Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015


Spain participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Amanecer", written by Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson, Peter Boström and. The song was performed by Edurne, who was selected by Spanish broadcaster Televisión Española in January 2015 to represent the nation at the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. "Amanecer" was later presented to the public in March 2015. As a member of the "Big 5", Spain competed directly in the final on 23 May 2015 and did not have to qualify from one of two semi-finals held on 19 May and 21 May. However, Spain was obligated to vote in the first semi-final. In Spain's fifty-fifth Eurovision appearance on 23 May, "Amanecer" finished in twenty-first place out of 27 competing songs.

Background

Prior to the 2015 contest, Spain had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-four times since its first entry in. The nation has won the contest on two occasions: in 1968 with the song "La, la, la" performed by Massiel and in 1969 with the song "Vivo cantando" performed by Salomé, the latter having won in a four-way tie with France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Spain has also finished second four times, with Karina in 1971, Mocedades in 1973, Betty Missiego in 1979 and Anabel Conde in 1995. In 2012,Spain placed tenth with the song Quédate Conmigo performed by Pastora Soler, while in 2014, Spain placed tenth too with the song "Dancing in the Rain" performed by Ruth Lorenzo.
The Spanish national broadcaster, Televisión Española, broadcasts the event within Spain and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. From 2007 to 2011, TVE had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Spain, with both the public and a panel of jury members involved in the selection. For 2012 and 2013, the broadcaster internally selected the artists, while a national final was held to select their song. In 2014, TVE returned to using a national final to select both the artist and song that would represent Spain. For the 2015 contest, the broadcaster opted to internally select both the artist and song.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

TVE confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest on 15 September 2014. In December 2014, while TVE had not revealed how the Spanish entry would be selected, Spanish press speculated that TVE had selected singer Edurne to represent Spain at the 2015 contest. Other artists rumoured in the Spanish press included Pablo Alborán, Diana Navarro and Marta Sánchez. On 14 January 2015, the broadcaster held a press conference at the Sala de Comunicación Torrespaña, TVE Headquarters in Madrid, hosted by Ignacio Gómez-Acebo, to announce that they had internally selected Edurne to represent Spain in Vienna. During the press conference, it was also revealed that Edurne would sing the song "Amanecer", written by Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson, Peter Boström and. Sánchez-Ohlsson and G:son previously wrote the Spanish entries in 2007 and 2012.

Preparation

At the end of January 2015, Edurne recorded "Amanecer" and filmed the official music video of the song. The video was filmed in Valencia and was directed by David Arnal and Germán de la Hoz. On 1 March, "Amanecer" premiered on the Spanish broadcaster's official website. The official video of the song was later released on 9 March. On 6 April, Edurne performed "Amanecer" live for the first time during the show Alaska y Segura on La 1. On 15 April, it was announced that "Amanecer" would be the official song of the 2015 Vuelta a España. On 22 April, a promotional symphonic version of "Amanecer" was released, which was recorded with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra and chorus at Madrid's Teatro Monumental.

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation. As a member of the "Big 5", Spain automatically qualified to compete in the final on 23 May 2015. In addition to their participation in the final, Spain was also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 26 January 2015, Spain was assigned to broadcast and vote in the first semi-final on 19 May 2015.
In Spain, the semi-finals were broadcast on La 2 and the final was broadcast on La 1 with commentary by José María Íñigo and Julia Varela. The Spanish spokesperson, who announced the Spanish votes during the final, was Lara Siscar.

Final

Edurne took part in technical rehearsals on 17 and 20 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 22 and 23 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries. After technical rehearsals were held on 20 May, the "Big 5" countries, host nation Austria and special guest Australia held a press conference. As part of this press conference, the artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. Spain was drawn to compete in the second half. Following the conclusion of the second semi-final, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final. The running order for the semi-finals and final was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Spain was subsequently placed to perform in position 21, following the entry from Romania and before the entry from Hungary.
The stage show featured Edurne with one backing dancer, Giuseppe Di Bella, performing a routine choreographed by Miryam Benedited Arce. Edurne started the performance dressed in a long red cloak, laying down on a pedestal at the centre of the stage and holding her backing dancer in her arms. As the song progressed, Edurne underwent a costume change with the removal of the red cloak revealing a golden dress designed by José Fuentes. Edurne and her backing dancer performed an acrobatic dance leading to Edurne finishing the performance alone in the centre of the stage. The stage lighting transitioned from dark colours to bright yellow with the background LED screens displaying rain, waterfalls and arid landscapes. In regards to the performance, the head of the Spanish delegation Federico Llanos stated: "The moment captured by Edurne's song "Amanecer" is sunrise. Last minutes of a battle between the darkness and the light. She thinks about all the memories, fighting against all the bad things happened in her life. So, she struggles with her past, hoping to be able to continue with her life. It's all about the battle, right before the sunrise. That excitement is what the song and her performance is all about."
At the conclusion of the voting, Spain finished in twenty-first place with 15 points.

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant 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 could 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 grand final.
Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Spain had placed twentieth with the public televote and twenty-fifth with the jury vote. In the public vote, Spain scored 27 points and in the jury vote the nation scored 6 points.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Spain and awarded by Spain in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to Spain

Points awarded by Spain

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Spanish jury: