is the best choice for Spain!
There's been quite a lot nastiness today re. Jorge (some of it quite overtly homophobic). I know it wasn't Stuart's intention (and I'm sorry Stuart if it seems like I'm picking on you when there has definitely been a lot worse said today!) but I do think there are fairer ways to critique an entry than suggesting a sexualised male performance (even if the song itself is mediocre) is in some way shameful.
No worries here. I think you raise a good point. We've seen a lot of tasteful displays of male sexuality nowadays, and even some of those face similar criticisms. But in my case it's not just that it's a sexualized performance because there is nothing wrong with expressing sexuality. It's how it goes about it and that it's clearly indulgent.
@@stu_makes_vids
Dale perico al torno con las colonias! España no ha tenido colonias eso es invención anglosajona, como tantas cosas! 🙄
desagree whit your commentaries. Jorge González big winner!!!! Talent so a perfect pack!!!
De verdad necesitaba la coreografía ese trenecito ?🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Jorge González is the winner🎉🎉🎉