Spain SPAIN 2018 - Alfred & Amaia - Tu canción

[Mrm]

I awarded 8 points in the poll, due to very good live singing, good vocal harmony in duet and interesting color of both voices..

 

[FoxOfShadows]

I do kind of like the song. It's cute and Amaia's voice is incredible. The staging here though was not great :? Very wooden and Alfred's vocals were far from impressive. Hopefully they work on that for Lisbon. I did like the different coloured pianos at the start

6 points for now

 

[SaladBreak]

3 points from me...

 

[FoxOfShadows]

Also, I just realised that three out of four songs so far are in a native language. Hope the trend continues!

Sadly I doubt it. Spain and France normally sent songs in their native language and Albania still might translate theirs.

 

[ZoboCamel]

Sadly I doubt it. Spain and France normally sent songs in their native language and Albania still might translate theirs.

You're right in that these countries tend towards native languages more than most; I highly doubt that we'll end up with only a quarter of songs in English. Spain has been mostly English for the last two years, however, while France has been at least bilingual over that period, so for now it's looking less English-y on that end.

Meanwhile, Albania's Eugent has said he doesn't want to translate his song. It's a good start, if nothing else.

 

[GermanBango]

The Spaniards are at it again... talking about winning and actually comparing this to "Amar pelos dois"?! (on Facebook at least)
I guess it's that beautiful time of the year where you get death threats for not putting Spain on #1 of your personal ranking.

 

[Mrm]

They all forget about Rybak being in the competition again..

Gosh, I just hope he won't win MGP..

 

[DanielLuis]

The song is actually very cute! With the right performance in Lisbon (they need to be careful with the cheese) this can achieve a very good result. Definitely a contender for the top 10.
I would however have chosen "Arde". For me that was the strongest song in the selection. Aitana's voice is truly something special.

 

[DanielLuis]

They all forget about Rybak being in the competition again..

Gosh, I just hope he won't win MGP..

Have you listened to the song? Rybak ain't a threat for the Eurovision win at all this year.

 

[DanielLuis]

Just read in a Portuguese forum "La malo should have won, it was the song that fits Eurovision the most".

I have to let out my frustration here. It's absolutely unbelievable that people still say things like this after "Amar pelos dois" won in 2017 and "1944" won in 2016. It's unbelievable, especially coming from a Portuguese person. What has to happen for people to change this stupid ass mindset?

I'm not saying that "Lo malo" is a bad song, I don't think it is at all. But how is it possible that people haven't yet understood that Eurovision is for all genres, what matters is that the song is good, not the genre it belongs to! Jesus this got me annoyed

 

[RainyWoods]

I think this is an extremely solid choice and has the chance to get Spain back into the top 10. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised even if it achieved top 5. It's a high quality chamber pop ballad that most importantly has what is an incredibly sincere and heartwarming delivery. It's very lush and builds to a glorious climax thanks to that absolutely stunning bridge section (best part of the song). I don't love the song as much as "Al Cantar", but this has a more palatable magic on offer. We're going to Lisbon this year and I think the contest is going to have a very special vibe. I believe people will eat this up and not just the jury. I'm rather confident.

Only thing I don't like about the performance is the piano playing. I find it hard to believe that it's 2018 and people are still pretending to play piano for 30 seconds before standing up as it magically continues to play itself. Drop that. It's tacky. Their chemistry together is wonderful though. I thought that Amaia was the star of the duo but watching tonight's performance and it's become clear to me that they both shine equally. I imagine them on a small separate island stage performing this in pitch black. No gimmicks required.


I thought of giving this 10 in the poll as I decided I wanted to be a bit stricter with my points this year, but I don't think I can resist a 12 (I feel like it's almost my duty to get behind something like this). It's Afred and Amaia's vocals that totally lift this to levels it probably wouldn't reach with other people in control, and when the music is swirling it's like Antony and the Johnson's levels of gorgeousness, and that I cannot ignore. I'm a sucker for such splendour. It's the first song this year I like, but i'm hoping there are better songs as it's not quite Suus/Amar Pelos Dois/Maybe levels for me. I'm happy it's there for certain though, and 2018 now looks a little less grim. Thank you Spain

 

[nunaney]

I really hope they will change the staging. I liked it much better in rehearsals when they were just sitting and singing to each other.

 

[ZoboCamel]

Only thing I don't like about the performance is the piano playing. I find it hard to believe that it's 2018 and people are still pretending to play piano for 30 seconds before standing up as it magically continues to play itself.

Yeah, I found that pretty tacky myself as another fan of the song. I liked the dark and intimate staging, and the pianos felt alright when they were actually being used... but as you said, when they walk off and there are still pianos playing in the background, it created a pretty laughable moment that broke immersion. And immersion is key in this performance.

Do note, however, that they abandoned the pianos for their reprisal performance, and hopefully that wasn't just because they didn't have time to set it up or something – perhaps it's a sign that they've already ditched that part of the staging? It might be a bit of a stretch – especially given that staging is one of Spain's weak points at Eurovision – but I'm hoping that it means they've already reconsidered and are looking toward a more genuine approach, which if done right could catapult them into a high finish in May.

...Assuming that the couple are still together then, of course. If they end up breaking up over the next few months and have to fake their romantic chemistry for the performance long after having lost that spark, then it'll lose that entire cute, genuine nature and just come tumbling down, I feel. Weird to think that a country's performance at Eurovision will depend on a young couple's relationship status

 

[Ezio]

The song that I wanted to win the least. 4 points.

 

[Sammy]

The composer had one idea for one musical phrase. And it‘s a nice idea. But a song needs more than one phrase and the problem is, he didn‘t come up with more. I frankly don‘t see any reason why one should see a link between this an Amor pelos dois or 1944.
It’s a nice little boring song, the performance is rather amateurish, but they have a lot of time to improve this... a revamp, a better staging, let‘s wait and see. For the moment, as I see it, this seems to be the weakest entry chosen so far.

 

[Ezio]

San Marino duet of 2015 was more exciting

 

[Hegepege]

2 points, one for each grand piano...

 

[RomanFromRussia]

This song has its atmosphere, not a ESC-cliche and even has some things to stand out. BUT artists are destroying any potential in this song making it boring AF. I don't think it can deliver in the ESC, but anything can happen.

Now it's my 4th place out of 4.

 

[ESCREGION]

Tu cancion is not my taste.....And i think that it's a copy of Amar pelos dois of Salvador....But the bad thing is that it's not a succesful copy!!!
2 points and 4th place by now!!!

 

[theditz83]

Adorable. I enjoyed this one, but 2 notes - I feel that for the final chorus, they should take the vocals up a notch - perhaps some ablib runs or alternate counter-melody harmonies, just to elevate the ending to its natural climax. But most importantly, the performers need to spend the next few months totally living a breathing each other's company as only then can they form the bond required to pull off such a song at such close range without it seeming wooden.

I don't think this is a copy of last year's winner - only the verses give me a slightly jazzy vibe, the chorus is far more melodic and edging towards old Disney ballad territory. But I'm impressed so far. Spain gets 7 from me with hopes that some work on the performance can elevate it higher.