Music returns to prime time on TVE, but it returns in a different way. With Ruth Lorenzo as master of ceremonies and a jury made up of Mónica Naranjo, Chanel, Miguel Bosé and Juan Magán, who are joined by Abraham Mateo and Ana Guerra backstage, the new talent Cover Night, which will premiere this Thursday, will show for its stage to more than 120 artists between the ages of 17 and 70 in search of a minute of glory, or perhaps more.
They will do it with well-known songs to which they will try to give their own touch: “People will see at home those great songs of a lifetime, like My Big Night by Raphael or Like a virgin by Madonna, in versions by people who have played them. done as they have felt. It is a program that is 100% music”, explains Macarena Rey, CEO of Shine Iberia, the production company behind the new talent. “We serve as an embassy for all that talent that is on the street, people who play at weddings or in bars.” For her, the difference is made by the experience: “It is made, presented and judged by musicians,” she says.
The result will show, among many others, a rock version of Despechá by Rosalía, or an urban version of Vivir así es morir de amor, by Camilo Sesto, with everything and its initial rap.
“The casting department has contacted almost 4,000 people,” says Ana Rivas, entertainment director at Shine Iberia. “All that talent was floating in the cloud. It has become fashionable to upload covers to the networks and that is why the program is called that; it is a kind of open micro where people bring us their proposal.”
That these covers are original, even changing the original genre of the song is the biggest claim of the contest. Also, that they reach the viewer with the highest quality sound, as Miguel Bosé points out: “For those of us who make music, live is what we like the most. We have a band that is wonderful and has a great technical level. I told him so to Macarena: we cannot afford to make a program that sounds bad”.
“We do not stop being impressed by the level that some artists have”, confesses Mónica Naranjo. In the first gala, the singers who step on stage must get at least three green lights from the four members of the jury to stay: if they do, they will go on to occupy one of the nine cubicles embedded in the set of the program, which they will fill with personal items as if they were their own homes. When these gaps are filled, the artists who obtain three or more green lights will have to earn a position by challenging those who had already obtained that space, who will have to defend it.
“There are duels in which there are two tsunamis. We all ask ourselves, but where has this person been?” says Naranjo. “What happens is that from the good, we leave the best, and then the sieve for excellence is made. Each program is more difficult to anticipate who they are going to kill,” adds Ruth Lorenzo.
The other draw to Cover Night is the range of popular artists who champion the show. “Apart from the stress that the cue generates in me because I am dyslexic, from Murcia and I have a terrible time with it, I am living it with fascination and zero pressure. I am lucky that I do not have to compete or judge”, Ruth Lorenzo values about her first experience as a presenter of a television program.
She summarizes the role played by each member of the jury in this way: “Monica has no mercy, she is relentless and wonderfully in her place. Chanel connects with everyone emotionally, which lowers the tension when there are a lot of nerves. Juan has the vision of the future and thinks who would be the best artist to develop and Miguel makes a lot of styling inputs, but he is, for me, the heart of the jury”.
Through allusions, Mónica Naranjo clarifies: “My colleagues insist that I am the toughest, but no. My tough times are over with OT, I promise. It is a different format, very kind. I contribute my technical part: how do you have to stepping on stage, how you have to use your vocal technique to interpret impossible songs and, above all, mental training. People think it’s just singing, but you have to prepare yourself psychologically. And I repeat, I’m not the bad guy. The bad guy is Miguel”.
If Naranjo was already a judge of Operación triunfo and El número uno, Miguel Bosé and Juan Magán have been coaches of La voz in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, respectively. Who completely debuts in this role is Chanel. “Artists are exposed from the beginning of our careers. I remember doing castings when I was 16 years old and you are always under the opinion of a jury or a director. It is something that I have lived throughout my artistic life and now, for the first time, I It’s time to be on the other side”, says the singer who represented Spain in the last edition of Eurovision, who confesses that it is very difficult for her to be harsh with the contestants: “From my own experience, I empathize a lot. When I give a red, I always say that It’s a positive red.”
What remains a secret is whether the members of the jury will also sing. “With these jewels that you see here, do you think they hire us to be quiet? Does it govern you?” Bosé replies.
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