Spain


 * Artist Biography:**

Spain's representative in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest is Soraya Arnelas. Soraya was born in Valencia de Alcantara, Caceres, Spain on September 13, 1982 and moved to Madrid at the age of eleven. Her father is a painter and her mother works in a nursing home. Initially Soraya wished to study drama. She briefly worked on the Spanish radio program "Radio Frontera" ("Border Radio"), but soon after became a flight attendant. She pursued this career until 2005, when she participated in //Operación Triunfo//, a Spanish show similar to //American Idol//. Soraya placed second in the competition, which was a surprise as, unlike most of her competitors, Soraya had never pursued singing professionally or taken lessons. After the program ended, she released "Corazón De Fuego" ("Heart On Fire"), which went platinum. She released three more albums in the following three years ("Ochenta's", "Dolce Vita", and "Sin Miedo"). Between her four albums, Soraya has sold over 210,000 copies.

Her sound is fairly typical European Pop, with heavy Disco and Electronic influences. Owing to her flight attendant background, she speaks five languages; she usually sings in Spanish, but often also sings in English, such as on her second and third albums, where she covered popular 80's songs.

According to [|a blog on the Eurovision site], Soraya will have the support of the Belgian people due to the fact that she released two duets with Belgian pop artist Kate Ryan, who was Belgium's Eurovision Song Contest representative in 2006.



According to the [|official Eurovision website], "La Noche Es Para Mí" was composed by Jason Gill, Dimitri Stassos, and Irini Michas. The lyrics, written by Felipe Pedroso, are in Spanish and English. The majority of the song is in Spanish, but lines of the song, specifically in the chorus, are in English [|("Come on and take me / Come on and shake me / Quiero saber lo que sientes por mí...")] The Spanish lyrics detail a typical pop song "theme" of the desire of love and the chase that ensues.
 * Song Information:**

The song itself is an upbeat pop song with a heavy dance rhythm. A string section carries the song, as well as fingerpicked classical guitar (intended, no doubt, to be reminiscent of Spain's tradition of Flamenco music). There is also a synthesized background track that makes the song sound as if it would be at home in a dance club. The rhythm track sounds as if it were a combination of hand drums and synthesized beat tracks. The vocals, obviously, are female, sung by Soraya Arnelas -- the song gives the illusion of background singers at times, but it is simply Soraya's voice layered and mixed together.

For those of you who would like to take a listen, you can hear the song on its official video: media type="youtube" key="yhqyofl-fP0" height="340" width="560"

As stated in the [|RTVE blog] For the "first time in ten years" the people of Spain "have an enormous enthusiasm" about the prospects of winning Eurovision, all thanks to Soraya Arnelas. [|TVE] oversaw the entire selection process. From a mixture of public and jury vote, 50 entries were selected. These were divided into three semifinals, and then the top ten competed for the affection of the jury and public, to choose who would represent Spain. In the final vote, the televoting put Soraya in first place, while the jurors had her as a runner up to //Melody Y Los Vivancos//. In order to be on the jury, one must make a myspace profile, then make a video and fill out an application online. This information was given to us by [|ESCToday] (also known as Eurovision square).
 * Narrative of the Entry:**

Soraya keeps in touch with her fans by keeping blogs throughout her tour. In her blogs she records everything, from how she feels about traveling to how she’s packing her luggage. She is very personable and keeps very well in touch with her fans from Spain and other countries, by keeping her [|blog] up to date. Soraya’s fans have always been very supportive and interested in her life, and what she is up to. Spaniards and other Soraya fans try to keep up to date through her blogs and even can ask her questions on her [|forum.]

As noted in the "Song information" section, the unique aspect of Soraya's song, "La Noche Es Para Mi", is the mixture of English and Spanish lyrics. This combination helped Soraya to win the national competition. Combining the two languages allows for international appeal. Using her native language gives her song a connection to Spain and the Spanish culture, giving connectivity to the song's place of origin, its home. The English sections of the lyrics allow for it to be internationally binding. It gives cohesion between the Spanish speakers and English speaking community. This allows for not only a broader audience but for a common experience and bond between the two languages, and between the two groups of people who live in separate cultures.

According to [|a Eurovision discussion page] Spain has participated in every Eurovision Song Contest since 1961, when Conchita Bautista placed ninth with the song //Estando Contigo//. They are one of the big four which assures them a spot in the finals for the contest. The big four is comprised of Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom who are the four biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union.
 * Country’s Eurovision History:**

Spain is a two time champion of the contest and has hosted the event one time. Spain first won the contest with the song //La La La//, performed by Massiel. According to a [|Eurovision discussion page exploring the 1968 competition] the song was liked across Europe, but it was also a subject of major controversy. It was originally supposed to be performed by singer Joan Manuel Serrat in Catalan (a romance language and the official language of Andorra) but was disallowed at the last minute by the Franco regime. Serrat refused to sing in Spanish and therefore the singer needed to be changed and Massiel was selected. A documentary by Spanish filmmaker Montse Fernandez Vila was released in 2008 and accused Spanish dictator Francisco Franco of rigging the contest. Even with the extra help Spain only won the contest by a single point over the United Kingdom's //Congratulations//. The writer of the UK entry, Bill Martin, called //La La La// a "piece of rubbish" and clearly thought //Congratulations// should have been crowned the champion. Because of the victory Spain was given the opportunity to host Eurovision the following year and was in prime position to repeat as champion.

In 1969 Spain did exactly that and defended their title on home turf with the song [|Vivo Cantando] performed by Salome. Despite receiving first place, victory was not as sweet this time because the title was shared with three other countries (France, The United Kingdom, and The Netherlands.) The most rememberable part of the performance was Salome's costume which featured a stunning pantsuit.

[|On the web] there is plenty of information about Spain's Eurovision past but sadly since 1969 Spain has not won another title. While not winning first place Spain has come close to another title. In 1984 Spain placed third with the song //Lady, Lady// performed by Remedios Amaya and placed second in 1995 with //Vuelve conmigo// preformed by Anabel Conde. Spain is hungry for another victory and there is hope they can bring home the title soon because of their automatic admission into the finals.