Around 6:30 p.m., at the Alameda Theater in Seville, the presentation of the 16 contestants for the Benidorm Fest 2024 began. The ceremony was presided over by María Eizaguirre, the director of Communication and Participation of RTVE, who was excited. “Today we present a new edition, with new contestants. But without forgetting those who made it possible for us to be here today: the participants of the first and second edition,” she commented and then presented a makeover at the Benidorm Fest. “We have evolved and now we play with two concepts: day and night, the sun and the moon, in a city that is already our second home,” she mentioned.
Subsequently, Eizaguirre referred to the sale of tickets for the event, which will take place at the end of January and beginning of February. “Tickets for the first semi-final will go on sale on December 4, those for the second semi-final on the 11th and tickets for the Grand Final on December 18. You will be able to purchase all tickets on a new platform: the official Benidorm Fest store, where they will also have merchandising for sale,” he explained. Likewise, the person in charge of the contest expressed her euphoria “for the things that are to come.”
“This year we have a little bit of everything and we believe we have a very powerful selection, which you are going to like. There is a variety of different styles, because we believe that the Benidorm Fest is a showcase for Spanish music. That is why we have created a festival of these characteristics… And we believe that it is something that you will all like”, also commented César Vallejo, audiovisual creator of the Benidorm Fest, and Ana María Bordas, director of Originals at RTVE, who also revealed that on the 14th of In November, a press conference will be held in which the contestants will show their songs.
“I want to tell you that I have called many artists: big, small, emerging, from everywhere. And I have received many ‘no’s. But some of the ‘no’s that I received the first year are here today. So I hope the same happens. same in the next editions. In addition, I would like to say that in this search for variety, we started a composition camp. It is something that we will explain next week, but we can already anticipate: it is a camp without any commitment to any artist. But good things came out of there. Like a song that will be presented in this edition,” said Vallejo.
“In addition to telling news, we also want to ask for respect for all our artists. It is not easy to appear at the Benidorm Fest and all the contestants deserve support, as has already happened on other occasions. Everyone is working hard and so are we. We are working on what what the galas will be like and we hope you like it. We are going to introduce new things to the stage. Really, we are dedicated to making a great new edition,” said Bordas.
During the event, numerous former Benidorm Fest participants presented themselves. Among them, Gonzalo Hermida, Alice Wonder, Tanxugueriras, Karmento, Blanca Paloma, Megara -who kissed Sharone on the mouth-, Vicco, Agoney and Alfred García, who performed well-known songs, while Eizaguirre and Bordas presented the 16 soloists and groups who will fight to represent Spain in Eurovision. They are: Almácor, Angy Fernández, Dellacruz, Jorge González, Lérica, Mantra, María Peláe, Marlena, Miss Caffeína, Nebulossa, Noan, Quique Niza, Roger Padrós, Sofía Coll, St. Pedro and Yoly Saa.
His name is Arturo Almarcha Corella, but he prefers to be called Almácor, a nickname created based on his two surnames. Almácor – who is one of the composers of Yo no Quiero ná and was nominated for Best New Urban Artist at the LOS40 Music Awards – was born in Villena, in 1997, and, from a young age, he knew that he wanted to dedicate himself to music. “I define myself as an artist of the urban genre, who likes reggaeton and lively rhythms. I started in music at an early age and always knew what I wanted to do. I never said it, because it sounded strange to me to say ‘I want to be a singer.’ ‘, because before people thought ‘stay away from drugs’. But, in the end, I dared. I thought ‘the only way to see if this works is to release a single,'” he told Actualidad FM, in 2022.
The famous Mallorcan rose to fame in 2007, for being a finalist in the first edition of Factor X Spain. Later, in 2008, she debuted in fiction, thanks to her role as Paula in Physics or Chemistry. Likewise, Angy has gone through great productions such as Unbreakable, Gym Tony and Amar es para siempre. She has also released two albums: Angy and Drama Queen, in 2008, when she stepped away from music… Until 2011, when she participated in Tu cara me sona. During the last few years, Fernández has been away from the microphones. However, last year, she revealed her intentions to appear at the Benidorm Fest. “Finally, I didn’t submit the song to perform. But who knows next year?” she tweeted in October 2022 and this fall she kept her promise.
