Spain Lives For Her! Classical Sensation Melani Garcia Chosen for Junior Eurovision 2019!

c. RTVE

We said earlier that Spain would be back with a vengeance at their first Junior Eurovision appearance in thirteen years, and today Spain’s Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) announced just how serious they intend to take their return.

RTVE announced today that they would be sending Melani Garcia, a 12-year-old from Valencia who won La Voz Kids in 2018 and is known for her interpretations of works by Andrea Boccelli and other classical and opera singers.

Garcia told XLS Weekly shortly after her La Voz Kids win that she had two goals: perform at Eurovision and participate in an opera. She will have the first goal checked off (JESC counts!) on November 24, 2019 in Gliwice, Poland, and with her entering music conservatory to receive the classical training to hone in and perfect her self-taught techniques that she learned watching opera on YouTube and mimicking Maria Callas performances, it will only be a matter of time before she achieves her second.

Garcia’s first single was a cover of the 1997 Andrea Boccelli and Marta Sanchez duet “Vivo Por Ello,” and earlier this year released a cover of Eduardo di Capua’s 1898 classic “O Sole Mio,” the Luciano Pavorotti version probably being the most familiar to readers alongside the English translated version by Elvis Presley (“Now or Never”).

Spain won Junior Eurovision in 2004 with Maria Isabel’s energetic middle finger to being basic “Antes muerta que sencilla,” (“Better dead than plain”) and is to date the youngest winner of the contest at 9-years-old, beating Russia’s 2006 winners The Tolmachevy Sisters by a few days. Maria Isabel herself attempted to enter the adult version in 2016, coming in 4th at Spain’s national selection with “La vida sólo es una.”

Spain also has two second place finishes and a fourth place finish. Sergio was a very close second to inaugural winner Dino Jelusic from Croatia in 2003 with “Desde el cielo,” and Antonio Jose came in second in 2005 with “Te traigo flores.” Dani Fernandez, who later went on to feature in chart-topping Spanish boy band Auryn, came in fourth in 2006 with his roller skate shoe choreography in a ballad “Te doy mi voz.”

Melani Garcia is the third contestant named for Junior Eurovision 2019, after Georgia’s Giorgi Rostiashvili and North Macedonia’s Mila Moskov. Nineteen countries will be vying for the Junior Eurovision 2019 crown.

What do #YOU think of Melani Garcia’s chances at Junior Eurovision? Let us know in the comments below, on social media, or in our forum.