About Spain...

2006 Result
History (1956 to 2005)
This year's entry
What I predicted...
What you thought...
What actually happened...
What the bookies thought...

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2006 Result

Points in Semi Final: N/A
Position in Semi Final: N/A

Points in Final: 18
Position in Final: 21st
More about the 2006 result for Spain

2007 Contest: Big 4 - Directly qualified to Final

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History (1956 to 2005)

Spain's previous appearances: 45 year(s) out of 50 [note]
Years participated: 1961- [note]
Best result: 1st (1968, 1969)

Spain's level of success at Eurovision hardly befits its 'Big 4' status. It won the 1968 contest with the lyrically-challenged 'La La La' by Massiel, shared victory with three others in the infamous 1969 competition (the not very memorable 'Vivo cantando' by Salomé), and has avoided victory ever since. There have been a few close shaves - Mocadades' 'Eres tu', from 1973, is regarded as a Eurovision classic, but could only manage 2nd place, despite ending up as a massive worldwide hit. Further 2nds followed in 1979, with Betty Missiego's 'Su canción' natrrowly losing out to Israel's 'Hallelujah'; and in 1995 with the memorable 'Vuelve conmigo' by Anabel Condé. However, Spain struggled in the early years of televoting, and had to rely on its 'Big 4' status to avoid relegation - after finishing 16th in 1998, 23rd in 1999 and 18th in 2000, David Civera's 6th place in 2001 marked a welcome return to form. In 2002, Spain decided that a change of selection procedure was in order, and introduced the 'Operación Triunfo', Fame Academy-style format. Rosa's irritatingly upbeat 'Eu-ROPP's living a celebration' finished a very respectable 7th, while the same formula produced a solid 8th place for Beth's 'Dime' in 2003, and an unexpectedly high 10th place for Ramón in 2004. Though the 'Operación Triunfo' format failed to deliver a Spanish victory, it at least saw an improvement in the country's Eurovision fortunes. However, the 2004 season was much less successful in the TV ratings than its predecessors, resulting in Spain's decision to dispatch with the reality format for 2005.

After a rather underwhelming National Final, the winners were three ladies calling themselves Son de Sol, with a sound and image reminiscent of Baccara and Las Ketchup. However, a lively performance of their song 'Brujeria' was not enough to prevent Spain finishing with just 28 points and 21st place, the only consolation being that the other Big 4 countries (UK, France and Germany) achieved even worse results by ending up 22nd, 23rd and 24th respectively. In qualification terms, of course, none of this matters, given that Spain and its Big 4 colleagues are guaranteed places in the Final anyway. However, with the Big 4 status being seen as increasingly questionable (42% of Soult.com Eurovision voters saying that the Big 4 should now take part in the Semi Final if they fail to reach the Final on their own merits), Spain could really use a good result in 2006.
Get 'The Eurovision Song Contest: The Offical History' at Amazon.co.uk

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This year's entry

Position in Semi Final draw: N/A
Position in Final draw: 6

What I said prior to the Semi Final:
"Well, there's a surprise. After at least a fortnight of persistent rumours that Spain would be represented by Las Ketchup singing a song called 'Bloody Mary', the Spanish entry is announced as... Las Ketchup singing a song called 'Bloody Mary'. So after having Las Ketchup clones in 2005, this year we have the real thing.

The Ketchup girls are probably the most well known act to take part in Eurovision since t.A.T.u, having secured a global hit single in 2002 with 'The Ketchup Song (Asereje)', as well as a moderately successful album with 'Hijas Del Tomate'. Remarkably, 'The Ketchup Song' reached number 1 in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and even the UK, where it spent a total of 26 weeks in the Top 75 singles chart. With this level of success, one suspects that if Las Ketchup had represented Spain at Eurovsion in 2003 they could have done rather well. However, the danger of any novelty is that the public soon tire of it, and following up such a huge international hit with new material is always going to be a challenge. Three years on, with memories of the irritatingly catching 'The Ketchup Song' having subsided, Europe is evidently deemed ready for the return of the Ketchup sisters.

Las Ketchup's apparent obsession with tomatoes is slightly disturbing until you realise that Andalucian sisters Lola, Lucía and Pilar Muñoz - now joined by a fourth sister, Rocío - are the daughters of Tomate, a well-known traditional flamenco guitarist from Córdoba. This theme continues even with 'Bloody Mary', the name of a cocktail made from vodka, tomato juice, lemon and/or limes, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper. Though composed by Manuel Ruiz 'Queco', the man responsible both for discovering the girls and writing 'The Ketchup Song', 'Bloody Mary' has a much more mellow feel than you would be entitled to expect. Immediate reaction to the song among Eurovision fans certainly seemed to be mixed, with many hating it, some really liking it, and others accepting that it IS something of a grower. For the second successive year, however, the Spanish entry has left me rather baffled - I really can't decide whether it's any good, or if I like it or not. For now, I shall reserve judgement until I've heard Las Ketchup perform the song live, surely the ultimate test. However, the group's (terrible) miming on the show to unveil the Spanish Eurovision entry hardly bodes well. If you've got to sing live at the Contest itself then you might as well start getting the practice in now."

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What I predicted...

My prediction for Semi Final: N/A
My prediction for Final: 19th to 21st
See all my predictions for the 2006 Semi Final
See all my predictions for the 2006 Final

What I predicted prior to the Semi Final:
"Well, I still haven't managed to hear Las Ketchup perform live, though the version of the song on the official CD does benefit from a little more energy than the first recording we heard a couple of months ago. If you believe the polls and bookmakers, Las Ketchup's prospects are not quite as hopeless as some of the other Finalists, hovering around 14th out of 37 in the Soult.com Eurovision Jury Vote 2006, and with typical odds of around 80-1. However, I will be very surprised if 'Bloody Mary' can manage anything higher than a berth in the mid teens. "
Want an alternative prediction? See Simon Hylands' 'Je t'adore, Eurovision!' site

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What you thought...

View the final leader board

In the run up to the Contest, 1,721 visitors to this site awarded points to their favourite songs in the Soult.com Eurovision Jury Vote 2006, voting as a representative of their own country's 'jury'. The votes awarded by representatives of each country were totalled, with each of the 38 participating countries (plus the 'Rest of the World') then awarding points - 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - based on the overall voting preference of its representatives. The points awarded to the entry from Spain are shown in the tables below:

Points awarded to Spain overall:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	0	MK	0	PL	0	ES	X
AD	10	CY	4	IS	0	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	4	DK	0	IE	0	MD	7	RO	0	CH	1
BY	0	EE	4	IL	0	MC	8	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	0	LV	0	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	0	NO	1	SI	0	UK	0
BG	4	DE	0	WO	5	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: 48, from 10/39 juries
Position: 14 out of 37

Points awarded to Spain in the Semi Final:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	0	MK	0	PL	0	ES	X
AD	0	CY	0	IS	0	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	0	DK	0	IE	0	MD	0	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	0	IL	0	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	0	LV	0	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	0	NO	0	SI	0	UK	0
BG	0	DE	0	WO	0	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: N/A, from N/A/39 juries
Position: N/A out of 23

Points awarded to Spain in the Final:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	0	MK	1	PL	0	ES	X
AD	10	CY	4	IS	0	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	4	DK	0	IE	0	MD	8	RO	1	CH	1
BY	3	EE	4	IL	0	MC	8	RU	0	TR	2
BE	0	FI	0	LV	0	NL	0	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0