Jorge de la Cruz Correa is Dellacruz. A singer and composer, born in Tenerife and currently living in Madrid, who has composed for Dvicio, Bombai, Xuso Jones, Carlos Right, Famous, Twin Melody and Sergio Dalma. According to Spotify, he debuted in 2019 with his first single, called No disimula. Currently, he has 78.5 thousand monthly listeners and 12.3 thousand followers on Instagram, where he shows his versatility. According to his website, Dellacruz has an incredible ability to “adapt to different musical genres” and presents a profile that is attractive to international brands, such as Pantene or Adidas. “All the effort is worth it and I have no words, it’s crazy,” he wrote recently on his social media.
Jorge González became known in 2006, with the fifth edition of Operación Triunfo, where he was the ninth expelled. Three years later, the Madrid native tried to go to Eurovision for the first time. He didn’t make it. However, that did not dampen his dreams. In fact, in 2012 he appeared on La Voz and in 2014 he returned as a candidate to go to the international contest. But, again, luck was not on his side. Still, Jorge did not give up. In 2020, he entered as a contestant on Your face sounds to me and won, which motivated him to think about Eurovision again. “Eurovision is my dream. Furthermore, I believe that I am now in my best moment and I am ready to go,” he told La Otra Crónica, in 2020.
In 2016, three young musicians – Juan Carlos Arauzo, Rubén Noel and Tony, Abraham Mateo’s brother – formed a group called Lérica. An acronym derived from the adjectives LEal, RIsueño and CARiñoso. However, in 2020, Noel left the band and Aruzo and Mateo continued as a duo… And very successful. Currently, they have 1.2 million listeners on Spotify. “Since we were little we always thought about reaching this. But we have always been anchored to the ground and grateful for each achievement, because we know that it is a responsibility to maintain those numbers,” they declared to EL MUNDO, in 2021, in an interview, in which they also spoke about the criticism they usually receive. “There are people who think that Abraham has turned us on, but it doesn’t bother us. On the contrary, having a relationship with him has not helped spread our music more,” they commented.
The Mantra trio is made up of Carlos Marco, former member of Auryn, his friend Charly and Paula Pérez, who participated in the OT casting in 2017. As a group they began their journey in 2020 and, since then, they have achieved several radio hits. Like I’d rather forget you, together with Edurne, and I don’t want you to come back, in collaboration with Carlos Baute. This 2022 they released their first album, called Epicentro, which has received excellent reviews. And what do you expect from the future? As they told Neo2 last June, they hope that “their fans will play their songs on a loop” and that “their followers will be able to transport themselves to various emotions, thanks to their songs.”
María Peláe from Malaga was a medical student and left to become a flamenco superstar. She became known in 2016, when she released her first studio album, although her true launch to fame occurred in 2021, when she joined Tu cara me Sounds and became the third finalist. Likewise, Peláe – whose real surname is Peláez – has emerged as a great composer. What’s more, she has composed two songs for the Spanish pre-selection for Eurovision: Nadie se salva and Arde, performed by Aitana and composed with her girlfriend Alba Reig. She is one of the members of Sweet California. In recent years, Peláe and her girl have become LGTBI icons and they are happy to be so. “I am a woman, lesbian, Andalusian and flamenco. I have it all,” she told YoDona, in 2022.
The well-known duo, which is made up of Ana Legazpi, Dulceida’s ex, and Carolina Moyano, is sweeping the networks and Spotify. They have 1.2 million monthly listeners and on Instagram they have almost 55 thousand followers, who love their story. “We met in 2017, having drinks and we started doing covers. Then we participated in They decided to rename the duo Marlena,” they told RTVE. A year after appearing on Italian TV, Marlena appeared on X Factor Spain and, since then, they have become stars. “It sounds strong, but we are an LGTBI reference,” they told La Razón in 2022.
The trio – formed by Alberto Jiménez, Sergio Sastre and Antonio Poza – arrives at the Benidrom Fest to make indie sound. They began their career in 2010, but did not gain fame until 2016 with their third album, called Detroit. Since then, they have become essential guests at various Spanish festivals and Spotify never stops playing them. What’s more, they have almost half a million monthly listeners. “We sell ourselves very poorly, but we could say that we are a pop group, without complexes and very fresh. The best thing you can do is listen to our songs or our albums. In our albums we look for good songs and good production From there, we are about trying new things,” they pointed out, in 2022, to Cadena 100.
