IF YOU'RE in the Comunidad Valenciana any time between now and the early hours of March 20, you may notice an awful lot of noise and colour on the streets. It's the season for the region's biggest festival,...
Stage and TV actress Chanel wins Benidorm Fest and place at Eurovision 2022
29/01/2022
BENIDORM Fest winner Chanel Terrero will represent Spain at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Torino, northern Italy, after gaining the public's and judges' votes in an extremely closely-fought final.
The competition staged in the Costa Blanca (Alicante province coast) town by national television and radio broadcasting company RTVE was this year's route to selecting the artist who would be singing and performing for the country at the cult international pop show where Spain, historically, comes home with very disappointing scores.
Around 60 years since Spain's only Eurovision win – not counting the Eurovision Junior, which it won in 2004 and where every Spanish candidate has ended in the top four – the highest-placed entry for the country this century was Pastora Soler in 2012.
The already-established Sevilla-born flamenco-pop artist came 10th, and was present at the Benidorm Fest, performing live twice whilst the public was waiting for the vote count.
Half the points would come from the judges' votes, and the other half from the public, split between those given during a straw-poll among a stratified sample, and those received by text message.
The favourites ahead of the final were Rigoberta Bandini and Tanxugueiras, but Chanel Terrero, 30, was considered a complete outsider.
She finished comfortably ahead of her nearest rival, Elche-born Blanca Paloma with her flamenco-style number, who just squeezed in front of Rayden, in third place.
Tanxugueiras was fourth in the judges' votes, followed by Xeinn, Varry Brava, and finally Gonzalo Hermida – currently in forced isolation in a Benidorm hotel, but joining in the final via Zoom – and Rigoberta Bandini.
But Barcelona resident Rigoberta, 31 – born Paula Ribó and a voiceover artist since childhood – earned enough public votes that her final score, of 91, put her in second place overall behind Chanel's 96.
The physical and television audiences were divided over the results, with many believing Rigoberta's failing to reach the Eurovision to be a 'missed opportunity' for Spain, although Chanel's lengthy experience in stage musicals may give her the edge in Torino this May – along with the high-quality authorship of her entry song.
SloMo was written and composed by Keith Harris, Maggie Szabos, Arjen Thonen, Leroy Sánchez and Ibere Fortes, and the young woman who will be fleshing it out on scene is a regular – even if not a household name – in primetime Spanish TV shows.
Born to Cuban parents, Chanel was four years old when she and her family left their native Caribbean island to settle in Barcelona, and she was actively involved in sports and music throughout her childhood and teenage years, as well as taking acting and singing classes.
She has since performed on stage in shows of huge acclaim, such as Mamma Mia!, Flashdance, The Lion King, The Bodyguard, Nine, and as lead rôle in Malinche, the brainchild of Nacho Cano, one-third of the massive 1980s' and 1990s' cult pop trio Mecano.
Chanel even worked as a dancer around a decade ago for Colombian pop-rock megastar Shakira – long-term partner of FC Barcelona midfielder Gerard Piqué and mother of his two sons, Milan and Sasha.
Spanish TV viewers may or may not remember Chanel from cameos in popular series such as Águila Roja ('Red Eagle'), Gym Tonic and El Continental, but they are more likely to remember the character of Guillé on the sitcom Los Serrano, played by Víctor Elías – who started a relationship with Chanel about a year ago, according to ¡Hola! Magazine.
Spain's edition of Hello! Printed a photo of the young couple from their respective Instagram sites, showing them sitting on a patio kissing.
Whilst it is not known whether they are still together, Víctor and Chanel are at least still good friends or are on good terms, evidenced by the frequent 'likes' and affectionate comments they leave on each other's social media posts.
Related Topics
You may also be interested in ...
BENIDORM Fest winner Chanel Terrero will represent Spain at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Torino, northern Italy, after gaining the public's and judges' votes in an extremely closely-fought final.
The competition staged in the Costa Blanca (Alicante province coast) town by national television and radio broadcasting company RTVE was this year's route to selecting the artist who would be singing and performing for the country at the cult international pop show where Spain, historically, comes home with very disappointing scores.
Around 60 years since Spain's only Eurovision win – not counting the Eurovision Junior, which it won in 2004 and where every Spanish candidate has ended in the top four – the highest-placed entry for the country this century was Pastora Soler in 2012.
The already-established Sevilla-born flamenco-pop artist came 10th, and was present at the Benidorm Fest, performing live twice whilst the public was waiting for the vote count.
Half the points would come from the judges' votes, and the other half from the public, split between those given during a straw-poll among a stratified sample, and those received by text message.
The favourites ahead of the final were Rigoberta Bandini and Tanxugueiras, but Chanel Terrero, 30, was considered a complete outsider.
She finished comfortably ahead of her nearest rival, Elche-born Blanca Paloma with her flamenco-style number, who just squeezed in front of Rayden, in third place.
Tanxugueiras was fourth in the judges' votes, followed by Xeinn, Varry Brava, and finally Gonzalo Hermida – currently in forced isolation in a Benidorm hotel, but joining in the final via Zoom – and Rigoberta Bandini.
But Barcelona resident Rigoberta, 31 – born Paula Ribó and a voiceover artist since childhood – earned enough public votes that her final score, of 91, put her in second place overall behind Chanel's 96.
The physical and television audiences were divided over the results, with many believing Rigoberta's failing to reach the Eurovision to be a 'missed opportunity' for Spain, although Chanel's lengthy experience in stage musicals may give her the edge in Torino this May – along with the high-quality authorship of her entry song.
SloMo was written and composed by Keith Harris, Maggie Szabos, Arjen Thonen, Leroy Sánchez and Ibere Fortes, and the young woman who will be fleshing it out on scene is a regular – even if not a household name – in primetime Spanish TV shows.
Born to Cuban parents, Chanel was four years old when she and her family left their native Caribbean island to settle in Barcelona, and she was actively involved in sports and music throughout her childhood and teenage years, as well as taking acting and singing classes.
She has since performed on stage in shows of huge acclaim, such as Mamma Mia!, Flashdance, The Lion King, The Bodyguard, Nine, and as lead rôle in Malinche, the brainchild of Nacho Cano, one-third of the massive 1980s' and 1990s' cult pop trio Mecano.
Chanel even worked as a dancer around a decade ago for Colombian pop-rock megastar Shakira – long-term partner of FC Barcelona midfielder Gerard Piqué and mother of his two sons, Milan and Sasha.
Spanish TV viewers may or may not remember Chanel from cameos in popular series such as Águila Roja ('Red Eagle'), Gym Tonic and El Continental, but they are more likely to remember the character of Guillé on the sitcom Los Serrano, played by Víctor Elías – who started a relationship with Chanel about a year ago, according to ¡Hola! Magazine.
Spain's edition of Hello! Printed a photo of the young couple from their respective Instagram sites, showing them sitting on a patio kissing.
Whilst it is not known whether they are still together, Víctor and Chanel are at least still good friends or are on good terms, evidenced by the frequent 'likes' and affectionate comments they leave on each other's social media posts.
Related Topics
You may also be interested in ...
More News & Information
SIGOURNEY Weaver and survivors of a South American plane crash took centre stage at Spain's answer to the Oscars this week, the Goya Awards – and one film netted 12 prizes out of its 13 nominations.
BRUCE'The Boss' Springsteen and The E-Street Band are heading to Spain next spring, and tickets have gone on sale today (Tuesday).
A HOLLYWOOD legend joining folk-dancers from Asturias and showing off her fancy footwork in the street is not a scene your average Oviedo resident witnesses during his or her weekly shop. Even though their northern...