«You can have the recipe but, like with mayonnaise, the programs sometimes link and sometimes they cut. The key in The Greatest Generation is that we have a spectacular casting. “We have definitely linked mayonnaise.” The latest creation by Tinet Rubira, general director of Gestmusic (Banijay) and one of the men who devised Operación Triunfo is, of course, a musical contest, although in this case the voice is only a complement to what is really awarded.
If the triumph of the Grand Prix last summer confirmed that nostalgia is, almost always, a safe value on television, the good result in the premiere, last week, of Generación Top, the first competition created and presented by Ana Pastor, opened path to the triumph of generational competition as a genre. If in laSexta the key to the battle between celebrities was general culture, in the new bet for prime time that Telecinco premieres tonight it is musical interpretation.
The casting that, according to Rubira, “makes the mayonnaise” in the new format for Telecinco’s prime time, starts with three veteran names: Marta Sánchez, Pablo Carbonell and Sole Jiménez form the Vinilos Team, led by the comedian and actor David Fernández , who assures that the authority is conferred by having been the only one in the entire program to have participated in Eurovision with that unforgettable character of Rodolfo Chikilicuatre in 2008: «I explain to Sole and Pablo how to place the diaphragm and I help them with fear to go out on stage,” he jokes. “They are the three leaders of the most legendary bands of the 80s: Olé Olé, Toreros Muertos and Presuntos Implicados,” emphasizes the producer.
These nine great voices have always been concerned about the audiovisual part of their songs, about giving a spectacle
The intermediate generation, the Cassette Team, is made up of Melody, who recorded the contest in her third trimester: “When you get involved in a project, there is no pregnancy worth it,” she says; the Jaén singer-songwriter Roko; and Aníbal Gómez, half of Ojete Calor along with Carlos Areces, who points out that the objective of the contest is not to imitate, but to cover the great hits of different eras of Spanish music, and there humor and spectacle are as important as the intonation. Perhaps that is why Ana Morgade will be leading the three Cassettes.
Finally, as representatives of the youngest Spaniards, the Streamers Team, three new talents: Maverick, who was Laura Pausini’s bet in the final of the third season of La Voz on Telecinco and later finalist of Destino Eurovision; Marta Sango, who became known at Operación Triunfo 2018; and Izan Llunas, who participated in La Voz Kids in 2017 and made the leap to acting in Luis Miguel: The series embodying the protagonist’s childhood. Esperansa Grasia, tiktoker and influencer, will be in charge of captaining the new stands.
“What these nine great voices have in common is that they have always cared about the audiovisual part of their songs, about giving a show, and that is what has brought them here,” explains Rubira. The mechanics of the contest are simple: three musical decades will be distributed in each program. Each member of the team will compete against their counterparts performing hits from that specific era, supported by their captain and the audience in their stands, also of their generation.
And at the forefront of this war of the ages, Lara Álvarez will also take the microphone, uncovering a hitherto unknown artistic facet. “It has been a great challenge, I have had to break all the barriers and filters that I had in my head,” acknowledges the presenter, “this program is a gift because, beyond the professional quality of the contestants, we are going to see the human, to know its vulnerabilities. “I feel at home, I don’t come here to work but to have fun.”
We are going to give a little blood to the adolescent world, let them listen to music from when they sang with enthusiasm
While Izan Llunas will have to try his luck with an anthem from the 50s, Marta Sánchez will advance several decades to compete in the 2000s. No one will remain in their comfort zone. As a spoiler, in the first program one of the contestants will confess that she had never heard Chica yeyé by Concha Velasco in her life. “We are going to give a little blood to the teenage world,” Pablo Carbonell anticipates, “they are going to find a lot of interesting music, rock
The audience in the generational stands will have an essential role, not only when voting but when singing. He puts so much effort into it that, they say, a lady fainted singing with Melody. “We singers are very demanding, and this program demonstrates once again the power of the voice and respect,” summarizes the interpreter of El baile del gorilla. “We have all understood something fundamental: without you I am not, without me you are not, among the opponents there is pure admiration,” says Lara Álvarez.
The week thus begins in war, but without any victims. The audience will determine if generational becomes a new television staple. The prize here, for now, will only be moral. The financial part will go to an NGO.
