Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

It’s nearly that time of the year when people will sit down in front of their televisions to watch 39 countries battling it out in one of the world´s biggest singing competition. Eurovision 2015, which celebrates its 60^th anniversary this year, will return to our screens in May with two semifinals on 19^th and 21^st May and the Grand Final taking place on the 23^rd of the same month. As a member of the “Big Five”, the countries which contribute the most amount of money to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Spain will automatically qualify for the Final which, this year,will take place in Austria.

Spain has won this contest outright once in 1968 when María de los Ángeles Félix Santamaría Espinosa (whose stage name is Massiel) triumphed with her song La,la, la.   Spain has also come in second place on several occasions including in 1971 when María Isabel Bárbara Llaudés Santiago (known as Karina) sang En un mundo nuevo (In a New World), in 1973 when the Folk group Mocedades sang EresTú (It´s You),in 1979 when Betty Missiego performed Su canción (Your Song) and in 1995 when Anabel Condetook to the stage with Vuelve conmigo (Come back to me). Spain was also successful last year with Ruth Lorenzo finishing in the top ten with her song Dancing in the Rain. Considering these past successes and last year's high place Spaniards can enter this competition with enthusiasm and expectation. In this article we will explore the background of the singer Spain is pinning its hopes on this year while also looking at the song which could allow Spain to get its hands on the prestigious Eurovision trophy.

• Spain also tied for first place in 1969 with Salomé's Vivo cantando (I live singing) gainingthe same number of points as the performers from France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
• The state-owned Spanish organization RTVE (Corporación de Radio y Televisión, the corporation which indirectly manages Spain's television and radio) has used several methods to choose their entries for the Eurovision Song Contests including internal selection, used in 2015,and televised and internet voting competitions such as the 2014 Mira quién va a Eurovisión, Operación triunfo,used between 2002-2004, and Eurocanción which helped select the 2000 and 2001 representatives.
• The Spanish folk group Mocedades sang Eres Tú (It´s you) during a special program entitled Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest which commemorated the 50^th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest.
   

Edurne

This year Spain will be represented by an artist called Edurne García Almagro (more commonly known as Edurne). This Spanish singer, television presenter, model and actress first rose to fame on the 2005 edition of the singing talent show OperaciónTriunfo. Although she didn´t win, she reached the 12^th live show and following on from her success in this competition, Sony BMG España offered her a recording contract.

Her first album, published in 2006, was called Edurne and included the track Despierta. Both the CD and the single were smash hits soon after being put on sale with the latter coming 5^th in one of Productores de Música de España's (Promusicae, an organization which represents Spain´s recording industry) weekly Top 20 Singles Charts and the former reaching number 3 on the Promusicae 12^th weekly Top 100 Album Chart. As well as rising to the top of this list Edurne also received a gold record award for this album, in 2006, due to its more than forty thousand sales.

This Spanish singer´s achievements were also further recognized when she was nominated for El Premio 40 Principales al mejor artista revelación nacional at Los Premios 40 Principales, an award show organized by a major radio station called Los 40 Principales which airs in Spain and Latin America. Despite losing out to the singer Mai Meneses (nicknamed Nena Daconte) she went on to win a prize at Los Premios Garamond Nacionales de la música (the Garamond National Music Awards) in 2008.

As well as leading a successful music career she has also had some acting roles. For example, in 2007 she took on the role of Shandy in Grease, el musical de tu vida (Grease, the musical of your life) touring with this production and performing in many Spanish cities including Bilbao, Madrid, Barcelona and Las Palmas. To celebrate her participation in the show she also released her own version of the song Hopelessly Devoted to You(entitled Sigo enamorada de ti) from the movie Grease.

She would reprise this role in 2011 in a new and updated production but after leaving the original musical in 2009 she travelled to England where she took classes to learn the language as well as to hone her singing, dancing and composing skills. In addition to having stayed in England, Edurne has also released some singles in this language and she has worked with an English artist. In 2013, her fifth album Climax was launched which features both English and Spanish tracks including the single Pretty Boy composed by the American producer Michael Busbee. In the same year she also collaborated with the English artist Olly Murs, who gained popularity and became successful after his 2009 performance on the talent show The X Factor.  Together they produced a duet of Mur´s song Hand on Heart which they sung at the 2013 edition of Los Premios 40 Principales.

This star has also found the time to appear on Spanish television. Her dancing skills came to the fore in 2010 when she progressed to the final and achieved second place in the Spanish talent show Másque baile (based on the British program Strictly Come Dancing). She also won the third season of the talent show Tucara me suena, a program where contestants imitate songs by famous artists as closely as possible.

We have looked at the artist who will sing her heart out in Vienna. However, what song will she perform? The entry is called Amanecer (Dawn)and it is composed by Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson, Peter Boström and Thomas G:son (Thomas Gustafsson). This pop song, which forms part of Edurne´s sixth studio album, was released on 2^nd March 2015. Several recordings of the piece have been produced including one with RTVE's Symphony Orchestra and Choir on 3^rd March. On 9^thMarch a music video was also launched.

In conclusion given Edurne´s distinguished career, it seems that Spain are in a strong position going into this year´s competition. Maybe you have been lucky enough to get tickets. However, if you haven´t you can still participate in the action by watching the final and semifinals aired by members of the EBU or on the Eurovision official website. You can also help decide the winner of the final by downloading the official Eurovision Song Contest app on the Eurovision website and by using it to participate in the telephone vote. Finally, if you want to improve your Spanish why not tune in to the RTVE's broadcast and practice and develop your listening skills in a new and exciting way?