Nebulossa is a synth pop duo, with eighties touches. Mark Dasousa and María Bas come from Alicante and have 17 thousand followers. Last year, they made some headlines after appearing at the San Marino pre-selection casting for Eurovision. “It would be a great honor for us to feel your encouragement on this path. Even if we do not move on to the next phase of this casting, it will be wonderful to be able to live the experience,” they explained then. Unfortunately, Nebulossa did not make it to Liverpool. However, they have lived an intense year. In fact, in October they released three singles: He has given me porn, When I see you and Me putes a 1000.
Originally from Zarautz and current resident of Asturias. This year he rose to fame, thanks to Best Moments, his collaboration with Edurne. However, Noan was already a well-known face on television. And in 2022, the singer went through Veo como cantas, where he moved Antonio Carmona and Ruth Lorenzo. On the other hand, Iñigo – as is his real name – combines music with a university career. “Doing both things is being a bit crazy. It’s almost impossible, because the race requires practices and mandatory attendance. So I’m going little by little. I have little left, actually,” he told LOC in July.
Quique began his artistic training at the age of five and made his debut as an actor at the age of 10, in the musical Sound of Music. During his adolescence, he auditioned for La Voz Kids. However, he was not selected and continued with his career as a theater performer. In fact, today he plays Dani Zuko in the musical Grease. In recent months, Niza has become known for playing Omar in UPA Next and Álvaro in Mejores Días, on Amazon Prime. “I’m living a dream, I still can’t believe everything that’s happened to me and I’m happy to be able to show the public all these months of work,” he commented in May on Instagram, where 10,000 people already follow him.
Padrós, who performs songs in Catalan, is a singer, composer and pianist. According to some reports, he began music at the age of five, soaking up classical and operatic pieces. Later, in his adolescence, he began to work on his first compositions and at 16 he started singing. In 2020, Roger became one of The Voice sensations. The same year, he released his first EP, produced by Antonio Orozco himself. “My goal is to be very present and in this way build a future. Dreaming is very easy, the difficult thing is to be constant and even more so if you don’t know where you are going. So, for now, I want to focus on music,” he declared, in 2021, to ASM Magazine.
Sofía is an actress and dancer and is the daughter of two talent shows: she went through the first edition of La Voz Kids and, this year, she became known for participating in the second season Eufòria on TV3. According to her biography, she began her musical journey in 2019 and in 2020 she released her first album, called Génesis. “I have been training since I was six years old to achieve this. I started composing, using the guitar and piano, at 14 and in 2018 I began to compose my first single. Although this 2020, I have finally been able to dedicate myself 100% to music and, although sometimes it’s a little scary, I’m very happy. I think I’ve been preparing for this my whole life,” she told Neo2 three years ago.
The Canarian Pedro Hernández appeared on La Voz in 2017 and triumphed with the help of Juanes, his coach. He even made it to the finals. But, according to his own statements, he decided “not to win.” “On the day of the final I met Rebeca León, Rosalía’s great manager, and she told me ‘don’t win, because we want to work with you’. The thing is that, by contract, whoever won La Voz had to sign with Universal no matter what.” and make an album with them. And that was not what Rebeca wanted for me, nor what I wanted for myself. So finishing last in the final had its positive side,” he told LOC, in 2020. Currently, Pedro lives in Miami and has released 15 singles and a Christmas album.
She is a singer-songwriter, former professional soccer player and former participant of Dúos Increíbles, born in Pontevedra, who began singing from a very young age. In 2018 she moved to Madrid and that same year she entered the Opening Windows contest, which allowed her to sign her first record contract. Today Yoly Saa has almost 50 thousand followers and 72 thousand monthly listeners, who go out of their way to sing songs like Salvavidas and Todo Contigo. “What I seek is to differentiate myself from others. That is what motivates me the most. I am very emotional, the drama goes with me and it is a little difficult for me to get it out, but I achieve it. Because people who dedicate themselves to this see life from another point,” he explained to 20 Minutes last year.
